This family takes the cake – then turns it in the air and tries to catch it for fun.
“If there’s a cake at one of our family gatherings, we just have to turn it,” Taylor Carney told The Post of her crew’s now-hip tradition in Colts Neck, NJ, of throwing the candy with the intention of to spin it, and then hopefully get it right side up.
“In no case can a cake just stand on the counter. We have to turn it around, for example. It’s an extreme sport, ”she added.
Clips of Carney, 27, and more than 30 of her relatives throwing decorated sheet cakes, cheesecakes, cakes, and biscuit and ice cream cakes have garnered over 28 million views on TikTok in less than two weeks.
“We’ve probably turned well over 50 cakes in the past three years,” said Carney’s cousin Brian Matuszewski, 25, who started the custom in 2018.
The family’s first candy showdown came when the large crowd gathered to celebrate Matuszewski’s graduation from the University of Massachusetts.
“My parents got me a medium-sized sheet cake,” he said. “And when we took it out of the box to eat, someone said, ‘Wouldn’t it be absolutely crazy if you turn the cake over and catch it?'”
And after a few beers, friendly nudges from other cousins and an objection from Grandma Mimi, 86, Matuszewski “just got started”.
Cake flipping has become an extreme sport for all members of the Carney family. Tamara Beckwith / NY Post
“Turning a cake is all about trust,” advised the tech analyst, noting that rectangular sheet cakes are much easier to toss than round, layered, or ice cream-based treats.
“You can’t be careful because if you hesitate, you can either get a weak spin or too much spin while flipping,” he continued, adding that the cake should stay on the piece of cardboard most in the store on Purchased cakes are sold to. “You have to hold it with both hands on either side of the cake … and then use your best hand-eye coordination skills to catch it.”
And since Matuszewski’s inaugural flip gave the family such a big kick, the guest of honor can celebrate his big day at every monthly birthday, graduation, engagement party or other special occasion.
Cake flipping has become an extreme sport for four generations of the Carney family, including grandma Rita Carney, 86.Tamara Beckwith / NY Post
Carney and Matuszewski attribute the family’s best throwing talents to their younger cousin Chris, 17.
“He caught a round chocolate cake blindfolded,” Carney boasted of the high school graduate.
But for some family members, the art of mirroring the cake is not child’s play.
“I’ve only successfully flipped one,” said cousin Grace Cody, 21, admitting she isn’t the best at juggling baked goods.
A viral TikTok blooper reel shows how she and others catch the cakes upside down – leaving frosting on their hands, forearms and clothes – or dropping the delicacies altogether.
“But as long as the cake doesn’t fall on the floor, we’ll eat it anyway,” she said.
“We also always have a few backup desserts such as fruit or cookies if the cake is destroyed.”
But Matuszewski says that turning the cake over is more fun when all you have to do is have one dessert at the party.
“If there is only one cake, it increases the pressure on the fin,” he laughed. “You have the whole family’s dessert in your hands, so you better not drop it.”
Cody says the excitement of cake-throwing has brought her clan even closer together, especially after COVID-19.
“We couldn’t get together at all last year,” she said of the pandemic’s dampening effects on her frequent family gatherings. But they finally reunited this spring, outside and with face masks, for Easter.
“Being together now and making our cake-flip tradition go viral is really such a cute deal.”
Her cake-flip tradition means even more to the family now after being separated for a year due to the pandemic. Tamara Beckwith / NY Post
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