This Simple Cake Stand Brings Much-Needed Joy to My Kitchen

It’s a cheerful pop of color

With our dark mornings and even darker afternoons, a little splash of pink in our wood and off-white kitchen was like an instant ray of rosy sunshine.

It makes everything feel festive

After the birthday cupcakes were eaten (so, very quickly), I left the cake stand out and used it to display some pastries from a nearby bakery. I liked this false impression that we’re the kind of people who just always have fresh pastries around, but it also made me feel a little bit like we live in a Nancy Meyers movie. It was then that I decided this cake plate was here to stay—at least through the rest of winter.

It elevates breakfast

Once the pastries were gone (again: very quickly), I wasn’t ready to stash the plate away. This weekend, upon noticing that a few too many bananas had snuck past our notice, my daughter asked if she could bake banana bread. 

After it cooled, we plonked the freshly baked bread onto the cake stand, which was enough to make me happy. But then, the next day, it served as a breakfast centerpiece that immediately turned our Monday morning slog into a little party. It’s been in use all week as we work through the banana bread, and every morning it cheers us up and helps us ignore the fact the sun still isn’t up.

You don’t have to use it daily—or just for cake

Before this week, the cake plate wasn’t in daily use. I like that it has a low profile and a fairly small footprint, making it simple to store away. It’s also super lightweight and not overly delicate, so it’s both easy to grab and stash up high or at an angle if you're short on storage space. 

But with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, now’s the perfect time for it. And, as you might have noticed, we haven’t once used it for an actual cake. It’s a great size for everything from quiche to cookies—which, I think, might just be my next two wintertime pick-me-ups to display.