SAN FRANCISCO – People traveled from San Francisco, Oakland, New York, and Seattle, each carrying a cake with them.

In total, there were exactly 613 cakes.

The only rule at Cake Picnic was clear: “No cake, no entry.”

It was a delightful spectacle as hundreds of bakers gathered at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor museum on Saturday. The atmosphere resembled a scene from a fairy tale, with long tables overflowing with a stunning array of cakes.

There were layer cakes, bundt cakes, square cakes, four-foot-long cakes, birthday cakes, tiered cakes, tortes, wedding cakes, collapsing cakes, and cupcakes. “It’s like a cake potluck. Or maybe cake paradise, cake nirvana, cake buffet. Whatever you want to call it – to me, it’s a cake picnic,” expressed organizer Elisa Sunga.

The event welcomed hundreds of participants who brought a combined total of 613 cakes. On a bright, crisp fall day in the northwestern part of San Francisco, Sunga was surrounded by enthusiastic bakers, joyful onlookers, and, of course, a mountain of cakes.

“The only requirement is that you bring a whole cake. You can either buy it or bake it yourself. But a cake is a must,” Sunga emphasized.

Maggie Rummel attended because she thought it sounded like a dream come true.

“I was eager to taste many different cakes, enjoy the lawn, and indulge my sweet tooth,” she said. She brought an orange olive oil cake filled with marmalade and topped with mascarpone whipped cream.

Sasha Sommer learned about Sunga’s first cake picnic back in April but couldn’t join, so she purchased tickets for Saturday’s event in July to ensure she wouldn’t miss out.

“I’m a huge fan of cake,” the 32-year-old stated. With her parents visiting, they all spent Friday baking together, adhering to the one-person-one-cake rule.

“It was chaos at home, trying to make three cakes,” she shared. “My mom baked an apple cake, my dad made a lemon olive oil cake, and I prepared a ten-layer burnt honey Russian cake.”

Abou Ibrahim-Biangoro also missed the initial cake picnic but was determined not to let the second one slip by.

She prepared her frosting on Thursday and baked on Friday. “I made a brown butter and oat cake with fig leaf syrup and buttercream frosting,” she explained. The cake was beautifully garnished with roses.

Ibrahim-Biangoro, a 30-year-old researcher at the Veterans Administration hospital in Palo Alto and a Ph.D. student, was positively glowing amidst the tables filled with cakes. “This is my way of relieving stress,” she said.

The Origins of Cake Picnic

Cake Picnic began as a simple get-together among friends in San Francisco back in April. Elisa Sunga thought that if a cookie exchange could be enjoyable, why not host a cake extravaganza?

“My love for cake is immense. I assumed around 15 people would show up,” she recalled. “We could bring friends, make new acquaintances, and enjoy lots of cake.”

Sunga shared the invite for the “cake picnic” on social media. Once she was ready to close the guest list, 360 people had already responded.

On the day of that first event, 183 cakes and their creators arrived for the celebration. “Everyone formed a circle, Everyone introduced themselves and shared the cake they brought,” she explained. After that, everyone enjoyed the cake.

Last month, she organized another event in Los Angeles which attracted 253 cakes and their bakers. Just two weeks ago, another gathering took place in New York, attracting over 300 cakes.

When Sunga returned to San Francisco, where she resides, the turnout exceeded all expectations. “We received over 1,000 RSVPs, with 300 more on the waitlist,” she noted.

The Second Cake Picnic in San Francisco

After organizing three Cake Picnics, Sunga was contacted by the Legion of Honor museum. They said, “We’re celebrating our 100th birthday, could you come bring cakes?”

The celebration took place in front of the museum while the actual birthday festivities featured speeches and a high school marching band in its elegant French neoclassical courtyard nearby.

“They provided cake boxes for all of the guests. I had never attended a 100th birthday celebration before, so it was a joy to help create such a memorable event,” Sunga remarked.

This experience also served as a delightful reminder that even if many believe San Francisco is only about “technology and eccentricity,” as Sunga described, “we are filled with creative individuals eager to engage in enjoyable, community-driven activities like this one.”

The Process at Cake Picnic

Initially, individuals register and then bring a cake, which, judging by the event, most had baked themselves.

On the event day, the organized cake sharing begins.

Outside, hundreds of women and a few men flocked to the lawn where long tables were arranged to display their cakes. At the entrance, volunteers ensured that each participant had indeed brought a cake.

Every attendee received a color-coded name tag, placed their cake on a table, and then had about an hour to roam around, appreciating the diverse variety of baking talent on display.

After a short welcome, Sunga began calling up groups according to their name tag colors, giving each group five minutes to take as many cake slices as they desired before the next group moved in.

“The first group gets the privilege of slicing all those cakes,” Sunga mentioned. “Everyone was requested to bring a cake cutter, and it seems there was a shortage of cake knives in San Francisco the day before.”

Her own creation was a stunning 4-foot cake. “It consists of three cakes: dark chocolate hojicha, cookies and cream, a banana peanut butter chocolate cake, and lastly a strawberry almond Funfetti cake.”

Sunga emphasized that no cake went uneaten. Once everyone savored their share, they could take leftovers home, with many expressing intentions to host their own cake-tasting gatherings.

By the event’s end, “only crumbs and boards remained,” she remarked.

With the air filled with the delightful aroma of sugar, spices, butter, and cream, Sunga shared her plans to host more Cake Picnics next year, including one in London in July. “I absolutely love cake,” she said.