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A friend of mine told me that there is no dessert that needs a knife to eat. I'm sure that this is not true, but I can't find a good example in the Internet. So is there any dessert that needs a knife to eat? And if yes, what kind of dessert?

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This is very subjective. Nothing needs a knife, I can pick up a steak and gnaw it. But I can also choose to eat a piece of cake with a steak knife and a big fork. Also, what is your definition of "dessert"? I would say that a watermelon fits the "always needs a knife" part, unless you get picky about the "can be served pre-cut" part. But some people have very narrow definitions of "dessert" and don't see a watermelon as a dessert, what is your definition? – rumtscho♦ Nov 2 '12 at 19:58
Ok I agree that this is maybe too subjective in the current form. But for example, there are official dessert knifes. So in a formal dinner what are they used for? – User Nov 2 '12 at 19:59
The proper use of dessert knives is a different question, but I am afraid it is off-topic for our site, so it would be closed if you asked it. See the off-topic discussion at meta.cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/820/… for detail. – rumtscho♦ Nov 2 '12 at 20:09
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A pound of taffy that's all melted together. – Jefromi♦ Nov 2 '12 at 22:50
@User, may we assume you're asking whether the individual serving requires a knife? – Kristina Lopez Nov 3 '12 at 15:44

closed as not constructive by TFD, KatieK, Jefromi♦, Mien, BaffledCook Nov 3 '12 at 17:22

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2 Answers

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In certain cultures whole pieces of fruit, like an apple, for example, will be served for dessert and the diners are expected to eat it using fork and knife only - no fingers. as far as traditional desserts such as pies and cakes, I'm sure you must mean whether the individual serving requires a knife because, of course, a whole cake or pie must be cut into individual servings. I've only seen dessert forks offered for traditional baked desserts. There's an interesting website on manners that deals specifically with eating desserts using a fork and spoon, but no knife.

http://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/table_manners/dinner_etiquette/desserts/desserts.html

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It would be pretty hard to eat a pie without cutting it up first. You could argue that you could cut it up with a fork, but if you allow cutting with a fork, then knives are unnecessary in any case.

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Not everything that can be cut with a knife can also be cut with a fork, however... – lemontwist Nov 2 '12 at 22:03
@lemontwist Depends on how sharp your fork is ;) – Brendan Long Nov 2 '12 at 22:04

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