Cake disaster
I had an awful time yesterday with a cake. :( It was a 6-tier thing, and each tier was 5" tall. They ranged in size from 9" to 4" in diameter, so basically, the cake looked like a skinny tower. My husband had suggested putting the tiers onto a cake board that had a pipe attached to it, to keep the structure straight. I didn't think we had time to do that, so I didn't give it any thought.
I put a dowel through the first few tiers, then stacked the remaining ones. They were leaning a bit, and looking not-so-great. I drove in the 2nd dowel, and then the cake looked horrible. To make it worse, I spent so much time fooling around with the structure,that I didn't have much time to decorate. The cake looked awful on every level. Wahhhh!! I'm so embarrassed by it, and can't believe I made such an awful thing.. I don't know if it even made it through the reception without falling over. In a way, it might have been better if it had ... at least it wouldn't have stood there being a glaring monstrosity.
Well, I just wanted to whine a little to some folks who might understand, lol. Thanks for lending a cyber ear. :)
I put a dowel through the first few tiers, then stacked the remaining ones. They were leaning a bit, and looking not-so-great. I drove in the 2nd dowel, and then the cake looked horrible. To make it worse, I spent so much time fooling around with the structure,that I didn't have much time to decorate. The cake looked awful on every level. Wahhhh!! I'm so embarrassed by it, and can't believe I made such an awful thing.. I don't know if it even made it through the reception without falling over. In a way, it might have been better if it had ... at least it wouldn't have stood there being a glaring monstrosity.
Well, I just wanted to whine a little to some folks who might understand, lol. Thanks for lending a cyber ear. :)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by jeri c on
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Mary Ann... I wish we lived closer... I would have loaned you my cake stackers system. It would be perfect for that kind of cake. They have one posted on their website and I want to try it so bad but not a reason to make one yet. I love this system but it is a lot of parts for a person to return.... Tim could probably make you one of them!!!
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Permalink Reply by Mary Ann Brooks on
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Sure wish I could have borrowed it!! Or I could have ordered it, if I had thought ... I had plenty of time. I do such a good job doweling my cakes, it didn't occur to me that I would have a problem.
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Permalink Reply by Bettina Dwyer on
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Oh you poor thing. At least you have to good grace to know you made a mistake. I have seen people who have delivered cakes and expressed surprise that people didn't think they were any good; AND expected to be paid for it! Cake wrecks are you out there?
You learn by your mistakes and next time it will be better. Don't be too down on yourself, it happens to us all at some stage. Mine was a dragon and castle cake; the client was quite happy with it, by I thought it was awful so I didn't charge them the full amount! But I learned from it and I am better for it.
Take heart.
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Permalink Reply by Lynne Salmon on
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Yes, as embarrising(sp?) as it is we do learn from such mistakes.
It helps to stack up pots, styro, or even cake pans to get a feel for how something will look.
I certainly can see where that size cake would not be steady; have a tendency to lean.
I personally will not do a cake like that because of the problems w/it's UNstablebility (is that a word? hehe).
You are the 'professional'. You need to learn to tell the client NO if it is not a good setup choise :)
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Permalink Reply by Audrey Vigh on
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I am very sorry to hear you had such a hard time with the cake. Just chalk it up to a lesson learned and drive on. What else can you do? I learn best from my screw ups anyway :) Try to not let it defeat you is all I am saying and next time make sure your support system is well planned out before starting.
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Thanks for the advice, everyone.
The bride's mother had paid for the cake in advance, but I've written a letter of apology, and will be refunding the full amount for the "wedding cake", such as it was. I've taken this hard, but life goes on ... live and learn, I guess.
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Mary Ann Brooks said:Thanks for the advice, everyone.
The bride's mother had paid for the cake in advance, but I've written a letter of apology, and will be refunding the full amount for the "wedding cake", such as it was. I've taken this hard, but life goes on ... live and learn, I guess.
Good on you for stepping up and taking responsibility. It can only enhance your reputation as being an honest cake artist. If the bride was upset and had to fight to get a refund imagine how much that word of mouth would have destroyed your image. You've done all the right things to make this better. Well done!
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Well, I was talking to my husband, Tim, tonight about the horrible cake. (He helped me with it Sunday, so he's knowledgeable about all of its flaws and my struggles with it.) He was shocked when I said that I was going to send a full refund to the couple, along with a letter of apology. He thought I was over-reacting, and that, although it wasn't my best work, it was worth getting paid for.
Tim is definitely my worst critic, and never hesitates to point out all the things that are wrong with each cake (like I don't notice them myself, lol.) So possibly, if he thinks it wasn't so bad, it may not have been. I do lean toward being a perfectionist, and I take it hard when I don't live up to my own standards ... there have been quite a few times that I thought a cake was horrible, and was all torn up about it, then found out later that the bride was thrilled. Tim thought I should just relax and see what kind of feedback I get, so I guess I'll follow his advice.
Sorry for the neurotic behavior, lol. I appreciate the moral support and advice. :)
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Hubby sent a pic of the cake to me. This, of course, is the front view. The side views (didn't get pics of those) are where the cake was leaning. I can see some places where the fondant/cake is bulgy and uneven, but the front view is ok from a distance.
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Michelle Mathuews cake.JPG, 226 KB
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Permalink Reply by Deah on
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Wow, Mary Ann, you are being too hard on yourself. I think it is wonderful. I can see a couple of things but it certainly isn't a disaster! If that were my cake I'd be proud of it.
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Permalink Reply by Anita on
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This looks great!! only small imperfections but to a non-cake designer they wouldn't notice
Mary Ann Brooks said:Hubby sent a pic of the cake to me. This, of course, is the front view. The side views (didn't get pics of those) are where the cake was leaning. I can see some places where the fondant/cake is bulgy and uneven, but the front view is ok from a distance.
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Permalink Reply by Hanadi Asad on
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Hello there,
I am new to this site and came across it looking for a way to apologize to client of mine. I too had a 6 tier wedding cake this weekend for a repeat client and I just got a phone call from the mother (who is also a family friend) and she was pretty harsh and unhappy. I did the cake along with some flowers for the wedding and although I agree it is not my best work, I cant help but feel super hurt by her comments and feel she is being too extreme.
It is a long and complicated story but maybe there was a little confusion because the bride was unaware that she was gonna get a 6 tier cake feeding 300 and her mom wanted to surprise her. I gave this lady a huge discount as a favor again since they are repeat customers. She said the cake was not good at all, not worth the amount we agreed upon, flowers were dead, etc. I am pregnant and maybe a little more sensitive these days but I was taken back when she said they cake was not as moist as the sample and that if the sample was a 9 then wedding cake was a 6? Why would not the sample cake be a 10..they seemed super happy with that.
Anyway, as I stand behind my work and in my heart do feel that it wasn't my best, I want to write a letter of apology and refund the money because I want all customer 100% happy. I am not a good writter and was hoping someone can help me ;-(
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