Did I say NEVER? I mean NEVER EVER!! OMG! I'm so upset you guys. A lot of you know I do a lot of cake decorating. Well tonight I learned a huge lesson. I made a really big two tiered cake for a friend's surpise party. It was very heavy because I torted and filled it with TONS of filling , not to mention it was for 65 people. It was easily 17 or 18" tall.
Anyway, when I went to take it in, my friend's step Dad said he'd carry it in from the parking lot for me. So I stupidly said that would be great. Now let me mention that is man was ...well...how can I put it nicely....very large in the belly area. So he picks up the huge box out of my van, could barley get his arms in front of his belly, let alone around the box and TILTS the entire thing!!! Then adjusts his grip and the box goes totally slamming up against his stomach. Then he stops three times in the parking lot to readust his grip, (even though the box had handles) and totally tips the box over and over. He bent down and I looked in the box and about dropped dead right then and there!! The whole cake was completely smooshed against the side of the box, totally collapased onto itself and a huge glob of mess.
I've never been so embarrassed. I wanted to bawl. He finally makes it to the outside party area and I went right up to the lady who paid for the cake and she could see something was wrong. I had to compose myself so as not to break down and told her it was ruined. The man never said a word. No wait....he did. He tells me on the way in after I see the MESS, "The cake must be very soft". WEll NO SH$T Sherlock!! DUH!!!!!
I worked for 6+ hours on this cake and it was completely ruined. I was able to salvage the top tier although one side was crushed in. I wanted to hide the whole thing away so nobody could see but the lady decided to leave it right on the table. ACK!! Then she cut and served the big mess.
Makes me second guess my stacking abilities though too. I know it was heavy and I know it had tons of filling so it could slide but you CAN NOT TILT THE CAKE!! DUH!!! Goes to show people just don't get it. I know he could see it before he even picked it up, it wasn't like a flat sheet cake. ( Not that you'd tilt those either.) But my gosh. How embarrassing and dissapointing. Lesson learned. I will carry my own cakes no matter how heavy they are from now on.
KimAZ
OMG!!!!!!! I am in shock! I would have.......well, I don't know what I would have done but MAN!!!!!
I love your use of the smilies and your Sherlock comment! I like you, not that I didn't before but I definately see that you and I have something in common. We all have those lessons learned but you'd think you could trust a grown man to do something like carry a cake LEVEL!!!!!!!
Amy
OMGosh!! I feel for you sooo much!! I cannot imagine what I would've done...yes I can, but I can't say here...lol And then the nerve of him to blame it on you making a 'soft cake'???!!!! GGGRRRRRR!!!! It would've been hard for me to bite my lip on that one, that's for sure! I made a rule in the beginning to never ever ever ever let anyone other than myself transport or carry the cakes I make...and when they offer I usually say something like 'Thanks, but I'd rather do it. That way if I drop it or smash it to pieces I'll have no one to be mad at but myself.' That usually gets the point across and they realize they really don't want the responsibility anyway...lol. My DH and in-laws don't even bother to ask anymore...they just automatically ask where I'm headed and start getting doors and stuff open for me...lol. So sorry this happened to you...but I bet the cake was delicious!!
and with a side order of #$%#$%#$%#$%#$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe someone would do that!!!! Why wouldn't he just admit he couldn't carry it!! or at the very least hold the @#$#@ thing still!?
I would have seriously balled my eyes out, after ripping out my hair and doing things to the man that would send me straight to And what a piddly freaking man to not ADMIT he @$@@#-uped the cake!! I hope the woman who paid for understood how hard you worked on it and that this WASNT YOUR FAULT! I feel so bad for you, I could only imagine how I would have reacted.
These are going to be one of those cake stories that you will be telling to your grandkids someday!
I am sooo sorry that happened to you and your lovely cake! I would have been so upset if that had happened to me. Personally, I would have taken it away from him the first time I saw him struggle with it. I would have told him that you have to be very gentle. That's just so horrible. What an experience!
Lazy_Susan
I SOoooo have a fear of this happening! I never let anyone else carry my cakes. I almost DIED when a customer picked up a cake and was rough going to their car with it..then I thought...oh well..she SAW it b4...its her problem now.
That's horrible!! I'm so sorry all of your hard work came smashing down because of that silly man!!! If he would have at least apologized or shown SOME remorse at RUINING your creation I would feel bad for him too! I would feel terrible if I dropped one of my own cakes - can't imagine how I would feel if I dropped someone elses!!
And you didn't kill him?!?!? I applaud you for your self control!!! I'm so sorry for what happened. I hope the woman understood that it wasn't your fault and I sincerely hope that you didn't lose any business from this..
Well, I guess you can send her the picture? That just stinks and I'm with everyone else on carrying your own cake. My DH is the ONLY one I allow to carry, but he has a great appreciation for what I do!
Lesson learned.....so sorry it had to be learned this way!
So sorry that this fat, out of shape man destroyed your beautiful cake .
I never let anyone carry my cakes, if something is going to happen, then let it happen with me; after all, I decorated it .
JennT, I tell people the same thing about wanting the responsiblity for messing up the cake. People have good intentions but they don't understand--THESE ARE OUR BABIES!!! LOL!!!
I politely tell them, they can help me by holding the door open.
KimAZ--your cakes are amazing. My heart aches for you on this. Keep up the great work.
Oh Kim, I am so sorry that happened to you.Your work is so beautiful. It wasn't the 30th birthday cake in your photos was it? I guess it wouldn't matter which one it was because they are all beautiful, but I especially love that one. It sounds like you handled yourself very gracefully( not kicking in his head & all ) & I'm sure the cake tasted wonderful!Sorry, I wish I had some great words of wisdom, but you caught me half caffinated(is that a word?)
I am very sorry that this happened, and right at the site when it was too late to salvage. I have never had anything like this happen to me to this extent. I think I would have collapsed myself, expecially after putting so much time into it, and then disappointing the host and possibly the people at the gathering. People who are not in the business, generally just don't know how to carry a cake. You handled a very stressful situation beautifully.
Can't do it now, but (it's easy to say now) I'd have liked to take a picture with the guy next to the cake before he started with it, then shown the picture to the women who ordered it. That way not only she, but everyone there would have known he screwed up.
Maybe something that would be a good investment would be a small roll around cart that you could =put the cake(s) on to get them from your car/truck/van to the destination. That way it won't have much of chance to get tilted. - (Maybe he's a big pinball fan?)
That said, Men, you can't trust them to do anything right.
yep, that Stinks and badly. so sorry it happened
but as one of those fat guys (my avatar and I are basically the same shape, ah well)
and repeating the advice that many other wiser-than-I decorators here and elsewhere have said:
never, oh never transport a cake prestacked....even if lousey, clumsey help carrying it in doesn't get you, there's the idiot in the other car, the pothole, the stupid animal in the road, the fight between the kids who couldn't be left at home, etc. that will see to it the cake is damaged.
better safer, tiers separate, and stack it at the venue.
Awww...thank you ALL for such nice comments. I have been stressing over this cake disaster all night and came this morning to read all your kind words. Thank you!!
The lady called me this morning to thank me again for doing the cake and totally understood it wasn't my fault for ruining it. I even offered to refund her money because I still feel so bad. She's a personal friend of mine. She wouldn't hear of it. And she told me everyone commented on how good it tasted. ( phew!) So that makes me feel slightly better.
THEN ....someone rings my doorbell this morning and was here to pick up her cake. I FORGOT TO MAKE IT!!!!! I swear you guys...I'm going to blow a gasket!! Thankfully she is a repeat customer and her party isn't until this evening. She insisted that it was ok and told me not to stress. ( too late!!) So I sit here with the cake in the oven, praying for it to get done faster than humanly possible then will deliver it this afternoon. Good grief, I feel like THE biggest dork!! I'm making it bigger than she ordered to hopefully make up for my stupid mistake. Please tell me I'm not the only one who's forgotten someone's order? ACK!!!!
I don't drink but right about now I think a Jack and Coke might be in order.
KimAZ
I am Sooooooo sorry for that horrible thing to have happened.
I let my DH read your post. I said"NOW DO YOU SEE WHY I DON"T LET ANYONE CARRY MY CAKES"? He finally gets it! When ever I've delivered a cake somewhere I refuse all help offered, I just say "Just clear me a path, and get the doors". I have made 4-5 trips, but if it gets messed up, it will be MY fault.
PS just read your last post. Better wait until AFTER the cake is delivered for the Jack and Coke! We wouldn't want another mess, would we? Jack and CAKE? OH NO! just trying to humor things up a bit.
I wonder if anyone will get the idea behind why at the Food Network Competition that aired a few months ago, they had to do the "obsticle course". It made as much sense to me then, as it does now. It's just "one of Cake Central's own" in this case.
AWwwww Kim...sounds like you are on overload girl! Do ya need a breather? I know sometimes when things are going all crazy for me I like to step away for a bit. I am sure as experienced as ya are you dont often forget to make a cake..maybe your subconcious is telling you to take a little break! Try to take a "YOU" day soon! Until then know that we all sympathize!
Egads that is a real cake disaster to be sure. You poor thing!
I feel for you.
My biggest fear is forgetting about a cake too...I always mark it on my calendar right then and there or I know I'll forget too!
Remember this too shall pass
Kim don't worry we all have these days. I have forgotten to make a cake myself. It happens...pass me the jack & coke please
Kim, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Yep. Live and learn.
I've had people offer to help me carry cakes in when I'm setting up for a wedding. I try to kindly decline their offers; or give them something else to carry in besides cake! I don't want to say "I don't trust you, so no thanks" LOL but I know they would feel bad and I would feel bad if something happened to that cake; not to mention how the bride and groom would feel! I don't think people realize how heavy or fragile these cakes can be.
And yep, I've forgotten a cake order...once. In order to get it done last minute (after they called and I realized my mistake) I had to get my parents to deliver a 3-tiered wedding cake (already stacked!). Stupid me! I can't believe I did that to my parents...I was young! LOL If I had to do it all over again I would have just apologized for forgetting the birthday cake (a friend's order) and made sure I delivered the wedding cake myself. According to my parents it made the trip fine but that was not smart sending someone else to deliver that cake that had no idea what to do if something had gone wrong...
If everything always went well, we wouldn't have fun stories to tell!
Kim,
I was cringing when I read what happened!!!! I do not ever let people carry my cakes!!! I even make a lot of deliveries because I do not trust people with them in their cars!
Were you able to get a picture of the cake before it was damaged??? It sounds like you put a lot of work in it!
This will pass...lesson learned! I hope you have a better cake week for your upcoming orders!
Oh Kim, what a horrible weekend! I would be crying hysterically if that happened to me! I hope you're able to relax tonite - Go ahead and have that Jack & Coke - you certainly earned it!
You all surely make me feel better. Thank you! I did take a photo of the cake before the disaster. It's the purple scrapbook "30" cake in my profile.
It's great to have CC to come to for so many reasons and having you all who understand is so awesome! Thanks again!
KimAZ
I am so sorry that happened to you!! However, I am glad I learned my lesson without actually experiencing it!
Oh my god what a nightmare, made worse by being able to see how beautiful it was before he got it.
I'm sorry but I think if it was me, he'd be dead now, well one of us would be, I bet he was that daft he didn't even realise how awful it must have felt for you.
OMG KIM... I am feeling you pain I so totally understand. I always have a cow when someone picks up my cakes and dont have A clue about how to properly support them. My mom is a Good example of this. She ordered a few cakes then she asked me to drop them off at the events and I hand them over and she will grip them by the edge of the cake board. I always yell like I am in labour when she does that.
I will check to see if the place where I need to deliver to has some type of trolley that will support the cake this way I know it's not gonna get all MAN-handled aka mishandled.
Dont worry, we have a few rum and cokes for you KIM
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