This is my second FBCT and it sunk... oh and this was supposed to be my first paid cake... I'll be giving her the cake and her money back. I really hate it but I don't feel right asking her to pay for it since it turned out so bad... she's a co-worker and a friend (it's for her son's birthday).

Here's the pic. It's supposed to be a soldier and helicopter... oh I hate even posting it but I should learn from my mistakes... any recommendations, ideas, suggestions?

where's that link for worst cakes when I need it???

I'm not sure where you say it sunk. It looks good to me. I do not see anything wrong with it. If this is bad I your good would blow me away...lol. Don't offer the money back. I'm sure she'll love it. Keep your confidence.

It may just be the picture does not show the imperfectinons, but the cake looks gooe - You were brave to do all that black!

I do agree with you though, if you are not happy with the quality, in offering to return at least part of the money. (again the cake looks ok, but in person you know best) Though it is definately a custom cake that she could not have got anywhere else! (I hope she tsk tsk's you and refuses to take the money!)

I am interested in what your co-worker thinks.

I think I see some "rippling" like where u are saying it sank... but still the cake is super cute in idea and decoration... Why dont you play it by ear and offer to give her next sheet cake order for free or half off if you still feel bad about it... great job it seems though (from over here in alabama lol)

looks good from here but this is aerial view and also cake bakers are their own worst critics lol- hard to tell- if you're worried, why not add a border around the edges - contrasting colour? sort of detract the eye from what you think is uneven?

and hard to say about offering money back or not-one of those things wehre you wonder if you should wait til she says something and then say i dontfeel comfortable taking money - it didnt turn out like i wanted- otherwise just keep quiet

good luck

I guess Ill be the lone voice of dissent lol. I wouldnt have known what the FBCT was if you hadnt written it in your OP. Im sorry, Im not trying to be mean but I dont see a soldier or a helicopter. Maybe its your picture though. Is it all black? I think thats why Im having a hard time seeing anything. If you have time to redo it Id use some other lighter colors to help show the details, like outline is a light grey and fill in with black and dark grey? When I did the FBCT of Mater for my Cars cake he was supposed to be all brown but if Id done that it would have looked like a big brown blob with eyes lol. So I used white, grey, black etc to show the details of his shape.

I think it looks good. Using a sillhouette of the soldier and helicopter is a nice effect. Don't be so hard on yourself!!

Thanks everyone for your comments. My co-worker actually loves it and has shown it to a few others here at work... ugh! Anyway, she said that she never would have noticed the sink (it is hard to see in the pic but noticable in person) if I hadn't pointed it out... I should have kept my big mouth shut... but she is a friend and I just didn't feel right about it. I gave her the money back and of course, she didn't accept the money and said that it's just what she wanted and wouldn't have been able to get something like it at the grocery store.

I really appreciate the feedback and definitely feel better about it now.

Thanks, Gina

Thanks for giving us an update - I am glad that she refused to take the money back and not suprised at all that she was thrilled with the cake.

If you ever notice, many 'bakery's' often have end products that if one of my cakes had turned out the same way, I would not be pleased with at all.

We are our own harshest critics. And as cake decorators we jusst see all the imperfections - not the final whole cake.

Well, I certainly didn't see it. It is a nice picture and I bet your friends son loved it! Good work regardless how hard you are on yourself!

Hi Gina and I think you did a great job!

I haven't done a TON of FBCTs but here's what I've learned. Your icing job on the cake has to be very smooth and flat. And the final coat of BC on the back (top) of the FBCT also has to be very smooth and flat. Once you marry them together they shouldn't sink at all then.

I would just offer one thought and my two cents about offering money back for a job you think is less than perfect. In offering it right off the bat, you could run the risk of offending the taste and sensibilties of your customer. If they think it's great, and you tell them it isn't, what message is that sending? If you think your job isn't great, keep it to yourself. They might think it is the best thing they've ever seen. If they don't, though, and happen to mention it, THEN swoop in and offer money back. But don't start out second-guessing yourself, it will ruin your confidence! And like coffeecake said, we are our own worst critics! Our eyes see every flaw, but most often our customers see only the total picture.

All in all I think this is a great job, and I do see the soldier and the helicopter just fine by the way!

I am glad she didn't let you give the $ back. I think it looked great. I agree with not feeling right about taking money if you don't feel good about the work. I am sooo guilty of that. Your friend was right though. You wouldn't be able to go to the supermarket and get something like you did. Good job on the cake!

Thanks everyone. Your support has been tremendous and I truly appreciate it.

DelightsByE - thanks for pointing out the customer point of view (a good point that I should do well to remember for the future).

I am so new to cake decorating and really get wrapped up in wanting every little detail to be perfect. We really are our own worst critics.