The Cake From Hell (Pics)

Decorating By domestic_diva Updated 30 Sep 2007 , 2:31pm by indydebi

domestic_diva Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
domestic_diva Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 3:54am
post #1 of 22

Everything that could possibly go wrong DID.

I should have known right from the beginning this would be the cake
from hell when I did my math wrong when multiplying the ingredients for
the batter.

Somehow I realized after making a huge batch of the yellow cake batter, that
I had mixed in about THREE times the amount of BUTTER that was required!
I also had put in about 1/2 cup too much milk...I know very well how crucial exact measurements
are in baking but nevertheless I tried adding here and there to balance it out so I could
salvage the batch. Put it in the oven....

And a few minutes later I look over and two of the pans are OVERFLOWING into
the oven!!! Batter is burning onto the bottom of the stove, horrible burning smell and smoke.
Disaster. But, I clean it up as best as I could took out some of the batter from the overflowing cakes
and I thought all was well. The cakes rose appropriately, they looked beautiful. I thought
I had avoided disaster!

Few hours later after they cool, I start to level them and EW!!!! I tasted the beautiful cakes
and they were DISGUSTING!!!!! Not sweet at all they tasted like mayonaise. (I usually put
a little amount of sour cream in my cakes, we were out, instead I put some mayonaise...not
successful) So I was forced to throw away all the cakes from that batch. Big big big waste.
I had no money left to buy more ingrediants so fortunatly I was able to scrape together enough
leftovers to make a new batch.

I go to do the frosting. Now I always make way too much frosting than I really need.
It's good to over estimate but lately I've been over over over estimating and I waste a whole
lot of frosting that's left over. So this time I tried to make a little less than I normally would.
Well, you guessed it, I RAN OUT of frosting for the last tier. I had NO time to make more, no
money to make more and no supplies to make more. So yes, I frosted the top tier with
frosting FROM A CAN (Wilton's Ready Made). I had some of this in my pantry from a day at my
Wilton class when we needed frosting. Disgusting fake flavor.

Next day....I go to stick the dowel in through all the tiers and couldn't seem to get it to match up
to the holes I had made in the bottom of the cake boards. So I decided to scratch that idea.
I was stressed out, starving and sleep deprived by this time and the clock was ticking for the delivery.
I was already unsatisfied with the appearance of the cake because I was in a hurry.
But I still put it all together and took pictures at home before I left. Good thing I did....

I divided the cake in half for transport, the top three tiers were sitting next to me in the seat in the car.
It was a hot August day and the sun was making the frosting bulge. My trip was about 30 minutes and
through alot of stop and go traffic...not 2 blocks away from the reception site I was forced to slam on the
brakes to avoid collison and.....THE CAKE FELL.....the top two tiers went tumbling into the
floorboard. It was HORRIBLE!!!!! I tried to piece it together in the car because the last thing I wanted
to do is present it to the bride in that state but I was very unsuccessful as my "emergency kit" was limited
and it was difficult in the car.

My mind was racing so then I got LOST because I was in an area I've never been before.
So then I called my mom just because I needed to talk to someone. As soon as I was talking to her I just
started crying like crazy...I'm not a crier, I rarely cry but it was uncontrollable.

Finally, I showed up at the wedding site and their family and friends were EVERYWHERE outside the door,
in the parking lot, in the buidling. Here I had to walk this long, long, long walk of SHAME through
all of these relatives with the pieces of their broken wedding cake in my hands. I wanted to die.

Thankfully they had a wedding planner and a kitchen at the reception site, so I took the crumbled
pieces and she wanted me to try to piece them together. I ran out to the nearest grocery store and bought
some crappy ready-made Pillsbury frosting and used it to glue together the cake. The top two tiers
were history and I had to throw them away, the bottom three looked like crap but weren't as bad.
So that's what they got. I set it up on the table just minutes before the guests started to trickle in.
Then I got in my care and got the heck out of there!

Obviously I didn't ask for any money for the cake, so that was bad because I really needed the money.
When I got home, I cleaned the kitchen and my car from top to bottom. I even scrubbed the floors
on my hands and knees. Somehow it was therapudic to wipe all rememberance of the cake from my
house.


What a HORRIBLE day.

Before:

Image

After about three hours of trying to piece together at reception site (this was the GOOD side) :

Image

21 replies
cakenutz Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cakenutz Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:08am
post #2 of 22

Only thing I see to your benefit is they didn't have to eat Wilton icing LOL. I"m sorry icon_cry.gif that whole scene was so tragic I hope you get over it and have a better cake day. thumbs_up.gif ((((((((HUG)))))))))

Badeerah Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Badeerah Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:08am
post #3 of 22

It doesn't look that bad. I think since you knew what happened to it you are being very critical of how it turned out. Granted the before does look better but the after is okay too. Stop kicking yourself, it wasn't your fault. How does the saying go " Sometime you eat the dog and sometimes the dog eats you."

nefgaby Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
nefgaby Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:10am
post #4 of 22

Oh my!! I'm so sorry you went through hell with this cake!! (((hugs))) Well, looking on the brigther side, you didn't get involved in a car accident thumbs_up.gif (1), the bride got a cake, maybe not the one you had planned for her, but she got one icon_smile.gif (2) and I bet your learned something, right icon_rolleyes.gif (3)
Cheer up girl!!! And sorry for the $ thing!

delta95 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
delta95 Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:10am
post #5 of 22

Oh my gosh, honey!!! You poor thing! I think you should have just slowly walked away back in the beginning when your batter concoctions weren't working out!
I can't believe you even salvaged it as well as you did considering. And I'm sorry, but your 'walk of shame' reference made me laugh. icon_smile.gif
Hope the next one works out better than this one. Can't get any worse, right? LOL
Hang in there!

Lorendabug Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Lorendabug Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:11am
post #6 of 22

I am really sorry for everything that happened to you. But it sounds like you did the best you could to recover. I hope you don't have to ever go through that again.

Suzycakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Suzycakes Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:13am
post #7 of 22

I love the colors and the design!! I am so sorry this happened to you. But you did a great job of recovery on the cake. Don't let this get you down - the next one will go smoother.

I am absolutely convinced that I will never, ever have enough nerve or guts to travel with a cake that has been preassembled at all. If I can't get there early enough to assemble and finish decorating, then I think I'll have to refuse the job. That would be way to stressful for me -- it makes my heart race just thinking about traveling with a tiered cake!!

Anyhows - You really do have a great eye for color and design - the cake was really beautiful.

patriciaab668 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
patriciaab668 Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:13am
post #8 of 22

so sorry this happened to you <<<<<hugs>>>>>>

MandyBs Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MandyBs Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:17am
post #9 of 22

I'm so sorry for all your troubles!! My stomach started to hurt just reading your post. Your cake still looks beautiful - I'm sure the bride was happy with it. At least you were able to be composed enough to fix it - that's a true professional! I know you'll get more orders soon to make up for the lost income.

rcopeland Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
rcopeland Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:17am
post #10 of 22

OH MY GOSH! My heart and hugs go out to you! But I think you did a GREAT JOB of salvaging the bottom tiers under all the circumstances. This would be my worst fears coming true. I would probably still be crying after the day you had. Way to hang in there and never give up. I never seem to sleep a wink whenever I have a big cake order for fear of disaster and going over and over every detail in my head.

beemarie Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
beemarie Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:24am
post #11 of 22

You poor thing--my heart goes out to you. But I do have to agree with the previous poster. I just love the colors and design, a beautiful job! Hang in there and these terrible feelings will pass.

lorrieg Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
lorrieg Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 4:31am
post #12 of 22

When I started reading your post I thought there wouldn't be anything but mush to show for all your hard work. I'm so glad there was something good to come out of it. Love the colours and I doubt it was as bad as you feel it was. You'll laugh about it some day.

sunnybono Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sunnybono Posted 21 Sep 2007 , 9:06pm
post #13 of 22

I'm just freaked about about the mayonaise. Did you use it in the re-doctored cake? Did it taste ok? Sorry for your terrible debacle. I do love your colors and your eye for design. What did you learn?

lomikesa Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
lomikesa Posted 23 Sep 2007 , 3:16am
post #14 of 22

I am so sorry this happened to you. I haven't had any disaster yet! but when I read all these disaster stories, is like lessons for me to look out for.

LaSombra Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
LaSombra Posted 23 Sep 2007 , 7:18am
post #15 of 22

oh man, I feel so bad for you. That had to be the most stressful cake I've ever heard of! You did a good job of salvaging it and I think you did good just being able to force yourself to do that "walk of shame."

It was a beautiful cake before hand and it wasn't too bad after you fixed it up.

DianeLM Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
DianeLM Posted 23 Sep 2007 , 12:43pm
post #16 of 22

Awwwww (((((((HUGS))))))) I am so sorry this happened to you! I really admire your fortitude. You didn't let anything slow you down. You just marched on and tackled your mission! You taught those cake demons not to mess with you. It was a lovely cake before and after!

Doug Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Doug Posted 23 Sep 2007 , 8:00pm
post #17 of 22

if I could get my buttercream cakes to turn out even HALF as good as your "after" I'd be bustin' with pride (your before is SOOOO far out of reach!)

like a true trouper you made sure the show went on!

Kudos to you!

now, please, big deep breaths to get out all the tension, add your fav. drink and your fav. indulgence.

then look forward to better cake times ahead.

DEBBIE157 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
DEBBIE157 Posted 24 Sep 2007 , 7:54pm
post #18 of 22

[quote="sunnybono"]I'm just freaked about about the mayonaise. Did you use it in the re-doctored cake? Did it taste ok? [quote]

A friend of mine has a recipe for making cholocate cake using mayonaise, and it's very delicious!!

I am also so sorry for your cake loss! But you did a good job on the fix-up!!

I remember, my Wilton instructor said to NEVER put a cake on the seat. If you have to stop short... well you know the story. She said always put it on the floor or a stable surface. (There's too many crazy drivers out there!!

Debbie

domestic_diva Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
domestic_diva Posted 27 Sep 2007 , 7:35pm
post #19 of 22

Thank you all for your support !

Answers to your questions:
I'm actually pretty new to cake decorating, I started my first Wilton class May of this year. But, I'm a long time artist (fine art) and painter, so I sort of have a knack for creativity and design. I also LOVE working in the kitchen so cake decorating was my calling!

Alwayzmakincake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Alwayzmakincake Posted 29 Sep 2007 , 9:51pm
post #20 of 22

Hi,

icon_surprised.gif

I've had a horrible day, but after I read this, I see mine is not so bad. I feel sooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad for you. That's awful! Hugs, hugs, hugs..... I think it still looked very pretty, though. You were very brave to walk in there and salvage it like that.

I'm so sad for you!! Just forget it and go on.

Michele

annacakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
annacakes Posted 30 Sep 2007 , 2:04pm
post #21 of 22

Bless you. A cake disaster makes you feel like crap - especially a wedding cake. Take heart. You've had your "major" disaster...it's over and done with. I'm still waiting for mine.

A tip. Always transport on the floor. Transport cakes un-assembled. Always. It will save you a lot of grief.

indydebi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
indydebi Posted 30 Sep 2007 , 2:31pm
post #22 of 22

What a terrible day for you, you poor thing! But the cakes that survived were the larger ones, so the bride had plenty of cake.

I'm confused on why you would substitute mayo for sour cream? Sour cream is a dairy (cream) product and mayo is eggs and oil. Just because they are both cold and white, doesn't make them interchangeable. (That story hit close to home....my mother was out of milk while making mashed potatoes and used mayo instead. NASTY!!!)

I've only just started using the dowel-thru-the-center of the cake (I've done a whopping 3 now) since CC'ers have encouraged me to get out of the box .... from what I've read on here, you don't have to pre-make the holes and then try to find them ... that seems hard to do, to me. I did what a lot of CC'ers recommend ... sharpen the end of the dowel and hammer it down thru the cardboards. It pops thru very easy.

And just in your Lessons Learned column, you can add "cakes do not travel on car seats ... only on flat surfaces". thumbs_up.gif

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%