Hello Everyone

this is a long one, sorry

So, I need some advise.. I had my first paid cake order over the weekend and I am friendly with the woman who I made the cake for (our kids play together)
Long story short... I made a sheet cake for her daughter's birthday, I made the filling ahead of time and put it in the refigator over night..This is my filling recipe ** 1 cup of whippping Cream, one box of dry pudding mix and crushed oreo's**
So, I make my cake Friday night, wait for it to cool and prepare to put the filling in.. The filling is so googey and sticky.. The cake is ripping, so it is a complete mess.. I throw the whole cake out (now by this time, it is 10:30 at night.. I either have to run to 3 towns over to the 24 hours Stop & Shop to start all over or wake up early in the am.. So, I set my alarm for 4:00 am, drive to the 24 hour Stop & Shop and start all over.. I made the cake over, re did the filling and finally finshed the cake.. BUT, I am so not happy with the way the filling turned out.. It wasn't as googy, but it was still stiff and I had a hard time spreading it..Everyone loved the cake at the party, but I didn't. I don't think I should of gotton paid on it and I'm afraid that they said that they liked it only to be polite.
I am so upset.. The last time, I made the same filling, I was beating it for about 5 mintues before it started to take form, this time, it was instance that it took form..

I have a call into the mom (our daughter's have a playdate on Wed) I want to tell her that I'm not happy with the filling and offer her some of her $$ back and also to ask her if she has any complanats about the cake..

I'm wondering if 2 things could of gone wrong..
1)Do you think I could of over beated the whipping cream?
2) For the pudding, is there a difference if I use instand pudding mix or regular pudding mix.

Thanks so much for listening, I'm so upset.. My first paid cake order and I was in the negative at 4:00 in the morning for profit..
Carissa

Yes there is a big difference between instant and regular pudding. The regular pudding mixes need to be cooked with the milk, while the instant does not. It sets up just by whipping with cold milk.
I think you are being too hard on yourself. If they thought the cake was good and they ate it then I'm sure they were not just being nice. We are our own hardest critics. I would let it be and not offer a refund

I agree with manahigh. Give yourself a break. If they didn't like it you would know. Don't plant negatives in your friends mind about it else next time she might use someone else.

I agree with manahigh as well. If they loved it let it be. You worked hard and did your best at 4 in the morning. I would not offer money back then they might think something was wrong with it.

Definitely do not offer to give the money back. They were going to have to pay for a cake anyway--so they definitely are not thinking of getting a refund. I'm sure that the cake was great!!! When we make things it is really hard to see past all the mistakes and problems and just see the final result as great. I too had a bad experience with a first time paid cake, just take a deep breath and relax. Again, I'm sure you're cake was great-besides, who doesn't like cookies and cream filling.

NO REFUND! Take your profit (OR LOSS!) and be happy in that you made a great effort to get it just right She would have said something if it was bad, right?

Want to know what I use for oreo "mousse" filling? one box of instant Jello cookies & cream pudding and 2 cups of heavy/whipping cream - tastes great!

deb

I agree with the others. We are always hardest on ourselves. when she calls back, say, hey you know I'm new to this and was just wanting some feedback, always looking to get better. ((HUGS))

This is the hardest part... knowing you could have done something better! Whatever you do, DO NOT tell her that you weren't satisfied with it. She probably thought it was great and had no idea that it was thicker than you normally like to make it. If you start second guessing yourself and offering refunds, you will be headed down a death spiral! Just do your best to figure out what happened and try to prevent it in the future! Be confident!!

Want to know what I use for oreo "mousse" filling? one box of instant Jello cookies & cream pudding and 2 cups of heavy/whipping cream - tastes great!

deb

No refund !!!! Im sure if she has any complaint at all or if she wants to question any part of the cake she will ask you about it ! The cookies and cream filling in the WBH book is very very good !

Congrats on your first paid order!!! Made you smile didn't it?!

I agree that you know something about the cake that you don't like but keep it to yourself. I believe all of us look at our work and think we should have done something different/better, etc. I also believe that most people don't notice things that we do.

Now, go spend your money on yourself!!!

I second and third and fourth the congratulations on the paid order, you are off to something wonderful now. Your cakes looks nice in your gallery. I am sure you are just reacting to the "I hated it" factor, not to mention from your story you were probably working on zero with such a short night of sleep... which if you like most of us you don't sleep well before something big to do with cake is happening. I wouldn't offer the money back... I never do this unless certain things happen, A. the customer is unhappy and asks for a refund... or B. I told them I would use a product that I couldn't, like this last week I couldn't get my hands on gold dragees, so since my customer prepaid for their cake, I deducted the amount I would have paid for the dragees...and gave it to her when I delivered. I am sure the cake didn't taste bad, you are just sensitive right now.... if she is worried about it, she would have called by now.... don't bring it up at the playdate unless you want to say something like "thanks for letting me do that cake... refer a paying customer and I will give you xx% off your next cake order!" If she hated it or was disatisfied you will be able to tell in her reaction to that statement... good luck and keep us posted!

Now look here little gal.........if you are going to be in this business you better develop a thick skin right now or you will be a nervous wreck and sick all the time!
They are right....don't you dare offer a refund. You made the cake, they all seemed to like it........**end of story**! You earned every penny you got for it. Move on to the next event. Keep your chin up. In the end you will win

Awww - don't be so hard on yourself! I'm sure they were very happy with the cake. Sometimes, ok most times, we are our own worst critics. There have been plenty of times I've not been happy with the way a cake has turned out but the recipient thought it was just the greatest thing ever! And I'm sure that the pudding mix had something to with it too.
Another thing I noticed you said was that you baked the cakes and then waited for them to cool etc...have you ever thought of baking your cakes the day before? I do that and it really helps to let the cakes "settle" before I start to tort and ice them.
My cookies n' cream filling consists of just that - crushed up oreos folded into whipped cream. Super easy and tastes great!

Good luck to you always!

Please, Please do not call her and asked her if she has any complaints about the cake. If she did, she would have let you know and they would not have eaten the cake. Also please do not tell her you were not happy with the product and offer her money back. You do not want to be come known as the want to complain to and get a free cake.

As far as the filling, I have mixed the cookie crumbs with buttercream before for a yummy filling. Something I noticed is that while it was a great consistancy when I made it, it got thicker as it sat. Why? Because the cookies will absorb some of the 'liquid' and cause the filling to thicken up. This is what could have happened with the first recipe with it sitting over night.

Try making the recipe again. If it is still too thick you may need to add a little more liquid to soften the filling up. If that doesn't work you may want to look for a new recipe.

I wouldn't call to offer a refund. I'm sure if she wasn't completely happy, she would say something. I think people can only be polite to a certain degree. But, someone will let you know they are not happy.

I too take my buttercream icing and add crushed oreos for filling. I always get compliments on that. No making additional filling. Just taking a little buttercream and a few crushed cookies and voila, cookies and cream filling!

I'm sure it was great!