Decorating Someone Elses' Cake?????
Decorating By noosie Updated 12 Jun 2007 , 6:28pm by NEWTODECORATING
On a previous post I mentioned posting on craigslist and getting some unusual requests. I just received a second e-mail requesting if I would decorate a cake that someone else will be baking! 
Was wondering if anyone else has received a request like this. I know I would not feel comfortable doing that and would wonder if the baker would take all the credit or both decorating and baking contributions would be recognized???
Every time I've read a story about this type of thing it turns out bad and it makes the decorator look bad. If you don't know how to bake a cake properly for decorating no matter how good you are the cake will look bad. I remember reading (can't remember who it was) that was going to decorate a wedding cake that had been baked by someone else and it was a nightmare!!! The cake was baked all wonky, not really sturdy enough for stacking and the decorator was in tears try to get it somewhat right for the bride! Not worth the hassle imho!
unfortunately, I am in that same situation. My neighbor said about 3 months back, hey my son is getting married in June can you help me with the cake? I said sure,no problem. Well now (he has had some pastry classes) he wants to bake and me do the decorating. I am just not so sure about this situation, but will go through with it and pray it goes well. I will report back. Wedding is June 9th.
Oh my goodness....I was in the same position about a month ago! A customer called and asked "if I buy a sheet cake from WalMart, will you decorate it?" My answer was H#LL NO (not really, but I wanted to say it). I would never do this because if you do, you have lost ALL control of your product quality! If someone eats that cake and doesn't like it, they'll assume whoever decorated the cake, baked it also! I know I would. AND to boot, my customer wanted to help promote MY cake decorating at the party and asked for tons of business cards! Oh, the nerve.....but I don't blame folks who may ask, they just don't understand and haven't given it much thought before they ask!
Ugh. I did that ONCE. I was making the brides cake and the mother of the groom wanted to bake a special carrot cake for her son. She asked if I would add the "pretty shell border" when I was setting up the brides cake. Then she emailed all frantic becaue she was so busy and didn't know how to stack the cake. I told her I could help her the night before the wedding. Anyway, I get a call from her about 10 pm the night before and ask if she can come over with the cake. So I thought I was going to guide her in icing this cake but she comes over and says she's tired and has to get ready for the wedding the next day so she thanks me for decorating it and leaves. I'm thinking "what on earth"? So I grudgingly ice it and put a simple border on and bring it the next day. But I made sure not to take ANY credit for it. I pointed out it was made by the grooms's mother. Good Grief. Lesson learned. Luckily it tasted good. Not her icing though because she used low calorie ingredients for her cream cheese icing. 
What's the point in that?
I made sure to make then carry the cake like a week or ten days before the wedding( I can do that because Jamaicans use dark fruit cakes which is dosed in wine so texture or taste wont get affected). You will be more prepared in terms of knowing how stable the cake is if you get it early. It was an horrible cake though and I hope that no one thought I baked it. I however delivered and set up the cake so no one would have assume someone else baked it. So trust me I got all the credit good or bad. I did say to my sister I wish i could have left a disclaimer displayed concerning baking the cake. She did not take me serious I was though.
Just to be the devil's advocate, if you would accept a job like this, would you charge by the hour???
I ended up doing the same thing with this requesteor as I did with the first. I sent her links to websites that sell ready made gumpaste and RI flowers. Have any of you every used the ready made flowers and deco to decorate cakes you in turn sell? I have to say some of these websites seem to offer reasonable prices for nice product!
For the sunflower/daisy wedding cake I just did I used flowers I bought from wholesalesugarflowers.com and they were fantastic. Not a single broken flower and they looked great. I dusted the sunflowers with a little super pearl dust and viola-pretty good cake!
The bride knew that I wasn't making them and she was happy because their buget wouldn't have allowed for me to sit and hand make them!
Every time I've read a story about this type of thing it turns out bad and it makes the decorator look bad. If you don't know how to bake a cake properly for decorating no matter how good you are the cake will look bad. I remember reading (can't remember who it was) that was going to decorate a wedding cake that had been baked by someone else and it was a nightmare!!! The cake was baked all wonky, not really sturdy enough for stacking and the decorator was in tears try to get it somewhat right for the bride! Not worth the hassle imho!
I don't know if you're remembering me, but that's exactly what happened to me. Never, never again. There is more to making a great-looking cake than just decorating it. You have to have skill and knowledge from the beginning to the end.
Not her icing though because she used low calorie ingredients for her cream cheese icing.
What's the point in that?
AAhahahaha! 
I so agree with you!!! I like to say "full fat, full flavor!!!" 
I've never come across this issue, but if it ever did come up, there's no way I'd do it. Like everyone else said, there's too much to go wrong!!
Here's my story. If it doesn't scare you, nothing else will:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-119551.html
For the sunflower/daisy wedding cake I just did I used flowers I bought from wholesalesugarflowers.com and they were fantastic. Not a single broken flower and they looked great. I dusted the sunflowers with a little dust and viola-pretty good cake!
The bride knew that I wasn't making them and she was happy because their buget wouldn't have allowed for me to sit and hand make them!
Wow, dodibug!!! Your cake is awesome. Luv, luv, luv the quilting pattern. Looks perfect and the flowers really do add just the right touch. Were thay attached to wire or did you just place them on top with a little bc/RI for glue??
I have only seen a situation like this go good ONCE. The bakery I use to work in one of the girls was getting married. Her grandmother used to decorate cakes, but as she was getting older was unable to anymore. So one of the other declorators offered to decorate the cake after the grandma made the cakes.
She must have had the magic line pans b/c the next time the decorator came in she couldn't stop talking about how straight the pans were. I think it was chance that the situation turned out this good but it was a beautiful and tasty cake!
Every time I've read a story about this type of thing it turns out bad and it makes the decorator look bad. If you don't know how to bake a cake properly for decorating no matter how good you are the cake will look bad. I remember reading (can't remember who it was) that was going to decorate a wedding cake that had been baked by someone else and it was a nightmare!!! The cake was baked all wonky, not really sturdy enough for stacking and the decorator was in tears try to get it somewhat right for the bride! Not worth the hassle imho!
I don't know if you're remembering me, but that's exactly what happened to me. Never, never again. There is more to making a great-looking cake than just decorating it. You have to have skill and knowledge from the beginning to the end.
I thought it was you but I wasn't sure and was too lazy to go look !
I remember reading that and I felt so sorry for you because it clearly did not reflect how beautiful your work is!
Wow, dodibug!!! Your cake is awesome. Luv, luv, luv the quilting pattern. Looks perfect and the flowers really do add just the right touch. Were thay attached to wire or did you just place them on top with a little bc/RI for glue??
Thank you so much! The leaves had wire but the flowers didn't. I just used a little dab of bc to get them to stick to the cake. I was really happy with it since I wasn't sure when she brought me the pic of the cake but in the end I really liked it. If I ever need flowers like that again I will def use wholesale again!
Well I said I would post back when it was over....turned out ok. I feel like a big cheater though. I used his cake and car64mona's design (with her permission) It is in my pics.
It was really pretty good! He has some pastry school behind him but no decorating experience.
don't go getting to impressed Dodibug--it is a impression that I piped over--please don't tell me you thought I did that free hand
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