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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Birthday cake disaster, what would you do?

156 replies

Cakeybreakyheart · 01/03/2015 21:41

I bought DP a birthday cake for a v special birthday, we didn't have a chance to cut it at his party.

We cut it today to start giving it out to people.

The cake itself looks fab but it's totally inedible. Dry, very very heavy consistency almost bread-like.

It doesn't taste very nice at all and I'm just gutted about it. You really couldn't even force a piece down.

Would you tell the person who made it? I paid over £50.

What would you expect them to say/do?

OP posts:

farewellfigure · 02/03/2015 15:08

I make cakes for people and luckily have never had a complaint. But if someone was unhappy I'd want to know definitely, so you've done the right thing OP. They should appreciate the feedback to give them a chance to change their recipe.

I wonder if they made a Madeira cake rather than sponge as they hold the icing up better. These can sometimes be very dry and crumbly if they're even a teenie bit overcooked. And it's awful if you're expecting a lovely soft Victoria Sponge type cake. I always try and steer my customers away from them as they're very easy to get wrong!

Good luck and I hope they're willing to refund.

Original poster

Cakeybreakyheart · 02/03/2015 15:09

I picked it up from their house - to be honest I thought given the address it was a shop but I don't think that makes a difference really.

OP posts:

TheCunnyFunt · 02/03/2015 15:14

It sounds vile! Let us know what happens after they've tried it OP.

farewellfigure · 02/03/2015 15:15

House or shop, they shouldn't be selling naff inedible cake!

CharityD · 02/03/2015 15:17

Don't let them try to blame you for it being inedible!

Original poster

Cakeybreakyheart · 02/03/2015 15:19

That's what I'm worried about CharityD.

Thanks everyone though. I was going to let it go as I'm just so tired, but DM and DP (rightly) insisted we at least tell them and see what they say.

OP posts:

blueberrymuffffin · 02/03/2015 15:22

Sorry I was just trying to establish the size of the company. You're right it doesn't really make any difference. But a larger company will often bake a huge tray of sponge and then cut out the size they need, so each sponge is often not made to order. However, I'd imagine they're recipe and quality would be more consistent.
A smaller baker, say someone working for themselves, would usually make each cake to order but some make them in advance and freeze.

A Victoria sponge is very delicate and breaks easily when you decorate it. I personally use a recipe which kind of sits between a Victoria sponge and a Madeira cake, so it's like a Victoria sponge recipe but with a little bit of plain flour and a touch of glycerine. I also bake it with a bowl of water in the oven.

I end up with a light, moist cake which is firm enough to ice and carve in to different shapes and tastes amazing

blueberrymuffffin · 02/03/2015 15:23

Btw it's supposed to be kept at room temperature, putting it in the fridge would have ruined the icing x

Joolsy · 02/03/2015 16:02

Concretekitten - that's a bit too nice I think. OP needs to be completely honest otherwise she won't get anything in the way of replacement/money back.

Osmiornica · 02/03/2015 16:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Cakeybreakyheart · 02/03/2015 16:14

We've already contacted them - DP said the cake looked great but that it was inedible - dry and didn't taste very nice.

OP posts:

ConfuddledPickle · 02/03/2015 20:18

Cake decorators put so much effort, time and love in to their cakes, honestly it's one of the most under paid jobs unless you're at the top of the game

I really, really disagree with this. Of course it takes skill, effort and time...but I can't see how it's underpaid. Cakes cost peanuts to bake and decorate, unless they're really elaborate.

DH made a 4 tier traditional fruit cake for our wedding. The total cost was about £80 (including ribbon) and about 4 hours of time. It was fondant covered with hand-made sugar craft (I think) roses ontop.

Similar cakes (very large and lots of detail) sell for about £300 in my area. £220 profit, or £55 an hour...not exactly underpaid.

londonrach · 02/03/2015 20:20

Anyone seen cake boss on tv love that series. Yanbu op and agree take back x

Nativity3 · 02/03/2015 20:24

Agree with taking it back! Don't let her blame how you stored it. Just tell her it was stored in the box she gave you etc (as I'm sure you did!)

BatteryPoweredHen · 02/03/2015 20:27

ConfuddledPickle I don't know what planet you are living on, a 4 tier cake would take at least 2 hrs to make the batter/line the tins, I'd say 2 lots of 2hrs in the oven and then at least 2 hours to cool.

Did he ice and decorate it in negative time?

BatteryPoweredHen · 02/03/2015 20:33

Sorry, to OP - £50 is nothing for a bespoke cake. Min wage is £6.50 (I believe). How long do you think the thing takes to bake and cool? This is all time that you need to pay for.

People should really be careful what they wish for - if everyone is so tight-fisted to refuse to pay someone a fair price for their time, all that will be left in the cake marketplace will be supermarket/mass produced rubbish.

londonrach · 02/03/2015 20:40

Battery you tried the mass produced cakes? Marks and spencers ones are amazing. They taste really good and look good. I bet op rather had one of those than the one she ordered.

Original poster

Cakeybreakyheart · 02/03/2015 20:41

Excuse me batterypoweredhen but I told them what I wanted on the cake, they gave me a price which I agreed to.

I'm not quibbling about the price AT ALL. If it was a lovely tasting cake like I was expecting it to be, I'd have been happy with what I paid.

It wasn't a complicated cake in the slightest, it required a degree of artistic talent (a single colour image painted on the cake it) but I'd told them what I wanted, they told me the price and I was happy with that.

I'm not happy that the cake tasted rubbish, that's all. I'm not quibbling with the price I paid for the work involved.

OP posts:

ConfuddledPickle · 02/03/2015 20:45

Er...once the oven is on and it's in, or the cake is out and cooling - what 'work' is involved in those times? Nowt. Sit and have a cuppa or crack on with something else. So no, 4 hours doesn't include the time in the oven or on a rack.

BatteryPoweredHen · 02/03/2015 20:58

Of course you pay for that time, and also for the cost of the electricity to run it, the cost of the wear and tear on the oven...

Londonrach would you be happy with a situation where the only game in town was a M&S cake? Really?

londonrach · 02/03/2015 21:11

Tbh battery yes as ive had some really, really crap home baked cakes. My 18th birthday cake was home caked by a friend of a friend and looked pretty but seriously was the driest cake we ever eat, we throw 80% away. To me its a treat to get a shop bought cake and makes and spencers are the best. The worse are waitrose! Op is quite right to take this back. On my local fb page theres a massive argument at the moment about a frozen cake and how awful it was. If you cooking cakes to sell you need certain food handling certificates. Op i hope you get it sorted. I wish my mum had taken my 18th birthday cake back all those years ago...

mommy2ash · 02/03/2015 21:15

surely the cost doesn't matter if you order a cake at the very least it should be edible?

Joolsy · 02/03/2015 21:22

I agree mommy2ash, and I think £50 is alot of money for a cake. If I bought a £1 cake from Asda I'd expect it to be edible!

Adarajames · 02/03/2015 21:26

TheIronGnome - I used to make my own mixes, but local cake supplies shop sells a fantastic lemon cake mix that's by far the best lemon cake I've had, so I often use that now; it's not being cheap or lazy, it just tastes amazing!

Original poster

Cakeybreakyheart · 02/03/2015 21:28

surely the cost doesn't matter if you order a cake at the very least it should be edible?

^This.

OP posts:

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