To be really annoyed at this reaction to birthday cake?

[qualitycontrolrequired]

Ok - so it was my DC's birthday the other week and due to allergies, I always have to make birthday cakes.

Every year I've pushed myself and got a little bit more adventurous. Started with badly burnt, sloppily iced crappy cake on year one and a few years later I've managed to do pretty well.

This year I decided to try stacking cakes and made a really cool cake that looked great. It wasn't the most professionally-finished thing, but it was pretty good. All the family were really impressed and, yes, it made me feel good as I'd really gone out of my comfort zone.

But one parent of a friend of his actually commented to one of my best friends during his party that it was unnecessarily large and I was just showing off. This is a woman who always pays a local cake maker a small fortune to make really elaborate cakes.

AIBU to feel very annoyed/upset? I just wanted my child to have an amazing cake, just like the ones cake makers can make but without the hefty price tag.

I was bloody terrified that it's all fall down and turn into some awful cakey saggy mess. Used those dowling rod things and thin cake boards but the buggers wouldn't snap easily, so they weren't the exact right size.
I love the lava cream idea! That'd be brilliant!

I personally hate buttercream or fondant. I quite like those naked cakes that are all over Pinterest. But they don't appeal to little kids!

I ended up using a load of mcdonald's straws instead. I wasn't confident that it wouldn't sink so most of the bottom layer was full of the! We just ate that layer at home with a fork picking around the straws!

Don't let her nastiness get to you, of course you were upset and angry because that was a horrible thing she said.
Am glad you've decided to shrug off her nastiness and instead enjoy your cake-tastic achievement and bask in your son's delight at your success!
It's such a lovely, fulfilling feeling when we bring happiness to our dc
She is projecting her own feelings onto you. She knows that she is showing off every time she splashes out on a fancy cake but can't bring herself to admit to it, so criticizes your cake - and your motives - and implicitly you. Classic projection!
Hand her problems back to her, don't let her feelings take away your enjoyment.

She was envious and mean-spirited. But I am a bit at your friend passing it on to you.

A real friend would tear a strip off the offender and then come and tell you what the offender said and, in great detail, HOW they tore them off a strip.

Totally agree that it was pure sour grapes on her part, because you'd done it yourself and she'd had to fork out a small fortune to get someone else to do one that wasn't even as big.

Ignore her petty envy - bask in the knowledge that you made your son's day (and cake! ) and that she's a poor sad tit of a woman who won't even get a sniff of cake next year.

Is her childs birthday before your sons birthday? Wait until you've seen what kind of cake she ordered and then make a bigger and better version. Trill happily whenever she is in earshot that 'it only cost pennies to make'

she's a poor sad tit of a woman

alpaca picnic

So that's a yes for the leaning tower of fucking Pisa then for next year, what a cow

Go bigger next year! Fek her, miserable cow!

Bake off starts again tonight, you might get some more ideas from that to wow them with.

This morning on that TLC Great Baker programme, they made a theme park cake with a moving carousel, Ferris wheel and volcano. Next year, OP.

Pure jealousy! I love looking at cakes and can peruse the Facebook cake accounts for ages. I can neither bake or decorate and so I am in absolute awe of those that can and do. Make it bigger next time. Silly jealous woman !

I still want to see a pic! (I know you don't want to, it's OK.)

She's an idiot (and I'd love to see a pic too)

Make one about six foot high and buttercream it to her front door.

If she wants to see an unnecessarily large cake.............

I love looking at Pinterest. I'd love to know how they get the icing so damn smooth. That's one thing that I still haven't mastered. I like the idea of buttercreaming a cake to her door. Or maybe her car window? Then she'd be forced to look at it!

So you've practised, got good at it and now she's jealous. Make a bigger cake next year 😂😂😂

It's usually smooth because they use a spinny cake stand and a spatula and it smooths out as they spin it.

I made a rainbow cake for my daughter's birthday, with different coloured layers. It turned out great and I was really proud (I'm usually useless in the kitchen!) One friend who is very into cooking made several snide remarks about it and then refused to eat it due to colouring. She then made comments about how all the kids were getting hyper after eating it (they weren't). Some people just can't help pissing on your bonfire - forget about it!

It depends how it was said "ooo look at the size of that, she's just showing off now" could mean it's good and be an attempt at humour.

Odd for your friend to tell you.

When I read about cakes it makes me want some.

Totally obvious jealousy because you can make your own stuff.

Just ignore, the problem is with her not you!

I love making cakes for the DCs birthday. We design it together (there's sketches and everything!), they help me shop for all the bits and help/hinder with making it. I love it, they love it and if anyone wants to put our efforts down that's up to them! Our most recent was a Jurassic World themed one with a dinosaur exploding out of the top!

There is so much scope for misinterpretation that I think I'd give the benefit of the doubt . Things I have said in reaction to cakes made by a friend who could be a professional -

"Now you're just showing off"
"You could have made a bit of effort"
"Can you stop making the rest of us look bad"

In both cases it translates as "that cake is awesome- well done!".
However, if I said it to another friend as an aside " i.e. "now she's just showing off" and it was overheard, it could be taken literally as a bitchy comment.

The friend showed poor judgement in passing it on.

Mmm. Yes, that smacks of jealously. However, this woman has nothing to do with you. She's not a friend, she's not family, she's just some sour grapes playground mum gossiping. Roll your eyes and know you did a good job for your dc. There seems to be quite a lot of drama in cake land. Yes, it is ridiculous she spent £100 on a cake. But so what. It's her money. She sounds pissed off that your home made cake was more impressive than the one she bought. This doesn't have to be a competition. Smile sweetly and think fondly of the pleasure you gave all the children.