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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to be disappointed in this cake…

999 replies

Notwhatiimagined · 15/10/2021 14:54

I picked up dds cake today and it was not what I expected.

Would you be happy with this cake? I’ve attached two pics below, one was the pic I sent to the cake maker of what I wanted (a family dog) and the other picture is of the cake.

Also his head is made of Rice Krispies as apparently heads are hard to do. I wasn’t aware that it wouldn’t be all sponge.

It’s from a proper cake shop, not someone who does it as a hobby.

What do you all think?

AIBU to be disappointed in this cake…
AIBU to be disappointed in this cake…
OP posts:
Thread gallery
48
TwinsandTrifle · 16/10/2021 00:51

[quote FedUpMiss]@Classica her DD asked for a 'realistic cake of the dog' (weird and should have been told that not likely for what we can afford) and then was disappointed at the final result. It's a £110 cake, I'd be mortified if my DD behaved that way[/quote]
It's not weird at all for a child to say "can I have a cake that looks like Fido?"

It's very doable within OPs budget actually. This particular cake maker failed.

You'd be "mortified" that your own child asked for her birthday cake to look like something in particular, then simply acknowledge (when it looks nothing like that) that it doesn't.

"How's the cake?"
"Doesn't look like Fido. But yummy"

The monster Hmm

Freddie28 · 16/10/2021 01:05

I would not be happy, it could be any cartoon dog and I presume that is not what you asked for. I would also expect it to cost more to make it lifelike.

Newmumatlast · 16/10/2021 01:13

Agree with poster above. Nothing wrong with a child stating their opinion politely. Her daughter said it didnt look like the dog because that was her opinion. But there is no suggestion she was rude. We shouldn't be teaching kids to just be agreeable to everything.

OP sounds like where you went wrong is the other cake maker likely quoted 350 for good reason. This was cheaper because the cake maker didn't have the same skill set. I think its a gorgeous cake and I would love it however understand the disappointment if you're expecting different to what you get

me4real · 16/10/2021 01:17

I don't have kids but is this a Thing nowadays? I suppose if these cakes serve 20 or 30 people then that's a definite plus if you have one at a party. And it saves the palaver of baking etc. A lot of money some people are spending though.

GrandTheftWalrus · 16/10/2021 01:27

110 for a cake?

DD gets a 10 quid from morrisons. Tastes the same.

WaterAndRichTea · 16/10/2021 01:31

I think your daughter should be grateful

ArblemarchTFruitbat · 16/10/2021 01:34

Which one is the cake?

Halloween Grin
groundhogdaycherry · 16/10/2021 01:38

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

k1233 · 16/10/2021 01:41

@me4real I agree. You could do fun cup cakes like these so everyone gets an individual cake and maybe a bigger one for candles and cutting. They're mostly butter icing.

*Disclaimer not my cake - there's a video on how to do them and it's a screenshot from that.

AIBU to be disappointed in this cake…
Lightswitch123 · 16/10/2021 01:45

It's lovely and I'm sure your dd will think it's ace. Not sure how big it is but price sounds OK to me. Agree with others re take off the tongue ans move eyes down and further apart to get it looking more like your dog.

Cheeseplantboots · 16/10/2021 01:52

My mum used to be a cake maker. She’d never make the head out of Rice Krispies, it would all be sponge and it wouldn’t cost that much either, probably half that.

It’s cute though but I’d never pay that!

Hetty0 · 16/10/2021 01:55

@Cheeseplantboots

My mum used to be a cake maker. She’d never make the head out of Rice Krispies, it would all be sponge and it wouldn’t cost that much either, probably half that.

It’s cute though but I’d never pay that!

Well then she would have made it at a loss.
user1471439310 · 16/10/2021 02:09

My daughter works in a bake shop and said the cake is adorable, that using rice krispies was a good idea, and you would have paid way more than you did it you wanted life like dog.

HarebrightCedarmoon · 16/10/2021 02:17

@GrandTheftWalrus

110 for a cake?

DD gets a 10 quid from morrisons. Tastes the same.

Home made (or professionally made cakes) should taste absolutely nothing like a shop-bought one from the supermarket.
GrandTheftWalrus · 16/10/2021 02:22

@HarebrightCedarmoon I completely agree but last year for DDs 4th birthday and her last one as an only child I splashed out 60 quid on a peppa pig cake and she never touched it. However the cheap ones from her previous 3 birthdays she enjoyed.

Maybe she's conditioned to enjoy cheaper cakes?

But I am in my 30s and I will be honest I didn't taste a difference between shop bought and home made.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 16/10/2021 03:02

It doesn't look much like the dog in the photo, more like a child's drawing of the dog in the photo (an older child, I'm not talking toddler style).

But am I the only person who wouldn't really WANT a cake that looks more realistic? There's something weird to me about the idea of cutting up a cake that looks like a beloved pet.

We have guineapigs, mostly - I wouldn't want to make a cake of a guineapig that really looked like one of our piggies and then cut it up! And it would be a lot easier to do a realistic guineapig than your dog.

So YANBU that it doesn't look how you expected for the price you paid but YABU to have wanted it to look realistically like your dog, IMO.

PyongyangKipperbang · 16/10/2021 03:06

And all the horror about the cost is why I dont, despite being pushed to by friends and family, make a business out of my cakes.

I once made a golden snitch cake for DD (then....10 I think, now 17) and the ingredients alone cost me well over £60. The edible gold spray had to be ordered in specially and was a fortune.

I was very proud of it and showed a photo to my friend and she asked if I could make one for her childs birthday. When I said I would do it as a gift but she would need to cover the ingredients, she was fine but then kicked of massively when I told her what they cost and called me a liar! I said she was welcome to buy them herself if she thought she could do it cheaper and......the kid got a shop bought cake. If I was to charge for it it would come in at well over £200 for the hours that go into it. But its "just eggs and flour and sugar!" apparently, our skills are free. I wonder if anyone would expect a mechanic to work for the price of the parts or a builder for the price of the bricks......

Clementineapples · 16/10/2021 03:11

So you wanted a £350 cake for £110 and don’t understand why it’s not what you expected?

Namechangedforthethousandthtim · 16/10/2021 03:17

It's lovely! It looks exactly like a dog what do you mean?

RaisedByPangolins · 16/10/2021 03:25

@TwinsandTrifle

Space themed cake. £70 Twins bear cake. £55.

I've got loads more, but I think that's enough to show the standard you can receive from people who are obviously making a profit on their prices. This whole: "that's the best OP could expect, and meets the agreed brief, for £110" is absolute rubbish.

Nobody is disputing that you can pay less than £110 for a decent cake. The problem is the person you bought them off is working for less than minimum wage!! If they’re happy to do it for that price, good for them. Trouble is, it makes it hard for anyone trying to actually run a business instead of a hobby to charge the right price.

There’s a woman on my local FB page who literally goes onto every post about people looking for a cake maker and says “I’ve been wanting to make xx style of cake for my portfolio so I can do you a special discount”. Every frigging time! So every other cake make is get from undercut by this one woman who makes out the customer is doing her a favour by letting her make it. People making cakes for the cost of the ingredients plus £5 for their time ruin it for professional bakers.

How would you feel if someone came into your workplace and offered to do your job for free so they didn’t have to bother paying you to do it?!

HoppingPavlova · 16/10/2021 04:10

I think it definitely fills the request for the corresponding price. As the realism goes up so does the price. I think in retrospect you needed to have made a choice - ditch the dog cake and go for big standard for virtually nothing or do it properly with matching fee of 350. You live and learn.

Hydrate · 16/10/2021 05:42

Not that great, I wouldn't use them again for special cakes. Google "bichon cake". Those results are what you wanted I think.

Screen shots of some image results.

AIBU to be disappointed in this cake…
leftovercoffeecake · 16/10/2021 06:12

I think you were naive using someone who specialises in drip cakes and then expecting a realistic sculptured dog. It’s like you wouldn’t go to a tattoo artist who specialises in cartoony designs and then ask for something super realistic.

ThinWomansBrain · 16/10/2021 06:55

assuming lots of buttercream, revoltingly sweet - but looks likw what you asked for, and must have taken ages, so whilst it sounds like a lot, probably not a lot of profit in it.

Before the next birthday, encourage an interest in insects - then you can go full Colin/Cuthbert the caterpillar for a fraction of the price.

AWaspOnAWindowReturns · 16/10/2021 07:07

@Hydrate

Not that great, I wouldn't use them again for special cakes. Google "bichon cake". Those results are what you wanted I think. Screen shots of some image results.
Those are lovely life-like dogs however most are a standard round cake with a dog made entirely out of Rice Krispies on top. The carved ones on your photo, I'd expect to be priced at £150++ unless the baker is working for a couple of pounds an hour.