Cake gone wrong

pulliptears

This site is always great to while away an hour of boredom. I often find myself laughing out loud to the likes of this:




http://www.cakewrecks.com/

hoxtonbabe

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

You don't have to have another party to let your son have some nice cake; and to send some to [for example] his nursery friends, his family, his friends etc, to make up for it. I'd want my money back if it was inedible not a partial refund, and I'd return the cake so that she could see the evidence. Then you can spend it as and when you wish.

Thats true, she can come and collect it though, but she is aware of this "wet cake" syndrome as she didnt deny it or anything, she just said yes she adds syrup to keep it moist and sweet?!?! What is annoying me now though is up until she got full payment, she was prompt with replies, now I have asked for partial refund she is totally ignoring me . I will give her until Thursday then a more formal letter will be heading her way. It will have to be sent by email and I will be asking for an address as it is not lisited on her website, she was willing to give if I was to collect but as she delivered I never took her address, although she will not willingly offer it now but she is obviously one of these people who care squat for customer care and only interested in the money, she not even apologised, just defending her soggy cake by saying her other customers like it

If was £20 or something then I would have just thought sod it, but £70 down the drain is not something I can ignore.

Sambucus_Nigra

I'd be taking it back myself, personally. And I wouldn't leave without my money.

hoxtonbabe

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

I'd be taking it back myself, personally. And I wouldn't leave without my money.

LOL, god help anyone who tries to give you a crappy cake. Jokes aside this thing is heavy, remember there is cake, laden in syrup, topped with fondant icing,I do not drive and a taxi would be setting me back £16 (not that I have an address) I was sweating just bringing it up my stairs

Sambucus_Nigra

hoxtonbabe wrote: »

LOL, god help anyone who tries to give you a crappy cake. Jokes aside this thing is heavy, remember there is cake, laden in syrup, topped with fondant icing,I do not drive and a taxi would be setting me back £16 (not that I have an address) I was sweating just bringing it up my stairs

So why start a thread if you aren't going to change anything from what you were going to do anyway?

hoxtonbabe

My wish/want was to get a partial or better still full refund and asked if that would be reasonable, I have not said I am not going to do that, and I will persue it. so I do not understand your question.

sarymclary

I'm a professional cake maker, so can maybe offer another viewpoint?

My first question would be to ask if this was a shaped cake, or intricately designed? How did you choose this cake maker, or hear about her?

It is actually fairly common practice with professionally made cakes that are going to have a fair amount of decorating done to them, to 'paint' on a flavoured sugar syrup. It's made with sugar and water, and additional flavouring can be added, such as vanilla, lemon, etc. (it's what always goes into making a good lemon drizzle, for example), it isn't syrup like you buy in a jar in the supermarket, that's different.

It does exactly what this cake maker has suggested, in that it keeps the cake moist. I suspect she went a bit OTT when she put it on. It is usually painted on using a wide pastry brush, across the top of the whole cake, but not enough that it would then drain down through the cake. This is standard practice, as demonstrated in a variety of 'how to' books by professional cake bakers (like Lindy Smith and Peggy Porschen). There would be no need at all for her to mention this on her website, as it is a standard practice, and all professional bakers will use the technique for certain cakes. The reason shop bought cakes don't need this so much is because they are packed with preservatives, and oils, and aren't made with just the minimum natural ingredients, but then they can taste quite 'chemically', compared to a home baked cake.

Another reason the cake may have felt moist is that apart from the sugar syrup, if it was assembled whilst not fully cold, or made in a warmer kitchen, or even stored after it was made in a warm environment (at the maker's or your home), it could 'sweat'.

The reason I ask if there was a large amount of decoration is that if so, the sponge would have needed to have been made a few days before it was delivered, to allow for making, cooling, layering, coating, shaping/carving, coating again, icing, decorating. All these stages often need time inbetween to allow coating/icing to set, or even be chilled through. It's not just a case of whipping up a victoria sponge, and doing it all in an hour or so.

Do you have a picture of the cake when it was complete to give us an idea of the size/detailing? If it was 8" round/square or bigger, and decorated/filled, then it will be heavy because cakes are, especially if they're decorated with fondant icing.

I do think the cake maker sounds to have used a bit too much syrup on this occasion. Does she have a lot of images on her website to show she has extensive experience?

I don't understand how something that's sweet can have made your mouth sore though? After all, candyfloss is only sugar that's spun, but it doesn't have that effect.

Just a thought, I think it might have been a good tactic, when contacting her to say you were disappointed with the taste of the cake, to have asked what she could offer you as a way of compensation, rather than demanding a refund. She may feel backed into a corner now, and that could be why she's now trying to ignore you. She might also have not had negative feedback before, and be unsure how to deal with you?

It's a shame you were disappointed by the cake, and that you felt let down. It wasn't an insignificant amount of money you paid, so I understand how you feel. As a cake maker, I'd be really disappointed and upset if a customer was unhappy with a cake, and want to have the opportunity to put the situation right. I'd also have come round to sample some of the cake myself to see if it really was as bad as you are saying it is, and then dealt with you face to face.

I hope you get your problem resolved. There are a lot of new cake makers out there at the moment, and TV programmes that make it look so easy are partly to blame. Baking consistently good cakes is a science (it used to be called Domestic Science), and my motto is that a cake should taste as good as it looks! Unfortunately, it isn't always the case, and I've heard a few negative reports about other cake makers in my area, who would be horrified to know they're known for dry, crumbly cakes.

If all else fails, why not have the cake warmed with custard (minus the icing), it'd probably make a nice dessert, and at least it wouldn't go totally to waste!

hoxtonbabe

Hi,

Thanks for your input Sary, I have not backed the cake maker into a corner, I asked if there was any wany of coming to some agreement on the price as I am not pleased, I did not ask for a outright full refund, and so far so good she has chosen to ignore my email.

I know about the glaze on the top, this is not glaze it is syrup poured into it, she has admitted to this so what has caused the wet cake is established, my concern is why I was not told this, as this is not common practice to add (not glaze) syrup into a vanilla sponge. I'm not sure if because Candy floss is light that it does not have the same effect, but after a few mouthfuls the cake it was unbearably sweet, a bit like eating too many salt and vinegar crisps and you mouth goes all funny (or does that just happen to me? ) I order cakes (and make) quite often and I knew instantly something was not right. I am aware that it is not a case of whipping up a cake and bobs your uncle, hence me only asking for a partial refund as I know she would have spent some time decorating it. I have not purchased a "not made from scratch cake" for years and was one of the first things i asked her (if her sponge was from scratch or packet) and none of the other cakes I have purchased before have ever been a problem, I did not order from previous makers due to not being able to collect or getting it delivered.

If her approach was more like yours then I would be less aggitated, but not only was I told she adds syrup to the cake to keep it moist and sweet because all her other clients like it, she did not apologise, was more interesed as to where I got her details from, she hasn't recommended anything, just simply sent her last reply about why she did it and that was that, and so far so good not replied to my suggestion of some partial refund, its one thing to not want to give some kind of financial compensation, but to not even apologise and then ignore the customer I find that very rude.

arcon5

Does her website include a description or ingredients or such?

Have you tried telephoning her?

VfM4meplse

Anything that has a very concentrated taste can cause simple irritation to the back of the throat.

sarymclary wrote: »

If all else fails, why not have the cake warmed with custard (minus the icing), it'd probably make a nice dessert, and at least it wouldn't go totally to waste!

Now that is one suggestion that would really make the £70 cake stick in my throat! £70 for a cake that you need to smother in custard??! And eat for how many days exactly?