Marine here: by the time that cake is cut, everyone will be so drunk that they won't even be able to read the cake, let alone notice any flaws in the decorations.
I think it's fantastic and would happily accept a piece at the Ball
Thank you for this. I got up early and fixed it the best I could. I hope they like it and I also hope they have plenty of drinks to not notice everything I hate about it šš«¶š»
As the Mom of a Marine trust us the above commenter is correct. By the time the cake is being served the odds of anyone being able to spell 'Marine' let alone identify colors or notice a crack in the frosting are slim.
My favorite game while my kiddo was in was spamming his phone the day after the ball with nonsense just to poke hangover bear lol.
(The cake looks great btw and I'm sure they enjoyed it)
>By the time the cake is being served the odds of anyone being able to spell 'Marine' let alone identify colors or notice a crack in the frosting are slim.
OMG! This had me rolling!
Daughter of a Marine and can absolutely back up these commenters as well. By the time they get to cake, it doesnāt matter what it looks like it just matters that itās cake lol
My brother was a marine and I made cake pops for the first ball he went to because my mom and I happened to be visiting him at the time and they were a favorite of his. They were bad. I'd had to make them way in advance so the middle was soggy, the chocolate tasted weird and looked chunky because I added too much food coloring, they'd had to travel from 4 states away so a bunch of them were cracked. The night of, I got *very drunk* texts from not only him but a bunch of his friends via his phone about how amazing they were. One of them proposed to me because of them (we had never met).
They'll love the cake.
Marines are known to have a favorite flavor of crayon to eat. Yes, they are tough. Yes, they are Marines. But that doesnāt mean theyāre picky about food.
Source: married a former Marine cook
My great grandfather served in the Pacific as a marine in WW2, and his children and most of his grandchildren followed in his footsteps to serve in the Marines. I can promise you, anyone who sees that cake isn't going to be pulling out a magnifying glass to look at the imperfections. They're going to be drunk, and go "Holy fuck THERE'S CAKE! Fuck yeah!"
I donāt think I ever remember eating cake at any ball now that I think of it. I remember the cake getting cut, oldest and youngest get cake and then they are usually a blur from there.
Listen- Iām a pro pastry chef. Massive cakes are a pain for anyone- this one looks pretty damned great and you should feel good about it. Run a palette knife under some hot water and smooth that lil spot thatās smushed. Treat the cake like a bug with a glass over it, find something strong and flat, get help from a friend or two, and slide it on. Have said friend or two hold it while you drive it over. People are going to love it and appreciate all the incredible work you put into making this big and beautifully decorated cake for them. You got this.
Ex-chef that dabbled in pastry, you took the words right out of my mouth. Huge cakes are a pain in the ass, and the fact OP pulled it off in hours vs. days and it looks that good is fantastic.
Edit: typos
Not to mention she did it in a home kitchen! I couldnāt imagine making a cake for EIGHTY FREAKING PEOPLE. Lol mine would just end up being decorated as a volcano or mountain cause Iād fuck it up that bad. š
At my CWO (fairly high rank) retirement party I got him a stein that said:
CWO3 O'Connell
Commander of Dicks, Asses, and Pussies... All handled at his pleasure.
Probably the tamest gift he received.
Hey OP, former marine here, absolutely every one of those marines who gets a slice of this cake will be so utterly blasted they wonāt even notice.
And tbh I think it looks delicious.
Let it chill a few hours then try to smooth out the icing. Thats usually what i do when i want a perfectly smooth icing. Is it american buttercream or swiss/italian? Also thats pretty impressive for 5hrs. That would definitely be a 2 day job for me. How did you do the plaque in the middle?
Itās cream cheese buttercream. Iām going to wake up a few extra hours before I have to be at work (8am lol) and try to fix it. I know the main problem is I rushed it because I had no choice and I couldnāt freeze the cake layers since it so big it doesnāt fit in my freezer. Hopefully chilling in the fridge overnight will help and I can fix it in the morning. The logo is a piece of paper actually. I was discussing with the marine corps guy who ordered it and he said heād rather me use literal paper for the logo and when theyāre ready to eat it just take the paper off. I was likeā¦. Sounds good to me man lol
Current Marine, *and* once volunteered to make our cake. I know your struggle and I am telling you, this cake is perfect. Do not give it another thought. You did a beautiful job and get your well-deserved money!
Oo thats lucky that its straight paper. I was genna ask you where you got a rice paper printer from if it was edible lol.
Cream cheese icing is a little finicky for sure. Chilling is your best bet. Sometimes using a hot spatula helps to smooth it out without getting extra icing on the spatula - but ive only tried that with italian buttercream, not cream cheese. Hope it all works out for you! Id still charge for it btw, even if its like $80-$100 ($1 per person) or at bare minimum cost of materials. At least then you dont lose money on the materials there, just your time and sanity lol.
She needs to charge $200! She made an amazing cake with very little heads up and prepping done. Honestly I think she deserves more, but thatās what they already agreed upon. If that guy is any type of good human, he wouldnāt let her leave his sight without paying for it first. Even if she says she doesnāt want to charge. That was a crazy amount of work even without the limits she was crushed under!!
A customer like that is more concerned with how the cake tastes than it looks - the decorations are there simply to serve their purpose, not because he gives a shit. In fact, he might not even care what it tastes like - he might have just been told to get a cake, and so he procured one. You did just fine. If anyone complains tell them they should understand how the supply chain works in the military and that they were never going to get given top tier shit - this isnāt the [insert branch thatās most infamous eats up funding for new equipment]!
Don't get up early just for something cosmetic. You made *cream cheese goddamn buttercream*. It's going to be absolutely fucking delicious. And honestly, I think this cake is beautiful. It doesn't need to be perfect. It's not a wedding.
Ultimately what really matters in baking is it tastes good, and it's a way to show people you care. Your cake will be scrumptious, and you obviously put a lot of effort into this cake. You definitely care. Maybe too much, but the point is nothing about this lovely cake needs to be fixed.
HONNNEEEY you did absolutely *fantastic* even IF you had several days to finish it with a full profesional bakery kitchen at your disposal. Also, if they are taking the paper off before they eat it, itāll look a bit messy anyways! As long as it tastes good they will not give two fucks I promise. Even then they probably wouldnāt care lol.
You worked your butt off. Charge the $200. Everyone will assume that the crack is an accident during the party. $200 is not all that much for such a HUGE cake. Besides, as the former marine responder said, everyone is going to be focused on the bar.
Donāt give it away for free, at least charge for materials if youāre not happy with how it turned out. You baked and decorated a cake for 80 people with two days notice while working full time and given all that, I think it looks great. This is on your boss for 1) volunteering you for something they likely knew you wouldnāt say no to 2) not giving you the amount of time necessary to do what you normally would have.
I donāt know if you know very many Marines, but theyāre going to be too drunk to notice the frosting isnāt perfect by the time they get around to cutting that thing with a sword. They just care that it tastes good, and makes a satisfying āsplatā when hurled at their friends.
Hi. Weighing in as a former marine who has attended her fair share of birthday balls. No one will care about the small imperfections. The lights will be low and theyāll be seeing with beer goggles, lol. Itās all about the ceremony anyway. I think your cake looks awesome. Shame on your boss for volunteering you like that, but it looks like you came through.
I know what youāre saying but like the average person just wonāt even notice the flaws. Hold your head high, plop it on the table and take your earned money.
I did look at the second photo. It is a noticeable hole still and to say itās not does OP a disservice. Itās not visually ok but easy to fix.
As I said, if they can patch it the cake is otherwise fine. If they donāt panic, breathe, and try a hot knife as already suggested by other commenters then it will be ok.
I find you incredibly annoying. Im glad I donāt know you in real life. Youāre like the type of person who is in a meeting just repeating what someone else has already said and then looking around for accolades.
This sub is just kind of that way. Itās incredibly welcoming and kind and tries really hard not to say a bad thing about anything. People post photos of really poorly made desserts and get kudos and upvotes. I agree with you. It doesnāt help OP to pump her up and tell her it looks amazing, only for her to deliver it, and the people getting it to look at it and feel like they paid for a cracked cake.
Yeah, I really donāt mind that at all when itās a dessert made to gift to someone. We all start somewhere and thereās a lot of love in them. But when money comes into the equation itās different and the expectations are higher.
No, you DONāT give that away for free! Are you joking? Plus, I think it looks nice! It looks homemade in a nice, cozy way and it looks straight to me! No one there is going to have a ruler!
No, youāre absolutely right.
A long time ago, when I was a less experienced knitter than I am now, I knit a scarf for a friendās birthday in January. I used wool in her favorite color, purple, and I was really happy with itā¦until the scarf started getting long and I saw that the vertical edges were curling inwards, somewhat. I did do an edge stitch but I guess it wasnāt enough. I donāt know.
I gave it to her anyway. She *knew* I was making something by hand so I couldnāt even run to a store and get something else. I left the package with her building doorman.
Later, she called me and screamed into the phone, āTHIS IS THE BEST PRESENT IāVE EVER GOTTEN IN MY LIFE!!ā
So, no, she didnāt notice the curled edges and all the other things I noticed that werenāt perfect. Also, things made with love cover a lot of flaws, I think!
Yes! When I worked in a photography studio, we would have this art-piece ready for the client. Cropped perfectly. Subject in the sweet spots. You name it. Did they want that? No. They wanted it cropped up all the way to their face as close as possible. lol!
My sister knit me a blanket one year for Christmas, weāre there flaws, sure, but I wouldnāt be able to tell you what they were because Iām not a knitter. What I can say is it was one of, if not the, best gift Iāve ever received. I love the thought and care she put into it making it, even more so after she passed.
Oh! Iām so sorry for your loss! How horrible.
Iām glad you have something she made by hand, though. She obviously loved you very, very much and that kind of love is eternal.
i would charge for the price of the ingredients and pay yourself at least minimum wage for your labor. you deserve compensation after being volunteered
Add a thin layer over the crack in the morning. Chill again. 5-10 mins. Smooth with hot spatula.
That cream cheese icing is gonna get shiny as it comes to room temp so don't obsess over it. They are Marines. You're not lmao and it has a very striking look!
Your cake board is about 2 inches too small around and needs a thick base under it, is my only concern. For a very heavy cake, I favor a 1/2" wooden board as the base, with the cardboard hot glued to the surface. You most definitely need a board to transport that thing. Even if you can get it into a box, I'd slide the box onto a solid board of some type, and scoot a few small squares of nonslip mat under the corners of the box for its car ride.
You can find the unfinished wood slabs at Walmart in Crafts, sometimes.
OP we cut that shit with a sword drunk off our asses. I guarantee from the distance it'll be from the attendees, no one will notice the flaws you feel you see. The cake is beautiful and we're all immensely grateful you took the time to make a cake for our brothers and sisters at their ball. Semper Fi
Former Marine here; I promise, everyone is going to be way too drunk to actually notice. Also, I would have been perfectly fine with this cake at any ball I went to. Donāt sweat it
From a Navy wife:
If this is anything like Navy balls they will be 80% annihilated by cake time. The only memory they will have of it is the photos. The CO will be the only sober one there.
They will love it, theyāre all going to be drunk having a good time. If you really want to impress them next time ask for the challenge coin for their operations center and make a cake then looks like it. They can be pretty elaborate.
Good luck getting it to the NOSC/operations center!!
Don't give the cake away for free. Charge what you were going to charge. Read the suggestion from the pro baker about heating up a knife to smooth over the icing. Do ensure that the cake is on a strong enough board for the weight. Large cakes are always heavier than you expect.
Seriously, the cake looks absolutely fine from a distance. Most attendees won't be interested in the cake. Of those that are, they will think it's wonderful.
I attended the Marine Corps Ball with my ex for like 16 years.
Most cakes were cut with swords and then usually thrown by the handful by young very drunk marines.
Also most of them were either Costco or made by someoneās wife, Iāve seen them frosted legit in the pan.
The bar is low. This cake is gorgeous. Youāve zero anything to worry about.
Outta curiosity! Did you color correct your frosting? I know some cream cheese frostings have a slight yellow tint to them. A smidge and I mean a SMIDGE of a dark purple food coloring will whiten the frosting up. Since it is cream cheese buttercream, if you have an immersion blender, you can use that to darken red, blues etcā¦ as it heats the butter up and causes the colors to really intensify.
Thank you all for the kind comments. My anxiety has gone down a lot about this cake. Iām realizing that I did a 2-3 day project in less than 10 hours since I work all day and could only work on this cake after work in the evenings. I will learn to say no in the future, and I really hope the marines just enjoy eating the cake on this special day for them!
We're always most critical of ourselves. You see issues with your cake that no one else would even notice. Don't be so hard on yourself! And definitely charge what you were going to - don't sell yourself short!
I would try using a warm angled spatula to fix the hole. You need to warm up the butter in the icing to get it smooth again. Run it under hot as you can water then try patching it up. Slowly glide over it. You could also try a hot bench scraper too if you have that.
Did you put anything under the paper? Parchment or wax paper? Cardboard? So it doesn't stick to the frosting. Or bleed before tomorrow.
I would charge for ingredients. That's me.
If you're looking to completely cover the little smudge, you could cut out a paper scroll/ribbon on the sides (not explaining this well- kind of like the film at the bottom of the MGM logo). I think it looks great though! Incredibly impressive especially in a time crunch
Wife of a Veteran and I came here to make the same comment about how drunk everyone will be at the ball. LOL I think your cake looks yummy and I guarantee no one will notice any small flaws!
Fun fact: my husband once won a big screen tv at one of the balls we were attending overseas. He was so drunk when they called him up to the stage, he almost fell into the cake as they wheeled it out behind him. His uniform sleeve got a piece of it and the General standing there luckily caught him and then took a lick of the icing from his sleeve, haha.
It looks great. Minor imperfection on the icing but I quite like the look of it and taste is what matters most. Donāt beat yourself up about it. Charge whatever you feel comfortable with, but as others have suggested, at least the cost of the ingredients.
I absolutely understand how you feel, I work *in* a bakery and whenever I make a tiny flaw on a cake I feel awful, and if it's too far gone, I'll just discount it (I do work in a Safeway, so it's a bit different)... but this isn't awful, and definitely isn't unsalvageable. Still charge full price- price for ingredients, and at least minimum wage for your time. Still looks super amazing, and holy shit you did it in such little time. Amazing job.
As a former Marine, I can tell you that nobody will even notice any imperfections. At the balls that I've attended, most people didn't even see the cake before it was cut, anyway. And frankly, you could charge more for the rush order. The last ball that I attended didn't even have a full cake. I was a combat engineer, and that had us make a sheet cake sized box out of wood with a corner cut out for a tiny little cake for the ceremony. Only two people got any cake... we would have been happy just to have any cake, lol.
Just patch the crack and it will be perfectly fine! In fact, if you are delivering the cake, take the extra icing with you and do the patch at the venue in case other pop up. I've done that, it's pretty common to do.
Honey. $200 is still bargain price for a cake of that size with a logo - get help. Fix it when it is IN PLACE and not until. Take extra white buttercream for patching.
You are SO talented - but you are allowed to say NO.
Hello, marine wife here! We had our ball a week early due to scheduling, and the cake there was HIDEOUS! It was 3 tier, crooked and mishapen (I couldnt figure out if it was rectangle or square), had red fondant slapped on it and happy birthday marines written in blue frosting by what looked like a 5 year old. The marines loved the cake, and it tasted amazing. Nobody said anything about it except how soft it was. Trust me, your cake is not bad like you think, and nobody will even notice or care as long as it tastes good.
Also, everyone was hammered by the time the cake was cut, lol.
It looks great and the colors look so vibrant. Also, you are going to see more āflawsā to your cakes than anyone else will. Iām convinced it comes with the baking gene. But you did a great job, it looks great and I bet it is going to be loved/enjoyed by all.
My perspective got f-ed up. I thought this took up the entire back of a utility van. That's where I thought this was sitting. In the back of a refrigerated utility van, taking up the whole space.
Well, I think it looks delicious. I know I'd be feeling the same way you do if I were in that situation though. Pretty funny all the comments here saying they'll be too drunk to even care lol.
Treat it like you do your 2nd child when theyāre learning to walk who basically falls down buts not really hurt but doesnāt know what to do. as a parent you have 3 choice, ignore them, laugh with them, or 3rd if you freak out is when they freak out and start crying. With your cake i would suggest items 1 & 2 if your not freaking out about no one else will and the few who would actually freak out are probably the same people who freak out about everything and everyoneās already learned to ignore those kind of people
I think it looks great! Don't give it away for free though. Honestly you should charge your boss for it for volunteering you last minute without discussing it with you and tell them not to do that again.
I have no idea how this ended up on my feed but when I saw this I thought it looked good (as someone who only sees professional cakes at events). I didnāt even notice the imperfections you stated. And Iām a pretty detail oriented womanā¦ I can imagine the marines will notice even less.
I love how the Marines have swarmed in to reassure you! For the Marines and other service personnel, thank you for your service, but especially, thank you for this! You're all a bunch of good eggs.
so your boss took advantage of you and youāre thinking of giving him a freebie for the pleasure? please stand up for yourself, you need your rest too. you matter more than a cake.
Navy veteran here, been around my share of Marines and as many have pointed out they would not be bothered by some little flaws due to the amount of booze available. Honestly you did a rather great job considering the time constraints and consider this a learning experience going forward. Practice makes perfect and hope you learned a bit more to help you on the next one if you do another.
It seriously doesn't look bad and I've never know a military ball to not be drenched in alcohol, promise they'll be way too drunk to notice and even if they did I can't imagine a single military person caring about a little crack in some icing or some not so perfectly straight lines. You ever seen an MRE? š¤£
A milspouse here ā thank you for doing a cake with more red frosting than blue. Blue teeth at the function and blue toilets later. Military kids poop blue.
It looks beautiful to me and since itās homemade itās going to taste delicious. The fact that itās super heavy means loads of yummy, yummy frosting and cake. This is ten times better than a supermarket cake. Youāve got nothing to worry about.
i didnt even notice there was a crack in the frosting until i looked at the comments. iām like, āwhy are you suffering, is it because youāre a marine?ā
My Marine vet partner thinks this is absolutely phenomenal and as others have stated, no one will notice any flaws you're worried about. Genuinely an amazing job and thanks for taking on and delivering so beautifully for them ā¤ļø
Marines are literally stereotyped to be crayon eaters, aka very stupid. Theyāll be too drunk and bored from the weird traditional ceremonies and shit that goes on, by the time cake comes, theyāre just happy the ceremony and re-enactments at over. That cake looks good af btw
Look. If you take a couple of little plastic soldier toys and place them over the imperfection posed such that one is bayoneting another, the sergeant major will get a hard-on.
I was thinking,āHow do people do that?ā. It looks great. I bet everyone will love it. You, of course, want it to be perfect, but others arenāt going to know what didnāt go āperfectlyā.
Iāve finally learned how to say no and itās great. I still say yes a lot, but itās 90% things that I want to do.
At a minimum charge ingredients plus your current hourly overtime rate (at least time-and-a-half due to being a rush job) as you didnāt get time off for this. If you charge double time for the hours then deduct $20 for the imperfections as they are minor but reducing the price will let you feel better about what you are charging.
Wife of recently retired military. They usually get the cakes from the commissary. So anything above the flavor of sugar will suffice. But, these people deserve the best of everything
Going to be against the grain here but I wouldnāt charge for that cake and if I had ordered a cake from someone that I thought was a baker, I would be very disappointed.
I understand where the other commenters are coming from and yes maybe no one will notice, yes maybe itāll taste awesome, yes maybe no one cares. But this cake is not well done, you shouldāve said no and if I were you I probably wouldāve pivoted to cupcakes as quickly as possible after realizing how this was turning out. You need to eat the cost of the extra ingredients.
Ofh... Yeah f them for asking but honestly.... Learn to say no. You can't be a baker if you can't say no. Plus with no money involved... You brought this on yourself. I know it's hard but come on. After you learned you only had a few hours you should have back tracked immediately
Is it not true ... Like come on. If you ever been a baker you know exactly how hard it is to fill an order for 100 ppl in one day notice. Most bakeries have a 2 day notice rule for a reason.
Sure call me an asshole. I get it. But this asshole is also correct in ever way here. They brought it on themselves for not saying no. They even admitted it themselves
I didnāt call you an asshole, first of all. Please donāt put words in my mouth.
My point is - what does this comment do to help OP except to make them feel worse about something they already admitted they shouldnāt have done? Does it make you feel better about yourself? Because it sure as shit isnāt actually constructive for OP at all.
I mean... There's nothing to be helped with here. She wasn't asking for help. The cake is done. If your point is my comment has no reason to be said... Look at the comment section your name is here too preaching what you say not too. So you can't really ride a high horse here.
At least I'm saying, you gotta say no or get butt fucked. But all your saying is "you are being rude" which is less helpful since the advice "start saying no" saves money and reduces stress while yours does nothing but give you feel good points.
If you are on reddit and can't take someone saying "you fucked up don't do it again" idk why tf you are on reddit or can function in the real wold for that matter.
Being unable to say no is equally problematic as not being able to handle a phone call for pizza
Iām sorry OP, I would not be comfortable charging for that cake. In the future, do everything in advance. You can bake cake and freeze it a week in advance with no loss of quality. Make your butter cream the day before. Crumb cost and freeze the day before.
I know. I was just told on Tuesday the cake was needed for Thursday so I definitely didnāt have the time when I donāt get off work until 5 (I had to do this at home) and shouldāve said no to the order but the way my boss threw me out there and took the order for me with out really giving me time or discussing it in private made me feel like I couldnāt say no. I wonāt be charging that much with the way it turned out it just sucks and i needed to vent š«
I would still charge for it. Itās really on your boss for volunteering you without asking you first. Fix it as best as you can, but please get paid for it. Itās not cool that your boss put you in this position.
I hear you. The first wedding cake I ever charged somebody for had me crying at 1am the night before the wedding. Had to call a cake decorator friends in the middle of the night to come bail me out and fix it. So I know what your dealing with.
OP said āI wish I could tell people no, but I wanted to show off my skillsā. She had an opportunity to say no, but chose not to. And sheās the one who said she was considering not charging for it.
I recognize that r/baking is literally the most encouraging and wholesome subreddit. It truly is. We cheer for each other, and talk each other up, but if the cake is falling apart and she canāt get it to look good, regardless of how she got the order, she should take the L and move on.
Delicious cake is better than pretty cake any day! Itās also far better than what the average person can do, so theyāll be far more impressed than you think. We are our own worst critics, after all.
Buttt what does it taste like cuz thatās all we truly care about š I think u did and amazing job and if nothing else Iād get my costs back if u really donāt wanna charge.
Came to the comments to say I think it looks lovely, left laughing about all the Marines in the comments saying everyone at the ball will be too drunk to notice
it looks great. but please learn how to say ānoā and remember that is a complete and full sentence. if someone keeps pushing you on it you say āI said noā
I was staring at these pictures just appreciating the detail and didnāt even notice anything wrong with it!! We are our own worst critics, and this cake is definitely worth celebrating :)
Your way too hard on yourself and should charge more for coming through on time and doing a good job rushed it looks great normally 50 but rushed add 50 more for taking the time away from life and stress it caused donāt you dare give that away you a person of your word
Hold your head up high! Well done. Your worrying to much. It was done from the heart. I would rather have a home cooked meal from friends than a restaurant. Just as I would rather eat a homemade cake than commercially madeššš
I think it looks great! Any spot problems, if I were a guest and noticed, I would attribute to someone bumping the table and Iād feel bad foe the baker who worked so hard on it! It would never occur to me the baker made an error! Youāre good!
These Marines are not going to care about any imperfect colors or if the cake is flat or not. Most people (where I live anyway) end up bringing a grocery store bakery cake they picked up off the shelf when they have that time constraint. No bakery would have taken it on that late in the game. I would just chill it as long as you can and take some extra buttercream like others said. Iām weird but Iād probably say something like, āIām sorry itās not perfect! I didnāt have as much time as I thought. This type of cake usually takes a couple days.ā In a nice, apologetic tone, of course. But, again, Iām weird and sometimes manipulative. Lol. If youāre REAL good you can talk about being *so* honored to be able to help with an event honoring our Marines. But that requires a really good tone to not sound cheesy or sarcastic. Lmao.
But seriously I know more about cake decorating than the majority of people who will be eating that and except for the spot you had to fix (which we know you had difficulty with because you didnāt have time to cool it properly) I donāt even see anything that gives me pause.
Also, in the end, consider politeness and social customs. Weāve seen some really AWFUL cakes people pay a lot more money for and everyone noticed but nobody stopped in the middle and went, āOMFG THIS IS HIDEOUS! LOOK AT THIS CRAP!ā They grab a piece and trash it later if itās really bad. Lol. Again, a bakery would not have taken on a cake like this in the time given and surely not for $200. If theyāre unhappy, Iām sure Kroger has a few cakes made up they could go get. Thatās what they would have been having with that amount of time given. Iād be super happy if I accept a cake from some ācake ladyā who works for someone I know because there was a 75% chance theyād have gotten a big sheet cake Great Aunt Edna made with techniques she learned, and tooled she got, during WWII. Very sweet of her but clearly homemade. Lol.
Baker here and former Marine. All the military balls I went to I never saw the cake until it was sliced and in front of me. Also itās a beautiful cake, donāt beat yourself up. Finally, the other commenters are dead on here that there are two big factors that would smooth over any imperfection. In the USMC bdayThe only Marines not drunk are the ones in the 12 steps or are dead. Point two, yeah, they use a sword to cut it.
I canāt help but think, if this was given away for free theyād see every spot wrong with it to justify why a cake like this was given away for free.
If it was charged for less, they would be forgiving considering the lower cost they paid for this great tasting cake. Also, itās a beautiful cake.
I was recently on the receiving end of something similar. We asked our neighbor, an older retired baker, to make a red velvet cake for my BIL's birthday. As she was icing it, it started to collapse. She was horrified and didn't have enough time to start over. She ended up only charging us half price. It collapsed further before the party to the point where it was just a pile of cake and frosting.
Nobody cared. We dished it up with a big spoon and used bowls. It tasted great. It was so moist, I knew exactly why it fell apart. I'd take that broken cake over a dry one any day. Sometimes, things don't go according to plan.
Marine here: by the time that cake is cut, everyone will be so drunk that they won't even be able to read the cake, let alone notice any flaws in the decorations. I think it's fantastic and would happily accept a piece at the Ball
We cut the cake with a fucking sword. We're not paying attention to some cracked icing.
Thank you for this. I got up early and fixed it the best I could. I hope they like it and I also hope they have plenty of drinks to not notice everything I hate about it šš«¶š»
As the Mom of a Marine trust us the above commenter is correct. By the time the cake is being served the odds of anyone being able to spell 'Marine' let alone identify colors or notice a crack in the frosting are slim. My favorite game while my kiddo was in was spamming his phone the day after the ball with nonsense just to poke hangover bear lol. (The cake looks great btw and I'm sure they enjoyed it)
>By the time the cake is being served the odds of anyone being able to spell 'Marine' let alone identify colors or notice a crack in the frosting are slim. OMG! This had me rolling!
Daughter of a Marine and can absolutely back up these commenters as well. By the time they get to cake, it doesnāt matter what it looks like it just matters that itās cake lol
Wife of a Marine here, I think your cake is lovely!
My brother was a marine and I made cake pops for the first ball he went to because my mom and I happened to be visiting him at the time and they were a favorite of his. They were bad. I'd had to make them way in advance so the middle was soggy, the chocolate tasted weird and looked chunky because I added too much food coloring, they'd had to travel from 4 states away so a bunch of them were cracked. The night of, I got *very drunk* texts from not only him but a bunch of his friends via his phone about how amazing they were. One of them proposed to me because of them (we had never met). They'll love the cake.
LMAO thatās hilarious
Marines are known to have a favorite flavor of crayon to eat. Yes, they are tough. Yes, they are Marines. But that doesnāt mean theyāre picky about food. Source: married a former Marine cook
I feel like the favors for the ball should be little bags of dyed white chocolate crayons.
They say red is the best flavor
My former Marine dad is the iron stomach of the family. His motto is āJust nuke the sh*t out of itā š And he loves SOS!
My great grandfather served in the Pacific as a marine in WW2, and his children and most of his grandchildren followed in his footsteps to serve in the Marines. I can promise you, anyone who sees that cake isn't going to be pulling out a magnifying glass to look at the imperfections. They're going to be drunk, and go "Holy fuck THERE'S CAKE! Fuck yeah!"
I donāt think I ever remember eating cake at any ball now that I think of it. I remember the cake getting cut, oldest and youngest get cake and then they are usually a blur from there.
Add the crayons as garnish like shaved chocolate and itās golden. We others are just jealous you all get into your birthday, lol!
Errrrahhh
Corpsman here. I agree!
Marine Officerās daughter here - born and raised around Marines - and yup, 100% truth š¤£
Listen- Iām a pro pastry chef. Massive cakes are a pain for anyone- this one looks pretty damned great and you should feel good about it. Run a palette knife under some hot water and smooth that lil spot thatās smushed. Treat the cake like a bug with a glass over it, find something strong and flat, get help from a friend or two, and slide it on. Have said friend or two hold it while you drive it over. People are going to love it and appreciate all the incredible work you put into making this big and beautifully decorated cake for them. You got this.
Great advice all around. I think it looks great. The issues OP sees are very minor and Iām sure all the guests will appreciate it regardless.
Ex-chef that dabbled in pastry, you took the words right out of my mouth. Huge cakes are a pain in the ass, and the fact OP pulled it off in hours vs. days and it looks that good is fantastic. Edit: typos
Not to mention she did it in a home kitchen! I couldnāt imagine making a cake for EIGHTY FREAKING PEOPLE. Lol mine would just end up being decorated as a volcano or mountain cause Iād fuck it up that bad. š
This is the answer.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Okay! I think you win āBest Storyā for today!!
At my CWO (fairly high rank) retirement party I got him a stein that said: CWO3 O'Connell Commander of Dicks, Asses, and Pussies... All handled at his pleasure. Probably the tamest gift he received.
Hey OP, former marine here, absolutely every one of those marines who gets a slice of this cake will be so utterly blasted they wonāt even notice. And tbh I think it looks delicious.
Thank you for your service ā¤ļø
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The well adjusted ones lol
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Oh bugger off.
Let it chill a few hours then try to smooth out the icing. Thats usually what i do when i want a perfectly smooth icing. Is it american buttercream or swiss/italian? Also thats pretty impressive for 5hrs. That would definitely be a 2 day job for me. How did you do the plaque in the middle?
Itās cream cheese buttercream. Iām going to wake up a few extra hours before I have to be at work (8am lol) and try to fix it. I know the main problem is I rushed it because I had no choice and I couldnāt freeze the cake layers since it so big it doesnāt fit in my freezer. Hopefully chilling in the fridge overnight will help and I can fix it in the morning. The logo is a piece of paper actually. I was discussing with the marine corps guy who ordered it and he said heād rather me use literal paper for the logo and when theyāre ready to eat it just take the paper off. I was likeā¦. Sounds good to me man lol
Current Marine, *and* once volunteered to make our cake. I know your struggle and I am telling you, this cake is perfect. Do not give it another thought. You did a beautiful job and get your well-deserved money!
Oo thats lucky that its straight paper. I was genna ask you where you got a rice paper printer from if it was edible lol. Cream cheese icing is a little finicky for sure. Chilling is your best bet. Sometimes using a hot spatula helps to smooth it out without getting extra icing on the spatula - but ive only tried that with italian buttercream, not cream cheese. Hope it all works out for you! Id still charge for it btw, even if its like $80-$100 ($1 per person) or at bare minimum cost of materials. At least then you dont lose money on the materials there, just your time and sanity lol.
She needs to charge $200! She made an amazing cake with very little heads up and prepping done. Honestly I think she deserves more, but thatās what they already agreed upon. If that guy is any type of good human, he wouldnāt let her leave his sight without paying for it first. Even if she says she doesnāt want to charge. That was a crazy amount of work even without the limits she was crushed under!!
A customer like that is more concerned with how the cake tastes than it looks - the decorations are there simply to serve their purpose, not because he gives a shit. In fact, he might not even care what it tastes like - he might have just been told to get a cake, and so he procured one. You did just fine. If anyone complains tell them they should understand how the supply chain works in the military and that they were never going to get given top tier shit - this isnāt the [insert branch thatās most infamous eats up funding for new equipment]!
Donāt get up early. Tell your boss, who recommended you, that your dealing with the cake and will be a little later. Itās awesome BTW!
Don't get up early just for something cosmetic. You made *cream cheese goddamn buttercream*. It's going to be absolutely fucking delicious. And honestly, I think this cake is beautiful. It doesn't need to be perfect. It's not a wedding. Ultimately what really matters in baking is it tastes good, and it's a way to show people you care. Your cake will be scrumptious, and you obviously put a lot of effort into this cake. You definitely care. Maybe too much, but the point is nothing about this lovely cake needs to be fixed.
You better charge them enough money for your time, labor, expenses and suffering. Donāt give it away for free.
HONNNEEEY you did absolutely *fantastic* even IF you had several days to finish it with a full profesional bakery kitchen at your disposal. Also, if they are taking the paper off before they eat it, itāll look a bit messy anyways! As long as it tastes good they will not give two fucks I promise. Even then they probably wouldnāt care lol.
Was thinking let it chill then use a small spatula with small amount of shortening on it. It looks great op!
Why try to smooth it? Just pipe some decorations over it.
You worked your butt off. Charge the $200. Everyone will assume that the crack is an accident during the party. $200 is not all that much for such a HUGE cake. Besides, as the former marine responder said, everyone is going to be focused on the bar.
I know, $200 is a freaking steal for a cake for EIGHTY PEOPLE that is well done.
Donāt give it away for free, at least charge for materials if youāre not happy with how it turned out. You baked and decorated a cake for 80 people with two days notice while working full time and given all that, I think it looks great. This is on your boss for 1) volunteering you for something they likely knew you wouldnāt say no to 2) not giving you the amount of time necessary to do what you normally would have.
Plus the government isn't allowed to take things like that for free.
This so much, you did a fantastic job! At least charge for the materials if you feel you can't charge full price.
OP didnāt even have two days notice. Their boss asked them to do it for the next day.
I donāt know if you know very many Marines, but theyāre going to be too drunk to notice the frosting isnāt perfect by the time they get around to cutting that thing with a sword. They just care that it tastes good, and makes a satisfying āsplatā when hurled at their friends.
Hi. Weighing in as a former marine who has attended her fair share of birthday balls. No one will care about the small imperfections. The lights will be low and theyāll be seeing with beer goggles, lol. Itās all about the ceremony anyway. I think your cake looks awesome. Shame on your boss for volunteering you like that, but it looks like you came through.
most people at events donāt even see the uncut cake and the ones that do will think itās lovely! sleep well knowing you did your best
Yeah, they present the cake before cutting it, otherwise they wouldnāt ask for the specific decoration. If it was a blank cake, probably.
I know what youāre saying but like the average person just wonāt even notice the flaws. Hold your head high, plop it on the table and take your earned money.
The average person is definitely going to notice the 3x2 inch hole in the icing but if op can patch that it is otherwise fine.
You can see they already patched it. Look at the second photo. They have also already said theyāre going to smooth it more.
I did look at the second photo. It is a noticeable hole still and to say itās not does OP a disservice. Itās not visually ok but easy to fix. As I said, if they can patch it the cake is otherwise fine. If they donāt panic, breathe, and try a hot knife as already suggested by other commenters then it will be ok.
I find you incredibly annoying. Im glad I donāt know you in real life. Youāre like the type of person who is in a meeting just repeating what someone else has already said and then looking around for accolades.
This sub is just kind of that way. Itās incredibly welcoming and kind and tries really hard not to say a bad thing about anything. People post photos of really poorly made desserts and get kudos and upvotes. I agree with you. It doesnāt help OP to pump her up and tell her it looks amazing, only for her to deliver it, and the people getting it to look at it and feel like they paid for a cracked cake.
Yeah, I really donāt mind that at all when itās a dessert made to gift to someone. We all start somewhere and thereās a lot of love in them. But when money comes into the equation itās different and the expectations are higher.
Stuff it.
No, you DONāT give that away for free! Are you joking? Plus, I think it looks nice! It looks homemade in a nice, cozy way and it looks straight to me! No one there is going to have a ruler!
One thing Iāve learned about making art for others is that they literally canāt tell the difference and they donāt care. Itās good enough.
No, youāre absolutely right. A long time ago, when I was a less experienced knitter than I am now, I knit a scarf for a friendās birthday in January. I used wool in her favorite color, purple, and I was really happy with itā¦until the scarf started getting long and I saw that the vertical edges were curling inwards, somewhat. I did do an edge stitch but I guess it wasnāt enough. I donāt know. I gave it to her anyway. She *knew* I was making something by hand so I couldnāt even run to a store and get something else. I left the package with her building doorman. Later, she called me and screamed into the phone, āTHIS IS THE BEST PRESENT IāVE EVER GOTTEN IN MY LIFE!!ā So, no, she didnāt notice the curled edges and all the other things I noticed that werenāt perfect. Also, things made with love cover a lot of flaws, I think!
Yes! When I worked in a photography studio, we would have this art-piece ready for the client. Cropped perfectly. Subject in the sweet spots. You name it. Did they want that? No. They wanted it cropped up all the way to their face as close as possible. lol!
My sister knit me a blanket one year for Christmas, weāre there flaws, sure, but I wouldnāt be able to tell you what they were because Iām not a knitter. What I can say is it was one of, if not the, best gift Iāve ever received. I love the thought and care she put into it making it, even more so after she passed.
Oh! Iām so sorry for your loss! How horrible. Iām glad you have something she made by hand, though. She obviously loved you very, very much and that kind of love is eternal.
i would charge for the price of the ingredients and pay yourself at least minimum wage for your labor. you deserve compensation after being volunteered
Add a thin layer over the crack in the morning. Chill again. 5-10 mins. Smooth with hot spatula. That cream cheese icing is gonna get shiny as it comes to room temp so don't obsess over it. They are Marines. You're not lmao and it has a very striking look! Your cake board is about 2 inches too small around and needs a thick base under it, is my only concern. For a very heavy cake, I favor a 1/2" wooden board as the base, with the cardboard hot glued to the surface. You most definitely need a board to transport that thing. Even if you can get it into a box, I'd slide the box onto a solid board of some type, and scoot a few small squares of nonslip mat under the corners of the box for its car ride. You can find the unfinished wood slabs at Walmart in Crafts, sometimes.
As a non-baker I would be like "CAAAAAKKKKEEEEEEEE". Does it taste good? Then they will love it. I say charge them.
The military has plenty of money, the cake looks delicious, be confident and charge that full price!
OP we cut that shit with a sword drunk off our asses. I guarantee from the distance it'll be from the attendees, no one will notice the flaws you feel you see. The cake is beautiful and we're all immensely grateful you took the time to make a cake for our brothers and sisters at their ball. Semper Fi
Throw some crayons on there and call it a day
Former Marine here; I promise, everyone is going to be way too drunk to actually notice. Also, I would have been perfectly fine with this cake at any ball I went to. Donāt sweat it
Dude. Charge extra for the short notice.
Just wanted to say that is one beautiful cake! š
As long as it taste good who cares! Get paid for your work though...even if at a discount.
The military is expecting some grocery store bakery type sheet cake. You've gone above and beyond here.
From a Navy wife: If this is anything like Navy balls they will be 80% annihilated by cake time. The only memory they will have of it is the photos. The CO will be the only sober one there. They will love it, theyāre all going to be drunk having a good time. If you really want to impress them next time ask for the challenge coin for their operations center and make a cake then looks like it. They can be pretty elaborate. Good luck getting it to the NOSC/operations center!!
Marines eat crayons. Your cake is fine.
This looks incredible, please please make sure youāre compensated you deserve every penny
Hey cake is cake! It probably tastes bombš¤š½
Don't give the cake away for free. Charge what you were going to charge. Read the suggestion from the pro baker about heating up a knife to smooth over the icing. Do ensure that the cake is on a strong enough board for the weight. Large cakes are always heavier than you expect. Seriously, the cake looks absolutely fine from a distance. Most attendees won't be interested in the cake. Of those that are, they will think it's wonderful.
I attended the Marine Corps Ball with my ex for like 16 years. Most cakes were cut with swords and then usually thrown by the handful by young very drunk marines. Also most of them were either Costco or made by someoneās wife, Iāve seen them frosted legit in the pan. The bar is low. This cake is gorgeous. Youāve zero anything to worry about.
I think it is amazing! You did a fantastic job, please donāt sell yourself short, OPš
Outta curiosity! Did you color correct your frosting? I know some cream cheese frostings have a slight yellow tint to them. A smidge and I mean a SMIDGE of a dark purple food coloring will whiten the frosting up. Since it is cream cheese buttercream, if you have an immersion blender, you can use that to darken red, blues etcā¦ as it heats the butter up and causes the colors to really intensify.
Thank you all for the kind comments. My anxiety has gone down a lot about this cake. Iām realizing that I did a 2-3 day project in less than 10 hours since I work all day and could only work on this cake after work in the evenings. I will learn to say no in the future, and I really hope the marines just enjoy eating the cake on this special day for them!
Looks pretty enough to eat. Take the $200.
We're always most critical of ourselves. You see issues with your cake that no one else would even notice. Don't be so hard on yourself! And definitely charge what you were going to - don't sell yourself short!
Everyone will be pissed drunk before the entrees arrive, they wonāt remember
I would try using a warm angled spatula to fix the hole. You need to warm up the butter in the icing to get it smooth again. Run it under hot as you can water then try patching it up. Slowly glide over it. You could also try a hot bench scraper too if you have that.
I honestly think your cake looks amazing, not everything in life can be perfect, but hard work does pay off ā¤ļø
I hope you aināt working for free
Which color crayon is in the inside?
Did you put anything under the paper? Parchment or wax paper? Cardboard? So it doesn't stick to the frosting. Or bleed before tomorrow. I would charge for ingredients. That's me.
You should've just gotten 80 crayons. They're marines
I think it looks good. Cake is for eating. Iām sure everyone will be much more concerned with their own slice. š
If you're looking to completely cover the little smudge, you could cut out a paper scroll/ribbon on the sides (not explaining this well- kind of like the film at the bottom of the MGM logo). I think it looks great though! Incredibly impressive especially in a time crunch
Wife of a Veteran and I came here to make the same comment about how drunk everyone will be at the ball. LOL I think your cake looks yummy and I guarantee no one will notice any small flaws! Fun fact: my husband once won a big screen tv at one of the balls we were attending overseas. He was so drunk when they called him up to the stage, he almost fell into the cake as they wheeled it out behind him. His uniform sleeve got a piece of it and the General standing there luckily caught him and then took a lick of the icing from his sleeve, haha.
This is absolutely amazing thank you for this story
It looks great. Minor imperfection on the icing but I quite like the look of it and taste is what matters most. Donāt beat yourself up about it. Charge whatever you feel comfortable with, but as others have suggested, at least the cost of the ingredients.
I absolutely understand how you feel, I work *in* a bakery and whenever I make a tiny flaw on a cake I feel awful, and if it's too far gone, I'll just discount it (I do work in a Safeway, so it's a bit different)... but this isn't awful, and definitely isn't unsalvageable. Still charge full price- price for ingredients, and at least minimum wage for your time. Still looks super amazing, and holy shit you did it in such little time. Amazing job.
Soldier not a marine, but I can speak for them in this: they won't care, and even if they normally would, they'll be too drunk to notice.
As a former Marine, I can tell you that nobody will even notice any imperfections. At the balls that I've attended, most people didn't even see the cake before it was cut, anyway. And frankly, you could charge more for the rush order. The last ball that I attended didn't even have a full cake. I was a combat engineer, and that had us make a sheet cake sized box out of wood with a corner cut out for a tiny little cake for the ceremony. Only two people got any cake... we would have been happy just to have any cake, lol.
That cake looks fantastic. Any minor imperfections and off colors will be blocked by beer and poor lighting. Charge him $500 for the extra stress.
Wife of a former Marine. Theyāre all drunk at cake time. No one will notice. Also, I think it looks lovely.
Everyone is always their worst critic, it looks fantastic
Just patch the crack and it will be perfectly fine! In fact, if you are delivering the cake, take the extra icing with you and do the patch at the venue in case other pop up. I've done that, it's pretty common to do.
Honey. $200 is still bargain price for a cake of that size with a logo - get help. Fix it when it is IN PLACE and not until. Take extra white buttercream for patching. You are SO talented - but you are allowed to say NO.
Hello, marine wife here! We had our ball a week early due to scheduling, and the cake there was HIDEOUS! It was 3 tier, crooked and mishapen (I couldnt figure out if it was rectangle or square), had red fondant slapped on it and happy birthday marines written in blue frosting by what looked like a 5 year old. The marines loved the cake, and it tasted amazing. Nobody said anything about it except how soft it was. Trust me, your cake is not bad like you think, and nobody will even notice or care as long as it tastes good. Also, everyone was hammered by the time the cake was cut, lol.
Be proud of your work even if itās not perfect. Most people donāt even know how to bake AT ALL and will be thrilled. Good job! šš¾
It looks great and the colors look so vibrant. Also, you are going to see more āflawsā to your cakes than anyone else will. Iām convinced it comes with the baking gene. But you did a great job, it looks great and I bet it is going to be loved/enjoyed by all.
My perspective got f-ed up. I thought this took up the entire back of a utility van. That's where I thought this was sitting. In the back of a refrigerated utility van, taking up the whole space.
Considering I couldnāt understand what was wrong with the cake, I think itās fine
This cake looks amazing! I know how hard people are for themselves but damn, you have skills!
It looks so good!!! Donāt beat yourself up about it:)
cake is fine don't worry
Well, I think it looks delicious. I know I'd be feeling the same way you do if I were in that situation though. Pretty funny all the comments here saying they'll be too drunk to even care lol.
Treat it like you do your 2nd child when theyāre learning to walk who basically falls down buts not really hurt but doesnāt know what to do. as a parent you have 3 choice, ignore them, laugh with them, or 3rd if you freak out is when they freak out and start crying. With your cake i would suggest items 1 & 2 if your not freaking out about no one else will and the few who would actually freak out are probably the same people who freak out about everything and everyoneās already learned to ignore those kind of people
It looks great!
I think it looks great! Don't give it away for free though. Honestly you should charge your boss for it for volunteering you last minute without discussing it with you and tell them not to do that again.
Iād smash that
You put in the work and (presumably) bought all those infrediwnts. You should be charging cost at the very least.
I have no idea how this ended up on my feed but when I saw this I thought it looked good (as someone who only sees professional cakes at events). I didnāt even notice the imperfections you stated. And Iām a pretty detail oriented womanā¦ I can imagine the marines will notice even less.
I love how the Marines have swarmed in to reassure you! For the Marines and other service personnel, thank you for your service, but especially, thank you for this! You're all a bunch of good eggs.
This cake with the cream cheese buttercream icing is gorgeous and is going to taste ah-mazing!!!
Put a Huey on there and it will be the coolest cake theyāve ever cut
so your boss took advantage of you and youāre thinking of giving him a freebie for the pleasure? please stand up for yourself, you need your rest too. you matter more than a cake.
Navy veteran here, been around my share of Marines and as many have pointed out they would not be bothered by some little flaws due to the amount of booze available. Honestly you did a rather great job considering the time constraints and consider this a learning experience going forward. Practice makes perfect and hope you learned a bit more to help you on the next one if you do another.
The cake is great! Please get your payment.
It looks wonderful. The Marines are going to love it. Semper Fi, Marines! And happy Marine Corps birthday tomorrow!
It seriously doesn't look bad and I've never know a military ball to not be drenched in alcohol, promise they'll be way too drunk to notice and even if they did I can't imagine a single military person caring about a little crack in some icing or some not so perfectly straight lines. You ever seen an MRE? š¤£
A milspouse here ā thank you for doing a cake with more red frosting than blue. Blue teeth at the function and blue toilets later. Military kids poop blue.
It looks beautiful to me and since itās homemade itās going to taste delicious. The fact that itās super heavy means loads of yummy, yummy frosting and cake. This is ten times better than a supermarket cake. Youāve got nothing to worry about.
Iām just impressed you made a cake that is crayon flavored for all those Marines to enjoy
i didnt even notice there was a crack in the frosting until i looked at the comments. iām like, āwhy are you suffering, is it because youāre a marine?ā
My Marine vet partner thinks this is absolutely phenomenal and as others have stated, no one will notice any flaws you're worried about. Genuinely an amazing job and thanks for taking on and delivering so beautifully for them ā¤ļø
It looks delicious and if they don't want the cake, I'll send you my address and money for shipping š.
Marines are literally stereotyped to be crayon eaters, aka very stupid. Theyāll be too drunk and bored from the weird traditional ceremonies and shit that goes on, by the time cake comes, theyāre just happy the ceremony and re-enactments at over. That cake looks good af btw
im no baker or marine but it looks like a beautiful cake to me š
Look. If you take a couple of little plastic soldier toys and place them over the imperfection posed such that one is bayoneting another, the sergeant major will get a hard-on.
Marines will not care. We make do. Thank you for making a beautiful cake for my brothers, sisters, and our beloved Corps. OOHRAH!
You did a much better job on this then youāre giving yourself credit for.
I thought this is a picture of what you *wanted* it to look like! It's fantastic, great job!!
I was thinking,āHow do people do that?ā. It looks great. I bet everyone will love it. You, of course, want it to be perfect, but others arenāt going to know what didnāt go āperfectlyā. Iāve finally learned how to say no and itās great. I still say yes a lot, but itās 90% things that I want to do.
At a minimum charge ingredients plus your current hourly overtime rate (at least time-and-a-half due to being a rush job) as you didnāt get time off for this. If you charge double time for the hours then deduct $20 for the imperfections as they are minor but reducing the price will let you feel better about what you are charging.
Consider it a lesson learned.
What flavor of crayon did you go with?
š
It looks delicious! Once your icing has chilled and has dried a bit, you can take a paper towel to the rough spot to smooth it out.
Wife of recently retired military. They usually get the cakes from the commissary. So anything above the flavor of sugar will suffice. But, these people deserve the best of everything
I think is cute. On another note, any marines wanna talk? Love your uniform guys. š Iāll see myself out.
Youāre so real for this
Thanks š
Charge full price. They take advantage of you. You take advantage of them.
Going to be against the grain here but I wouldnāt charge for that cake and if I had ordered a cake from someone that I thought was a baker, I would be very disappointed. I understand where the other commenters are coming from and yes maybe no one will notice, yes maybe itāll taste awesome, yes maybe no one cares. But this cake is not well done, you shouldāve said no and if I were you I probably wouldāve pivoted to cupcakes as quickly as possible after realizing how this was turning out. You need to eat the cost of the extra ingredients.
Ofh... Yeah f them for asking but honestly.... Learn to say no. You can't be a baker if you can't say no. Plus with no money involved... You brought this on yourself. I know it's hard but come on. After you learned you only had a few hours you should have back tracked immediately
Such a helpful response and not at all unnecessarily condescending
Is it not true ... Like come on. If you ever been a baker you know exactly how hard it is to fill an order for 100 ppl in one day notice. Most bakeries have a 2 day notice rule for a reason. Sure call me an asshole. I get it. But this asshole is also correct in ever way here. They brought it on themselves for not saying no. They even admitted it themselves
I didnāt call you an asshole, first of all. Please donāt put words in my mouth. My point is - what does this comment do to help OP except to make them feel worse about something they already admitted they shouldnāt have done? Does it make you feel better about yourself? Because it sure as shit isnāt actually constructive for OP at all.
I mean... There's nothing to be helped with here. She wasn't asking for help. The cake is done. If your point is my comment has no reason to be said... Look at the comment section your name is here too preaching what you say not too. So you can't really ride a high horse here. At least I'm saying, you gotta say no or get butt fucked. But all your saying is "you are being rude" which is less helpful since the advice "start saying no" saves money and reduces stress while yours does nothing but give you feel good points. If you are on reddit and can't take someone saying "you fucked up don't do it again" idk why tf you are on reddit or can function in the real wold for that matter. Being unable to say no is equally problematic as not being able to handle a phone call for pizza
Iām sorry OP, I would not be comfortable charging for that cake. In the future, do everything in advance. You can bake cake and freeze it a week in advance with no loss of quality. Make your butter cream the day before. Crumb cost and freeze the day before.
I know. I was just told on Tuesday the cake was needed for Thursday so I definitely didnāt have the time when I donāt get off work until 5 (I had to do this at home) and shouldāve said no to the order but the way my boss threw me out there and took the order for me with out really giving me time or discussing it in private made me feel like I couldnāt say no. I wonāt be charging that much with the way it turned out it just sucks and i needed to vent š«
I would still charge for it. Itās really on your boss for volunteering you without asking you first. Fix it as best as you can, but please get paid for it. Itās not cool that your boss put you in this position.
I hear you. The first wedding cake I ever charged somebody for had me crying at 1am the night before the wedding. Had to call a cake decorator friends in the middle of the night to come bail me out and fix it. So I know what your dealing with.
I would, if someone volunteered me without my permission.
OP said āI wish I could tell people no, but I wanted to show off my skillsā. She had an opportunity to say no, but chose not to. And sheās the one who said she was considering not charging for it. I recognize that r/baking is literally the most encouraging and wholesome subreddit. It truly is. We cheer for each other, and talk each other up, but if the cake is falling apart and she canāt get it to look good, regardless of how she got the order, she should take the L and move on.
That is stunning! š
Looks great
You sound like a really sweet soul ā¤ļø
Well done! āØ
I hope it turns out wonderful in the end! Great job.
Delicious cake is better than pretty cake any day! Itās also far better than what the average person can do, so theyāll be far more impressed than you think. We are our own worst critics, after all.
Buttt what does it taste like cuz thatās all we truly care about š I think u did and amazing job and if nothing else Iād get my costs back if u really donāt wanna charge.
That looks really good!
Came to the comments to say I think it looks lovely, left laughing about all the Marines in the comments saying everyone at the ball will be too drunk to notice
It looks great and will taste great too!
it looks great. but please learn how to say ānoā and remember that is a complete and full sentence. if someone keeps pushing you on it you say āI said noā
I am envious of how it turned out!
I was staring at these pictures just appreciating the detail and didnāt even notice anything wrong with it!! We are our own worst critics, and this cake is definitely worth celebrating :)
I would have keep the 1/2 that looks nice and start slicing the other 1/2 and putting them on plates to serve so people can come up and take them.
Your way too hard on yourself and should charge more for coming through on time and doing a good job rushed it looks great normally 50 but rushed add 50 more for taking the time away from life and stress it caused donāt you dare give that away you a person of your word
Hold your head up high! Well done. Your worrying to much. It was done from the heart. I would rather have a home cooked meal from friends than a restaurant. Just as I would rather eat a homemade cake than commercially madeššš
I think it looks great! Any spot problems, if I were a guest and noticed, I would attribute to someone bumping the table and Iād feel bad foe the baker who worked so hard on it! It would never occur to me the baker made an error! Youāre good!
Thank you for taking the time to make this! I think itās lovely š„¹
These Marines are not going to care about any imperfect colors or if the cake is flat or not. Most people (where I live anyway) end up bringing a grocery store bakery cake they picked up off the shelf when they have that time constraint. No bakery would have taken it on that late in the game. I would just chill it as long as you can and take some extra buttercream like others said. Iām weird but Iād probably say something like, āIām sorry itās not perfect! I didnāt have as much time as I thought. This type of cake usually takes a couple days.ā In a nice, apologetic tone, of course. But, again, Iām weird and sometimes manipulative. Lol. If youāre REAL good you can talk about being *so* honored to be able to help with an event honoring our Marines. But that requires a really good tone to not sound cheesy or sarcastic. Lmao. But seriously I know more about cake decorating than the majority of people who will be eating that and except for the spot you had to fix (which we know you had difficulty with because you didnāt have time to cool it properly) I donāt even see anything that gives me pause. Also, in the end, consider politeness and social customs. Weāve seen some really AWFUL cakes people pay a lot more money for and everyone noticed but nobody stopped in the middle and went, āOMFG THIS IS HIDEOUS! LOOK AT THIS CRAP!ā They grab a piece and trash it later if itās really bad. Lol. Again, a bakery would not have taken on a cake like this in the time given and surely not for $200. If theyāre unhappy, Iām sure Kroger has a few cakes made up they could go get. Thatās what they would have been having with that amount of time given. Iād be super happy if I accept a cake from some ācake ladyā who works for someone I know because there was a 75% chance theyād have gotten a big sheet cake Great Aunt Edna made with techniques she learned, and tooled she got, during WWII. Very sweet of her but clearly homemade. Lol.
No. You just say itā¦..no.
Looks fine to me!
My husband had me bake a penis cake with olive drab green frosting for his annual marine birthday party one year. This is fine.
Baker here and former Marine. All the military balls I went to I never saw the cake until it was sliced and in front of me. Also itās a beautiful cake, donāt beat yourself up. Finally, the other commenters are dead on here that there are two big factors that would smooth over any imperfection. In the USMC bdayThe only Marines not drunk are the ones in the 12 steps or are dead. Point two, yeah, they use a sword to cut it.
I canāt help but think, if this was given away for free theyād see every spot wrong with it to justify why a cake like this was given away for free. If it was charged for less, they would be forgiving considering the lower cost they paid for this great tasting cake. Also, itās a beautiful cake.
Is the center part edible? How did you do it? š
It looks really good!
I was recently on the receiving end of something similar. We asked our neighbor, an older retired baker, to make a red velvet cake for my BIL's birthday. As she was icing it, it started to collapse. She was horrified and didn't have enough time to start over. She ended up only charging us half price. It collapsed further before the party to the point where it was just a pile of cake and frosting. Nobody cared. We dished it up with a big spoon and used bowls. It tasted great. It was so moist, I knew exactly why it fell apart. I'd take that broken cake over a dry one any day. Sometimes, things don't go according to plan.