I ended up spreading the cream cheese filling when the cake was still warm. Would this possibly have an effect on it? I also added in golden syrup to the receipe which would create more mositure and probably take longer to cook.
I would never put cream cheese or any filling on the cake when it's warm, it will melt right into the cake. That could very well be what happened. Always wait until everything cools off completely before you do any icing or decorating.
Never fill a warm cake it will make the cake look wet and undercooked as it soakes in when it melts just like butter on warm toast. It could also make the butter or creamcheese go rancid when it cools down and settles.
My thoughts are the same. The cake was probably cooked through, especially if you torted it. It would not have cut properly if it was not done. I think your problem was filling a warm cake.
Stephanie
I had a couple claim their cake was raw and they wanted a refund too!! I investigated asking other members at the wedding (including the person that cut the cake) only to find out ALL the cake was served, they had a TON more cake than they needed because people who said they were coming, didn't show!! I told them NO REFUND because of my finding (bride and groom even bragged about having the BEST cake ever to everyone at the reception)
turns out they were trying to recoop some of the money spent on the wedding and since they had so much cake they figured that was a good place to start. They threatened legal action and I told them to bring it on because I knew I was in the right! Their cake was torted and filled and I would have known if it was undercooked (it was split into 1" thick pieces, no way I wouldn't have noticed raw cake)
They apologized in the end and wished me luck in my future endeavors!
In my opinion a full refund is due... As stated before it might hurt but it is the right thing to do...
Word of mouth travels very fast...
I once did a 14" cake and when i torted it, it had these strange jell-like pockets in it. Still have no idea what that was. I would never have known if I hadn't torted the cake. Its never happened again, but still wondering what happened.
Well, Tee-Y, I think it is SMART business-especially when your reputation is at stake. By you being proactive you show that you are sorry this happened, that it is a very rare occurrence and you want to make amends. Rather than be short sighted, and only looking to protect costs from one order, you show that you have a little something called integrity and you believe in your business and your product. So chill out when criticizing others' POV and think about it before you take hands to keyboard.
I torted all my tiers too. I took it out of the oven, then waitied about an hour or two before I torted it but it was still warm. When a cake is still warm from the oven, it looks more moist when its cut. (think of bread when its out of the oven its more doey but once its cooled its light). I ended up spreading the cream cheese filling when the cake was still warm. Would this possibly have an effect on it? I also added in golden syrup to the receipe which would create more mositure and probably take longer to cook.
And here we have the problem... if you torted the cake, you obviously would have known if it was underdone. You would never be able to handle/move around torted layers that weren't baked through.
HOWEVER, you need to wait until the cake is COMPLETELY cool to start working with it. And 100% most DEFINITELY, never ever ever fill a cake that is still warm... your cream cheese filling likely melted into the cake and made a mess out of the center of the cake. Not to mention the food safety issue with adding cream cheese filling to a still-warm cake--you risked spoiling the cream cheese and having a food-borne illness on your hands. Bake your cakes a day earlier so they are 100% COOL when torting and filling.
In my first reply to the customer I did actually explain that there might be other causes to the cake looking raw, e.g. cream cheese filling added in whilst still warm. She had no problem with this reason that I gave her but she said that the venue manager who is an expeienced chef said it was raw so I didn't wanted to argue with him. I just wanted to settle the issue and put it behind me.
In my first reply to the customer I did actually explain that there might be other causes to the cake looking raw, e.g. cream cheese filling added in whilst still warm. She had no problem with this reason that I gave her but she said that the venue manager who is an expeienced chef said it was raw so I didn't wanted to argue with him. I just wanted to settle the issue and put it behind me.
I can totally see how, if the filling had melted into the cake, that someone would have looked at it and thought that it looked like it was batter that hadn't been cooked. It definitely wouldn't have been serve-able, it was probably pretty mushy. I still think that you did the right thing with the refund, and next time just let your cake cool off COMPLETELY before filling it! At least you know what happened.
I agree you did the right thing, because the bottom tier was determined to not be suitable for service. Like you said, you settled it, now put it behind you, with a lesson learned. Don't let it discourage you--tomorrow is a new day!
do you think maybe an email to the chef to address what happened would be appropriate? I would worry about the rep with the venue, not the bride. At least the venue would know that you don't serve undercooked cakes, it was a cream cheese-melting issue.
I think you handled this very well.
Hugs to you!
While you did what you felt was right and your happy with your decision(thats all that matters)I still find it hard to belive a bride waited 2 weeks to tell you there was a problem with the cake and you had to email her to find out?? We all know how touchy brides and their mothers can be and I'm very surprised no one called you sooner!!!
Best of luck to you!!!
so sorry to hear of this. x
I guess the bride & groom could have gone off on honeymoon which is why you didnt hear from her before, but did the email you received from the venue come to you direct or did the bride include it in her email? Just wondered as I am suspicious at times also!!
Maybe you could go and see the chef, even now and ask about the cake? what ever, unfortunately these things happen so now just move on and carry on making wonderful cakes which you know you are capable of making.
so sorry to hear of this. x
I guess the bride & groom could have gone off on honeymoon which is why you didnt hear from her before, but did the email you received from the venue come to you direct or did the bride include it in her email? Just wondered as I am suspicious at times also!!
Maybe you could go and see the chef, even now and ask about the cake? what ever, unfortunately these things happen so now just move on and carry on making wonderful cakes which you know you are capable of making.
I have have the same problem with carrot cake in the past. I always use toothpicks to check my cake and I once had a cake I rebaked twice. For that same 4-tier wedding cake, I also had to rebake another cake. I would never have known if I hadn't torted my cakes, which I always do.
I always use toothpicks to check my cakes. That time, I happened to use colored toothpicks. Every cake tested done, even though they weren't. So now, it is plain toothpicks or bamboo skewers and have had no problems.
I always refrigerate and get completely cool before I torte and fill, usually overnight.
Sorry this happened.
Most of the time when a bride complains much later I think she is trying to get money back for no reason other than they want the money back. But since the venue had a chef that also agreed...I think you would be right to offer something as a refund.
They were respectful in their language towards you, if terse, but if the cake was raw, then you should offer a refund.
(((hugs)))
I did a small wedding cake last year that included a carrot cake tier. I had to bake that sucker FUH-EVAH to get it done! I even pulled it out, REMOVED IT FROM THE PAN, cut into it slightly, found it to still be gooey, and returned it to the pan to bake it some more. It was just a small tier, but I had to bake it as long as the bigger tiers. Not sure why, but carrot cakes are notorious for taking a long time and remaining gooey. Not sure I'll even offer carrot cake again, especially if it's a big tier.
So sorry this happened to you, and I know you'll handle it well and move on. Every experience has a lesson! Thankfully, this bride is willing to settle for a partial refund and doesn't sound vindictive.
... I also added in golden syrup to the receipe which would create more mositure and probably take longer to cook.
A wedding cake order is no time to experiment with a recipe. You should use your family as "guinea pigs" when you want to tinker with a recipe. If it doesn't turn out, no one cares if you have to throw it in the trash.
Changing up a recipe on an important order is very risky business.
Even if the cream cheese didn't melt, just icing it when it was warm would make it retain moisture. I invented the trick of covering a cake when it is still warm to keep the edges from getting crusty. (Yes, I'm sure everyone else knows that, but I thought I was a genius when I figured out to do that). Don't beat yourself up.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%