Which Is More Important To You...

Decorating By caked4life Updated 18 Sep 2010 , 12:26am by madgeowens

caked4life Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
caked4life Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 8:59pm
post #1 of 52

The taste or the appearance. Equally important is not an option. icon_evil.gif

51 replies
mayo2222 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mayo2222 Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 9:07pm
post #2 of 52

Equally important is really the only option, but if one had to choose I would think you would sacrafice appearance for the sake of taste.

beenie51 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
beenie51 Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 9:08pm
post #3 of 52

I like my cakes to please the people they are for. That is a tough question. even though I strive for perfection I know every flaw in the finished product so there for I will say taste.

KimmyKakes4Me Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
KimmyKakes4Me Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 9:11pm
post #4 of 52

Sorry, but equally important is not only an option, it's the only option for me. I can't imagine anyone seriously answering that any other way.

KimmyKakes4Me Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
KimmyKakes4Me Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 9:12pm
post #5 of 52

A delicious, moist, bursting with flavor cake isn't worth squat in my eyes if it's sloppy, crooked and sad looking. Cakewrecks anyone?

adventuregal Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
adventuregal Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 9:16pm
post #6 of 52

thats so hard to answer! LOL But I will play and say taste. As a decorator that is a hard thing to say! BUT no one said it had to be a beautiful cake OR a cake wreck. I'd rather have a simply decorated cake that is amazing tasting than have a cake make by a highly skilled decorator that tastes like garbage. I mean honestly if I go to a party-I'm going to want the cake. So taste would out weigh the decoration-if it was poorly decorated I would still eat it and that is the important thing...I think icon_wink.gif hehe

beenie51 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
beenie51 Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 9:16pm
post #7 of 52

I am not talking about a cake wreck cake, I am talking about the cakes that the people they are for think they are beatiful, but I know where the flaws are. However, if my cakes don't taste good I would not get any repeat customers.

beenie51 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
beenie51 Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 9:18pm
post #8 of 52
Quote:
Originally Posted by adventuregal

thats so hard to answer! LOL But I will play and say taste. As a decorator that is a hard thing to say! BUT no one said it had to be a beautiful cake OR a cake wreck. I'd rather have a simply decorated cake that is amazing tasting than have a cake make by a highly skilled decorator that tastes like garbage. I mean honestly if I go to a party-I'm going to want the cake. So taste would out weigh the decoration-if it was poorly decorated I would still eat it and that is the important thing...I think icon_wink.gif hehe




That's what I am saying. icon_razz.gif

indydebi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
indydebi Posted 16 Sep 2010 , 11:25pm
post #9 of 52

i will share what my sister told me once about a wedding cake she saw. It wasn't all that pretty and she said it had a slight tilt, "but it was delicious. I think people will forgive what it looks like as long as it tastes great."

That's just one cake civilian's opinion.

Me? I'm the "must be both" vote.

DSmo Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
DSmo Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 12:40am
post #10 of 52

As much as I would like to say appearance, I have to go with taste. Best wedding cake I ever tasted I don't even remember what it looked like. But boy, I sure do remember how yummy it was!

all4cake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
all4cake Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 1:01am
post #11 of 52

Taste.

unless, I ever happen on to a Challenge then, it would be appearance icon_lol.gif

Jo-melia Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Jo-melia Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 1:11am
post #12 of 52

Appearance. I don't sell any cakes though, so I don't have to worry about repeat customers. I'm just focusing on getting them to look the part right now!

mandyloo Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mandyloo Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 2:15am
post #13 of 52

I do not sell cakes-the cakes I make are primarily for dessert for my family, or for birthdays for my immediate family. That being said, taste is what wins for us. I try and try to get better with the decorating, but even if it comes out looking like crap, I still feel okay as long as it tastes GREAT, not just good. An ugly cake that just tastes okay will make me cry, but a funny looking tasty treat doesn't break my heart, because I'm still (SLOWLY) learning.

Mommy2ThreeBoys Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Mommy2ThreeBoys Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 2:32am
post #14 of 52

I totally have to go with taste. I made my best friend's wedding cake and it was hot and humid and the dang thing started slipping and I just felt awful how it ended up looking. They loved up though and people at the recption asked where they ordered their cake from and I got so many compliments on how it tasted, nobody even mentioned about how it looked. So I totally gotta go with taste. Of course I only make cakes for family and friends and don't sell them, if I did then I'd have to say both. I'd think you'd want them to look just as good as they taste if your doing them for an actual customer so they give you repeat business and refer others to you.

Lita829 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Lita829 Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 2:33am
post #15 of 52

I'd have to say that taste is more important. I know that I'd take a flawed delicious cake over an asthetically perfect so-so one anyday.

I don't make many cakes and when I do, I'm the first to admit that they aren't anything to write home about. However...people always tell me how delicious they are and they come back.

KristyDi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
KristyDi Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 2:40am
post #16 of 52

Taste.

It's cake. Its reason for existing is to be eaten. Therefor it should taste good.

I made my brother's wedding cake. It was the first cake I'd made since girl scout bake offs in elementary school. It looked pretty darn decent but there were a couple of icing dents, the middle tier was a bit crooked and the bottom tier had slid about an inch off it's cardboard circle in transport. But it tasted amazing.

Kellbella Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Kellbella Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 2:47am
post #17 of 52

Taste, absolutely.

jlynnw Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jlynnw Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 2:47am
post #18 of 52

Would have to go with taste. Pretty is as pretty does.

cheriej Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cheriej Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 2:59am
post #19 of 52

Taste for me.

I just recall my friend telling me about a wedding she attended. The cake was gorgeous, 5 tiers from a bakery that won on a Challenge and probably cost thousands of dollars. Except when they served it.....everyone said it was dry, tasted terrible and they ended up throwing most of the cake away.

Karen337 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Karen337 Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 3:06am
post #20 of 52

Taste.

I made my own wedding cake many years ago, and while it was very simply decorated people still talked about how wonderful it tasted.

On the other hand, I've seen people mock elaborately decorated cakes that didn't taste good. I once listened to people at a wedding reception sarcastically bantering back and forth asking things like, could we have some toast to go with this butter? (Basically the buttercream on this cake tasted only of butter and the cake itself was a little dry and bland. This was a cake made by one of the premier cake decorators in the area, but this didn't make people any kinder.)

DarleneP Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
DarleneP Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 3:09am
post #21 of 52

I am new to cake decorating. My household (with the exception of me) doesn't really like sweets but my neighbors and coworkers do and I tell you they think everything I make is great but when they describe what they want me to remake them-they always say the chocolate cake with cheesecake and raspberries, or the vanilla cake with pistachio filling or the tiramisu cake etc.... They never say the beautiful cake with HANDMADE roses or the cake piped with a million darn tiny stars or the cake with the cricut cutouts from fondant......Yep they want and remember the taste.....

Maluisa Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Maluisa Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 3:25am
post #22 of 52

I would be so embarrassed if I served a cake that the guests were ooohing and aaahing about before it was cut to later while cleaning up the tables you see cake slices still sitting on the plates mostly intact. I love to "help" during the cleanup so that I can see the empty plates. So both are equally important to me, I can't choose. On a side note, if you ask a kid what they prefer, some might tell you that looks are most important. As long as the flavor resembles vanilla or chocolate, they are good. But he or she will comment on the cool cake so and so had at the latest party. All cakes taste good to a youngster.

vkat Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
vkat Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 3:25am
post #23 of 52

I would have to go with both, but if I had to choose it would be taste. I was doing my first wedding cake for a friend. She asked me how my cakes tasted. She shared with me that her sister-in-law decorated beautiful cakes but they did not taste very good.

I got rave reviews on both. I was at the wedding too. It was kind of fun being able to hear what people had to say. They did not know that I was the one who made the cake. I had a lady come up to me and say that she was a baker and that my cake was better than hers! Yes, that boosted my egoicon_smile.gif

kansaslaura Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kansaslaura Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 3:32am
post #24 of 52

Ok, OP--which do you do? Ride the bus to work or carry your lunch??

Exactly.

Both. Both are important and I strive to do both equally well.

saffronica Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
saffronica Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 3:52am
post #25 of 52

Taste, for sure. I mean, it's great it looks good, too, but for me, the primary function of cake is as a dessert, not as a work of art. (I realize there are many who will disagree on this, and that's okay.) Ideally, it would be both dessert and art, but if I had to choose one, I'd much rather have it taste good.

Another reason I think taste is more important is that you see the cake first and taste it second. So if you see it and it looks okay, but then you taste it and it's wonderful, you're left feeling happy. But if you see it and it's beautiful, but then you taste it and it's mediocre, you're left feeling disappointed.

bates123 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
bates123 Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 4:19am
post #26 of 52

I am always amazed when I do a cake for someone because they are really very interested in the look of the cake and the design. After spending hours decorating the cake I would just like for it to sit around and be seen until the end of the party, but people are always so eager to eat the cake! I think that the taste of the cake is actually most important to the recipient in most cases. I'd have to go with taste, but if I couldn't make a pretty cake I probably wouldn't bother.

step0nmi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
step0nmi Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 4:42am
post #27 of 52

I don't decorate the cake unless i know it tastes good. period.

bmoser24 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
bmoser24 Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 5:32am
post #28 of 52

Taste...if I have to pick one.
When I started decorating again because I discovered fondant, I made my BFF a birthday cake. I just threw together any old thing, slapped it together, and then decorated it to the T. It was soooo cute. THEN, at our lunchen when the cake was served, my daughter leaned over and said to me "mom, your cake is kinda gross, it's dry and falling apart!" I could of died...never again, I began really looking and perfecting my recipes. Still do, I believe ..IT should only get better - first the ahh of the visual, and then the mmm's of the flavor.
So if getting better is my goal, I would sacrafice looks. Because i'm over critical anyways in visuals. Good topic, thanks.
Blessings~

kathyx1 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kathyx1 Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 6:25am
post #29 of 52

I'm curious to know why both isn't an option? icon_confused.gif

adventuregal Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
adventuregal Posted 17 Sep 2010 , 6:38am
post #30 of 52

oh my goodness lol to all the posters that wonder why both aren't an option-I think it's because the poster wanted us to pick a SIDE-not both sides. It's a fun game-like what one food would you pick to take to a desserted island kind of thing. Unless I'm missing something and this is supposed to be serious icon_lol.gif

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%