AHi guys I have used the same sponge cake recipe for over 3 years without any complaints I made a few cakes recently and a couple of customers have got in touch saying their cake smelt of nail polish remover when cut They said it was stored in a cool dry place and my recipe hasn't changed at all

I provided refunds and the customer seemed understanding as they have had cakes of me before

Has this ever happened to anyone or can anyone tell me what it is? I have a few wedding cakes over the next couple of weeks and the last thing I want is for this problem to continue

Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks in advance Clare

Were they all done with the same batch of baking soda? Since it's the same recipe you've been using, only thing I can think of is an ingredient gone bad, and usually the first suspect is baking soda.

It also absorbs odours, so if it has been stored near something that smells of remover, it could definitely pass that along to your cakes.

I know recipes with high acid content can have some pretty weird chemical reactions, but that wouldn't make sense unless you've recently changed something.

I agree with scrumdiddlycakes...I don't know much about the science but that would make perfect sense to me. If it was me, I would clean my pantry, fridge, and freezer out and purchase new ingrediants. Hope you get it fixed!

Are you using new cake boards? I ask because I bought some one and they had a very strong glue smell that took ages to wear off!

AThanks so much for your replies

You are nothing short of geniuses I checked my baking soda & it's in date but only by a few months! The cakes that customers were not happy with were hand painted, so perhaps the bad baking soda has absorbed some of the edible paints odours Hopefully that is what is has been To the bin it goes & a deep clean of the cook area today should have me back on track

I have been so worried I will be getting complaints from all the customers that week

Once again the benefits of cake centrals members Thanks so much Clare :-) :-D

What were the edible paints you used? I ask because some of the silver and gold colours (and maybe others) do smell like nail polish remover.

How is it possible that cake smells likes a Nail polish remover?
 

AI kept a chocolate frosted chocolate cake in a glass covered cake dish. The cake was very rich and flavored with a tasty extract. I thought it might be rum because my mother used rum extract in her frosting when I was growing up. After about six days, it smelled like acetone (nail polish remover). A piece left on the table no longer had that smell, but tasted strong, like it had alcohol. If you figure it out, please let me know.