So this has been by far my worst cake disaster to date, and I hope to never experience it again. It was my first time doing a 6 tier cake, I've honestly only ever gone as high as a 3 tier. I had laxed a little bit on delivery times because it was for a friend and opted to deliver it the night before, which I normally never do, and will never do again. Everything was fine when I left, cake assembled and in the cooler ready for the next day.

Sometime during the night the caterer not only decided to take the cake out of the cooler but to move it onto a leaning table and leave it out overnight. BIG No No. 

The next morning I get a call from the caterer saying that there was some damaged to the cake, the top tier fell off; could I possibly come fix it. Again this was for a friend so of course I go to fix it, this is what I find....

I knew when her husband snickered and said good luck it was gonna be a bad morning, to top it off I hadn't even had any coffee yet (YIKES). Thanks to a great emergency kit that included only one layer of cake and a quick call to that friend adjusting payment everything worked out. 

What I learned was to never bend my own rules, obviously you put them there for a reason, and always, always make sure you have that trusty ER kit with you. Though next time I'm bringing more cake or just never working with this caterer again. 

Wow!  What a save!  I hope you billed the caterer for the amount you had to refund the bride!!

I'm not sure why you called your friend to adjust the pricing. The caterer dropping your cake has nothing to do with you really. I would have called my friend to let her know what the caterer did and that I was going to see if I could help them.

Also, I probably would have responded to the caterer after seeing the cake disaster they made, and told them what my cost to them would be to fix that. A professional caterer wouldn't expect you to fix their mistake for free unless you did a lot of work with them. A professional caterer would apologize profusely about the accident and asked you how they could help you repair it and what it would cost you to do so.

I don't understand what rules you bent? It the crash happened the next day when someone else moved it, what difference does it make if you had a cake kit with you or not? Your not at fault at all.

This.  What kind of idiot puts a 6 tier on a wobbly table like that???

wow- good save. It's really incredible that a caterer would do something as dim as that? Putting a 6 tier cake on a leaning table or even taking it out of the cooler? 

Just very curious if the caterer is going to reimburse you for the part you discounted to the bride?  I think I would have to be insistent about that.  That cake fell due to no fault of your own.  So why would you have to pay for their mistake?

Your original cake was gorgeous and your 'fix' was nothing short of amazing - no one would ever know that wasn't the original design, though I can imagine you must have been panicked when you saw it! 

As others mentioned, it seems the caterer is responsible and should reimburse you.

I am rather new here, but why would a caterer take a cake out of a cooler?  What if the ingredients used were in need of refrigeration?  If someone had gotten sick, who would get the blame?

So glad you were able to make the save for the sake of the bridal couple!! The original cake was gorgeous, and you did a fantastic job "fixing" the cake so no one would be able to tell there was a mishap.  I agree that the caterer should be calling to offer you payment for the destroyed cake. 

AQuestion: what do most cakers keep in their ER kit? I should definitely put one together before I receive any big orders. I've only done one 3 tier cake n it was just to see if I could do it. [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3046582/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

A

I agree. There is absolutely no reason for you to lose money for someone else's mistake.

First, I regret not telling you, You did a really great job keeping yourself under control and reconstructing! Good Job!

The more experienced you get the less you take with you (I find) also, the distance between your home base and where the cake gets delivered makes a difference. If it's long drive I take all the back-ups I have. Extra: frosting, pastry tips, spatulas, dry and wet towels, camera. But a delivery close to home base I only take a small spatula and some frosting in a bag with the tips I've used on that cake.

Long distance and to places I've never been, the first thing I pack is a level. If the table isn't level I'm not setting my cake on it. I've never brought or baked back-up cakes so I can't do that kind of save unless there is time to turn the oven on.

Wow. You original was so beautiful. So sorry that happened to you. You did an amazing job fixing it though!

AWow a level I would have never thought of. Thanks so much.

It's the same table in all three photos—before the drop, after the drop, and after repairs.

Also, perhaps sticking so many flower stems into the cake and puncturing it so many times affected the integrity and stability. The cake is broken right where the cascade of flowers was.

Interesting that this is OPs first post ever and hasn't been back.  She's blaming them for putting it on a leaning table but it was the same one she put the cake on.  The cake was still in the box, etc.  Lots of holes in this story...

Anyone see any type of support system in there?

Interesting observations, indeed. 

It's like Cake CSI  

Also, if the top three tiers fell off toward the right, why are they lying top tier left to bottom tier right  on the floor?  Wouldn't they fall so that the top tier would be to the right in the picture?  And how is there no cake debris on the table or table leg?  

I agree with the dowel marks. I think the shadow mark is the actual cake and the edge with icing.

She may have put the cake on the wobbly table just for a second for pictures, then wheeled it into the fridge on a trolly. The caterer may have needed the trolly, move the cake to the same wobbly table and left it to sit. A fresh out of the fridge cake will be pretty stable, even on a table with a lean. A cake that has come to room temp on a leaning table....... not so much.

Even if the story seems unbelievable, I still feel really bad for the cake! And the baker, and the bride. The cater and husband can take a long walk off a short pier for giggling about her ability to fix it!
 

I don't see how it would be heavy enough, but it looks like the flower cascade pulled the top tiers right smack off the rest. But like Leahs said, the angle of the splat doesn't make sense.

If someone bumped the table from the left of the pic, it could have rocked the cake hard enough that when it fell, the top tiers landed at that angle. I would think it would have to be a pretty hard bump.

Or, maybe that's a stable table and not the wobbly one in question. Could've moved the remaining cake back to a good table after it fell.

ABack to ER kit for a minute: I take everything I possible need to recreate the cake. Every time. Regardless of distance. Frosting, tips, pearls, extra petals, whatever I used to make the cake I take.

I always keep, business cards, scissors, pen, pruning shears, & a large and small offset spatula.

After my first cake mishap, I learned to always take a kit with me. It can be a real life saver.

Here's my analysis of the scene:  They were carrying the cake out (which they probably shouldn't have been doing!), and the top half fell/got knocked off while they were moving it, then they put the rest of the cake down on the table while they dealt with the situation.  That's how I think the weird placement of fallen cake to remaining cake may have worked.

Either way... bad caterer!  Bad! 

And a very nice save indeed.

Actually the last picture does not appear to be the same table. If you look at the counter behind the table in the first pic you will see the light switch. In the last pic the cake is sitting directly in front of the light switch. Either way this was a very bad day for some people  I wonder what they did to make up the rest of the servings?