AWhy not a cake that looks " messy" and yet elegant? A cake that will draw my eyes to it and buy it without thinking of calories!

It's all a matter of personal taste.  If you like the way 'it' looks, whether 'it' is smooth, messy yet elegant, or simply a hot mess, no-one can argue with that.

If you can find a market of like minded people, more power to you.

This thread heading made me laugh out loud. When I first started baking my greatest achievement was to get the perfect swirly pattern like the cake on the cake mix box, now I drive myself half crazy to get them perfectly smooth. Go figure  

I love rustic cakes but they even come with a set of standards

A