fIRST i DON'T HAVE A PICTURE OF THE cake before it was picked up . i always take pics of the cakes but I was having problems with my camera. Ok so here we go- I was asked to make a 2 tier cake 6" & 8 ' Funfetti . No problems everything was fine with the cake . Bottom tier was covered with different colored strips of fondant. I put 5 dowels in bottom tier and a dowel through center into both tiers. Top tier was covered around the side of cake with fondant that had different colored ribbons that went around the side of cake . They where spiral pieces of fondant. Top of cake was covered with buttercream and had a gum paste rainbow on it with little clouds & small flowers. The girl I was making the cake for sent her friend to pick the cake up. When the friend got there she was upset. Here she had bought a buttercream 1/2 sheet cake at the store for her own party and while driving the side of the buttercream got smashed up. She asked if I could fix it I told her no I didn't have matching icing (this is important for later in story lol) She gets my cake and puts it on the back seat of her car. Cake was perfectly fine . Fifty minutes later( it only takes 20-25 minutes to get from my house to house the cake was going to) I get a call from a very upset women who had picked up the cake saying that she was driving and that the cake just started falling apart. I was like WHAT. She tells me that the bottom of the cake fell apart. She then said " It's because the top of your cake is to heavy for bottom of the cake.  She tells me she wants to bring the cake back to me ,so I can fix it. I told her to come right back. I then texted the friend I was making cake for(I couldn't call her because she was at work). I asked her WHAT HAPPENED. She said I will call you when I get home I told my friend to just come to my house with the cake . OK  20 minutes later I get 3 pictures with a text that said "Yes the cake fell apart. But don't worry about it. Now I was looking at the pic saiding WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THIS CAKE   I talked to friend I made cake for I told her i would give her the money back she gave me to make the cake. But she was like NO NO  it's OK it's no big deal. 

 What I would like to ask all of you is by these pictures do you think the cake fell apart or did it maybe by accident have help falling apart. One question, if the cake fell apart why are the spiral fondant  ribbons that are on the side of the top part of cake embedded  in the side of the cake ,on both sides? If the cake fell apart why does the top tier look like it's been pushed in , wouldn't it have cracked and fallen apart?  When they sent me the pics the cake had been taken apart.  The top tier was sitting on a plate. Some of the dowel were missing from the bottom tier. I know it's hard to tell but Please tell me what   you think ???????? Thank You

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I've never seen anything quite like this...

Starting with the top tier, it looks like someone grabbed it and lifted that totally off the bottom one.  Assuming they did that to remove the top tier when the bottom was "collapsing" let's figure that the damage on that was caused by a person.

More interesting is the bottom tier. It looks to me like one side was crushed (in the front) and the part in the back of the photo wasn't crushed.

I wonder why the cake itself seems to be dug out, because if it had collapsed on its own because of bad dowelling there would be more cake in the top. That looks like a crater that someone dug out.

My suspicion is that if she put it on a car seat and the seat was crooked, the cake may have shifted and made the top tier shift. It looks like someone removed one of the fondant stripes on the right side? that would say to me that they were either trying to clean it up, or someone with small hands and poor supervision was hanging around the table picking at it.

The whole thing is weird, though, and it looks like it had help collapsing, to make a long story short.

Did you use a cardboard cake circle under the top tier?

Ooh, intriguing, @pastrypet  . But if there was no cardboard the top would have dissolved, not the bottom??

Yikes!  I don't know but that thing looks like it was flung across the car to me.  Looks like it's been through way more then a collapse.  Was it boxed when you gave it to her?  If not, I bet it went flying, especially when she already ruined the sheet cake while driving.

Just one question: was the top tier on a board the same size as the cake--6"?

Yes I always use a cake board or cake circle .

Yes it was boxed up .

Yes it was. The cake sat perfect right to the edge of the cake.

looks like the top tier got punched or ran into something or something ran into it when 'it collapsed' which 'caused' the dowel to puff into smoke and disappear along with that big section of cake -- apparently picture was taken after the smoke cleared

seriously though if you look at the last picture first and imagine the impact then look at the second picture you see the result of the impact then when the top was lifted off a big glob of cake was also removed wow

how well do you know all these peeps?

Even if you had not supported the upper tier with dowels, the weight of a 6 inch cake wouldn't be enough to crush that 8 inch tier like that...unless it was made of brick!

It's just my opinion but to me it looks like it fell off the seat or hit something. Like maybe she slammed on the brakes and the cake went flying and maybe some one tried to "fix" it only adding to the trauma. I'm sure the cake looked nothing like that when you sent it out and it took a severe beating. It's my guess the lady you made it for said it was fine because in someone's attempt to fix it made it worse and that's not your fault. Two cakes were damaged in one car ride I think that says more about the driving than the bakers of the cakes lol. Also sometimes people man handled cakes bc they don't realize how delicate they are so it was a combination of things that ruined this cake I bet.

Unless you managed to bake a sinkhole I don't know how this could be your fault.  This driver should never be allowed near another cake!  It looks like someone dug their hands into the top of the second layer.  Was there a dog involved?  Good grief!

 "...driver should never be allowed near another cake..." true and too funny -- made me laugh out loud -- then  "was there a dog involved" made me snort --

good ones, pbl!

The top tier looks like it was top-heavy. If she braked too quickly or took a corner too sharp, the heavy rainbow piece may have added to the top tier being somewhat torn apart, the cake crumbling from the dowels in the rainbow shifting suddenly.

But THAT kind of damage looks like the cake was dropped. The spiral pieces appear to have been on the sides in an attempt to cover the cracks to make it more presentable for the party.

but the rainbow doesn't appear to have been dislodged either 

I don't get people today. It is like some have taken to giving up... on growing up and just resort to all kinds of immoral and childlike behaviors and those of us who understand the benefits of being "grown up" with all life disappointment, we somehow muster the strength to give a  mature response. So we comfort each other for what havoc is left over. From your story and I'm going just on that, I am guessing the friend didn't care or messed up the cake, driving or what have you. Sorry if that comes off opinionated, But at least the friend you made the cake for was making an effort to be cool about it. I would have made her a miniture cake and surprised her,  free of charge.  Just for that. I wish you'd been able to get a picture of the cake before too. The remnants of the rainbow and the my little pony are cute. No worries. Next yr. :)

I don't get people today. It is like some have taken to giving up... on growing up and just resort to all kinds of immoral and childlike behaviors and those of us who understand the benefits of being "grown up" with all life disappointment, we somehow muster the strength to give a  mature response. So we comfort each other for what havoc is left over. From your story and I'm going just on that, I am guessing the friend didn't care or messed up the cake, driving or what have you. Sorry if that comes off opinionated, But at least the friend you made the cake for was making an effort to be cool about it. I would have made her a miniture cake and surprised her,  free of charge.  Just for that. I wish you'd been able to get a picture of the cake before too. The remnants of the rainbow and the my little pony are cute. No worries. Next yr. :)

To me, it looks like someone attempted to pick up the top tier with their hands, not knowing it was doweled and just tried to yank it off.  

Think of gripping the top tier.  Now, look at where the damage originates on the sides (imagine fingers at the top), a big area on each side (palms) and then down at the bottom (tho it's really hard to see well) where thumbs would be placed.  In one picture it's definitely clear there is a hole in the fondant and cake at the very bottom and the other side pic, there's a blob of fondant over what is probably another hole.  The pulling of the fondant from the top seems like it would have been displaced from being tugged at. 

After one damaged cake in transit, maybe the cake picker-upper thought she would be "safer" by removing the top tier for the trip and not knowing it was doweled, griped the cake and kept pulling at it meeting resistance from the dowels and causing the damage.

My assessment, anyway.  

It does look heavy, the frosting looks soft, and the cake appears to be quite moist and crumbly. I would have been nervous delivering this cake with so much weight on top. That said, the cake has been impacted by something for sure. Probably someone's hands. It may have sustained less damage if it were completely chilled, if it wasn't already.  

Totaly agree with Jinkies.

A bad ridvier for sure started the mess and feeble attempt at repair.  Not your fault and you offered to refund (not nessesary!)  Don't worry about it!

Well, rule number 1 is NEVER let someone take a boxed cake and 'put it in the back seat'.   If I don't deliver, I school the person on how and where to put the cake and most often than not, I take the cake out there myself to place it on a FLAT surface and I will put a piece of mesh drawer liner underneath it so it won't slide.  Then I remind them that they need to drive slowly and carefully and not slam  on the brakes.   This cake got thrown and tossed.  Then someone tried to fix it.    Not your fault and they know it.  Sorry it happened!

Wow!  I am left wondering where in the heck the middle of the bottom tier went to.  How interesting that the driver told you the cake was top heavy but yet the rainbow did not get damaged.  I think the evidence points to "driver error"  and same person tried to fix things.   At any rate since your customer was not upset with you, odds are she must have known what actually happened.  Wonder if someone's car was full of evidence?

It is sad to see your hard work demolished like that but I bet the kids did not mind and ate it anyways. 

Oh no! Someone murdered your cake! That is definitely not a construction problem but a deliverer problem. I think Webake2gether said it perfectly. Looks like it was in a car wreck and then she tried to make it better but really made it much worse. I wonder if maybe something happened and she called you to pass blame and then called the friend and told her what really happened and that's why the friend then said it was fine because it was clearly not your fault.