Moldy Cake?

Decorating By BareBabe Updated 5 Feb 2015 , 5:49am by BareBabe

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BareBabe Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 4:53am
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AI had a bride that was disappointed with the cake I did for her last March. Today, her mother finally returned the cake stand and paid me half of the discounted price I had asked for. She told me that when they took the cake home the night of the wedding, it was really moldy already. I have never had this happen before. I had kept things refrigerated as needed, and didn't even fondant the whole thing until the day of, so I'm baffled and sad to hear her say this! Usually my cakes keep really well! Any thoughts on what I could have done to make it go moldy right away? How do I prevent it from happening again? =(

19 replies
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Rfisher Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 5:06am
post #2 of 20

AWhat was the cake? Any pictures? Last March? And you received payment when the bride's mother finally returned the cake stand? Today.

on the other hand I wonder what the record is for longest lapse time between joining and posting is. Not that it matters. Just curious.

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Pastrybaglady Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 5:36am
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ALYING. I really don't think it's true unless they kept the cake in the bathroom where everyone showers. Even then, moldy the next day? If they're not lying what might cause a moldy appearance is the use of fresh raspberry filling. People have said on these boards there can be some kind of chemical reaction with a lemon cake and the filling takes on a blue hue. Is that possible?

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BareBabe Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 8:59am
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A[IMG ALT="*"]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3321692/width/200/height/400[/IMG] [IMG ALT="*"]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3321693/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

Yep, took them 10 months to return my stand, and only paid me $60. I don't run a business, I just like to do cakes for friends and family. And I thought this girl was a friend, but apparently I just ruined her wedding dreams and memories.

Cake was just a chocolate cake with an oreo cream cheese center, which I kept refrigerated until the wedding! I don't entirely believe the mom's claim, because I have a quote from the sister on facebook saying that it tasted really good!

Grrr.....I know it could have been better, I had a lot of last minute troubles, but still, to be told it was moldy and barely worth more than a simple Walmart cake really irks me. =(

Haha, I should probably utilize this site more! I've just used it mostly to posts my different cakes and get some inspiration from everybody else! =D

Original message sent by Rfisher

What was the cake? Any pictures? Last March? And you received payment when the bride's mother finally returned the cake stand? Today.

on the other hand I wonder what the record is for longest lapse time between joining and posting is. Not that it matters. Just curious.

Original message sent by Rfisher

What was the cake? Any pictures? Last March? And you received payment when the bride's mother finally returned the cake stand? Today.

on the other hand I wonder what the record is for longest lapse time between joining and posting is. Not that it matters. Just curious.

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BareBabe Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 9:05am
post #5 of 20

AAgreed. I've cut into a cake after it sat out as a display for a week and it was not moldy! This was just a chocolate cake with oreo cream cheese frosting, no fresh fruit used!

Original message sent by Pastrybaglady

LYING. I really don't think it's true unless they kept the cake in the bathroom where everyone showers. Even then, moldy the next day? If they're not lying what might cause a moldy appearance is the use of fresh raspberry filling. People have said on these boards there can be some kind of chemical reaction with a lemon cake and the filling takes on a blue hue. Is that possible?

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Rfisher Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 12:31pm
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AI could see an Oreo 'colored' item leaching a greenish tint, but I don't think Oreos actually contain coloring. I have not looked. With no photos nor evidence of the moldy cake, I agree they don't seem to be telling the truth. Not too many people would pay anything at all for a moldy wedding cake. Let alone 50%. I guess you should be glad you got your stand back at all. Take this as lesson learned. I hate to say it, but if this was a friend of yours, would you not be invited? I'm sorry you went through this, but it happens. I doubt they would have pulled this on someone who was not doing them a favor.

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-K8memphis Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 12:55pm
post #7 of 20

i wonder if a silver plated knife could leave some residue either of the tarnish or of the cleaner if it had recently been cleaned with a wipe on wipe off silver cleaner -- maybe it reacted with the cake in some way?

 

rfisher --  i think oreos are made with black cocoa no food color

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melmar02 Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 1:12pm
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Did you have a contract, and if so, was it with the bride or the bride's mother? What did the bride say?

 

Are there any pictures of the inside of the cake? Did you talk to the venue? If something was obviously moldy, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't serve it. They may not be liable for the actual cake, but they would be serving something potentially hazardous to guests. I don't think they would take on that liability.

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Gingerlocks Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 3:50pm
post #9 of 20

It's pretty clear that there was some issues with the cake..to go as far as to say it had gone bad; maayyybbe its hard to say, or they may have just been unhappy with the cake overall and decided that instead of complaining about how it looked (which might be more hurtful and may have felt more personal), they decided to go after something else (i.e. the freshness). But I do think that they have no right to complain about anything about the cake; you said yourself that you are a hobby baker who only does cake for friends and family; if they wanted a Ben Isreal cake then they should have paid someone for it; they didn't and got a friend who cakes as a hobby to do it.

 

So in my opinion the whole moldy thing is a smoke screen for the fact that they expected a lavish over the top wedding cake, and were looking for reasons to nit pick.  

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remnant3333 Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 4:36pm
post #10 of 20

I would put them on the "no cake for you" list. Some people just complain for no reason. Sorry you had to go through this!!! By the way, your cake was beautiful!!!

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BareBabe Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 4:38pm
post #11 of 20

AYes, definitely a lesson learned!!! I still like the cake I did, and received many compliments from others about it. It just want exactly as they wanted, which ended up being disappointing for everyone, I think. My biggest concern is if it could've really gone moldy right away, because I've never heard of that happening, nor has an issue before. I'd like to make sure I don't hear that complaint again.

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BareBabe Posted 16 Jan 2015 , 4:39pm
post #12 of 20

AHaha, right?!! Thank you! =)

Original message sent by remnant3333

I would put them on the "no cake for you" list. Some people just complain for no reason. Sorry you had to go through this!!! By the way, your cake was beautiful!!!

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CookieNibz Posted 20 Jan 2015 , 6:16pm
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AI'm sorry to say this, but I think they were jus5 full of ****. I'm like you, I only do baking for family & friends, but have been doing it for quite awhile, I've never seen nor heard of a cake getting moldy in a day. That's ridiculous! Your cake was beautiful, if they wanted something more lavish then they should have coughed up the dough. Sorry you had to deal with these people, seems to me they went over budget so decided to screw over a friend. Since you were a friend, you were probably the only vendor without a contract. I say they landed on the "no anything" list.

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jgifford Posted 20 Jan 2015 , 11:16pm
post #14 of 20

Cakes don't mold that quickly - period.  Absolutely. No. Way. Sugar is a preservative and the frosting and fondant would have protected it for quite a while.  I agree - - NO CAKE OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR YOU!!!

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doramoreno62 Posted 26 Jan 2015 , 11:50am
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Wait wait wait...Are you saying you just got paid for a cake you made in March???????

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BareBabe Posted 27 Jan 2015 , 7:46pm
post #16 of 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by doramoreno62 
 

Wait wait wait...Are you saying you just got paid for a cake you made in March???????

Yes, absolutely ridiculous. I kept bugging her about taking care of it, but she never would.  Maybe she was hoping I would forget?  =/

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Mimimakescakes Posted 28 Jan 2015 , 6:41am
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Number One , No Money , NO CAKEE.  Now repeat this mantra again and again until it sinks in. 

 

Even if it is supposed to be for a so called friend. I don't give anyone a break when it comes to paying up front. Just ask my family. 

 

 

As for the rest , it is too late to complain about a cake almost a year later.  

 

Oh and I always get a deposit for the stand that is returned to the customer when they return the stand in good condition and a timely fashion. More than a week the deposit starts to get eaten up in hire fees. 

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BareBabe Posted 28 Jan 2015 , 5:07pm
post #18 of 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mimimakescakes 
 

Number One , No Money , NO CAKEE.  Now repeat this mantra again and again until it sinks in. 

 

Even if it is supposed to be for a so called friend. I don't give anyone a break when it comes to paying up front. Just ask my family. 

 

 

As for the rest , it is too late to complain about a cake almost a year later.  

 

Oh and I always get a deposit for the stand that is returned to the customer when they return the stand in good condition and a timely fashion. More than a week the deposit starts to get eaten up in hire fees. 

Oh, I definitely learned my lesson!  

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TrudyF Posted 2 Feb 2015 , 10:45pm
post #19 of 20

I have had a bakery for some years and on rare occasions a cake has begun to mold quickly. I tried to figure out way and noticed that it only happened when the cake was refrigerated while it was still even a bit warm.  I think the warmth captured under the cake combined with the sugars in the cake may have caused the problem.

I began to cool my cakes fully to room temperature on wire cooling racks and have never had a problem since.

Hope this helps.

My other thought was that the client may have not been honest and there was no mold.

I tell my customers that if there is a problem to please take a photo with a cell phone so that I can see what happened and be able to avoid it in the future.  This seems to be both a nice way to ensure customer honesty as well as if there is a real problem to let me see it and evaluate the problem whatever it may have been.  Only then do they get any kind of a discount.

Offer another order at a small discount unless the item was a true disaster of some sort.

 

Lots of luck in the future.

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BareBabe Posted 5 Feb 2015 , 5:49am
post #20 of 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrudyF 
 

I have had a bakery for some years and on rare occasions a cake has begun to mold quickly. I tried to figure out way and noticed that it only happened when the cake was refrigerated while it was still even a bit warm.  I think the warmth captured under the cake combined with the sugars in the cake may have caused the problem.

I began to cool my cakes fully to room temperature on wire cooling racks and have never had a problem since.

Hope this helps.

My other thought was that the client may have not been honest and there was no mold.

I tell my customers that if there is a problem to please take a photo with a cell phone so that I can see what happened and be able to avoid it in the future.  This seems to be both a nice way to ensure customer honesty as well as if there is a real problem to let me see it and evaluate the problem whatever it may have been.  Only then do they get any kind of a discount.

Offer another order at a small discount unless the item was a true disaster of some sort.

 

Lots of luck in the future.

Thank you!  =)

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