This is what the cake was supposed to look like

http://www.carolinescakesandbakes.co.uk/cakes/wedding_cake.jpg



The bottom tier started to fall apart and the cake was about to end up on the floor but luckily I was able to save it. The weight of the 3 tiers just smooshed the cake. The cake was a white wedding cake it was a pretty dense cake 2 layers with lots and lots of dowels. I brought more dowels with me just in case and I used just about every one of them trying to support the weight. The dowels kept tilting sideways from the weight - I was so disappointed, I came home from my family vacation drove 16 hrs with my kids to do this cake and it was a disaster. The good thing was that the 3 tiers held up fine it was just missing a tier and they were still able to serve the bottom layer of the cake.


I have yet to talk to the bride and was wondering also how should I handle if they ask for a refund?? Would you only refund for the bottom tier?? It was a 16" cake (2 layers). Any suggestions on what to do next time would also be appreciated!!


Thanks

If they ate it, I wouldn't refund. If the thing had fallen on the floor then a refund would be reasonable. If it does come up, maybe offer a discount on the next cake she orders.

Look into getting the stree free cake support system with stainless steel rings and adjustable screw on plastic legs to adjust the height....

Would consider making their anniversary cake for free and refunding 50% of the charged price of the bottom tier...possibly not charging for the bottom tier 16" cake due to the problem. Seems that would be fair.

what type dowles did you use. It sounds like the dowels may have been to short or not plumb when they went in and they slid out from under the weight because of the angle.... this does happen I would offer her a discounted price due to the fact that her design was not met and offer your regrets. things happen so do not be to tough on yourself

I used wooden dowels a little thicker than a skewer. I think because all of the weight was on the center of the cake (small plastic circular cake plate) that the dowels should have been larger and it would of balanced the weight better. I have gone over this in my head a thousand times and next time things will be different.


I have been looking into the stress free system for a while just trying to get the money together. It's worth it to not have this happen again!!!!


Thanks for the advice!

I agree with the discount on the next cake... I usually just offer a gift certificate for a free small (6") cheesecake/cake, no fancy icing or anything just kind of simple.

As for the preventiion of this happening again... I don't know. Seems like you did everything you could have. I try to use the hollow plastic dowels when we tier really heavy cheesecakes/cakes because they seem to be able to handle it better.

forget the stress free supports. go with the single plate system instead. there are lots of threads on it, just search for SPS or single plate system and you'll find all the info you need. they're disposable, easy to use and work just as well as the SFS. you can pass this cost on to hte customer with every cake and no headache over getting your $200 system back!

At the very least, I would offer to refund the bottom tier....since she expected 4 tiers to display, its only fair.

I just received a call from the bride and I asked her how everything was and she stated it was wonderful - she said she was so happy with the cake and repeatedly thanked me .

As far as what she expected all she stated was that she needed enough cake to feed 250 pp and that she wanted it to look like the cake I posted earlier but with buttercream no flowers and no cake top (they provided). I did call and ask if it would be ok to add dots as it was very plain and felt it needed something and she stated yes that would be fine. So, I guess I lucked out - the bride was very sweet and she just made my day!!!!

Thanks for all the advice - I have learned my lesson and will looking into better supports!!!

I think that you should have used a bigger dowel. A scewer is not that big. I would think that you need at least the 1/4 inch. If the cake was bigger, I would think maybe a few carefully placed larger dowels (1 in the middle and 4-6 aroundthe cirlce)

Stephanie

I am glad everything worked out well in the end. One of the most unusual Christmas presents ever given to me is a spirit level. It is invaluable for checking that the dowels between each tier are exactly the same height.

I believe your dowel rods were not the right height. If they were smaller with a lot of weight it would make them slide. You may have used more dowel rods. Please make sure you don't use plastic pegs to support your cake, it really should be a heavy duty dowel rod and cut the height of your cake. I cut all my dowel rods individually just in case my cake is not perfectly level all the way around. If you have any other concerns, just sent me an email. I'll try to help the best I can. It's hard when your not there seeing what the problem is. I may give a free cake for the 1st anniversary, but if they cut up the cake and ate. I wouldn't really worry about refunding any money. Make it up another way.

You should cut your dowels all the same height - measure one, cut all that height. If you cut them individually, and your cake is not level, you have created a sloping cake that will only be compounded as you stack. There are some really good videos about stacking and many threads here on CC. Good luck![/quote]