Wow I'm soooo disappointed in this cake. Sorry for you guys. The cost and to fly to pick it up. Like I have said numerous times, his cakes are way over rated. Hope you had a great week-end.
I am really dissapointed in the way some members have treated Lu. WHat a horrible experience to post a thread to let others know what a Duff cake was like, and then in an instant you are turned on. You should be ashamed of yourselves. And after all that you want to ask her questions! Unbelievable. I wouldn't answer you either.
I realize there have been posts lately that were made up, but let's all get over it and move on. Attacking someone because you "think" it might be fake is uncalled for. Just my humble opinion.
I don't think anyone means to "turn on" Lu....she didn't order that or pay $2K for that. And her only post about it was to say she was disappointed. She must've been trying to be kind, I think, too. That picture just really "begs the question" - lots of questions!
I am really dissapointed in the way some members have treated Lu. WHat a horrible experience to post a thread to let others know what a Duff cake was like, and then in an instant you are turned on. You should be ashamed of yourselves. And after all that you want to ask her questions! Unbelievable. I wouldn't answer you either.
I realize there have been posts lately that were made up, but let's all get over it and move on. Attacking someone because you "think" it might be fake is uncalled for. Just my humble opinion.
I don't think anyone means to "turn on" Lu....she didn't order that or pay $2K for that. And her only post about it was to say she was disappointed. She must've been trying to be kind, I think, too. That picture just really "begs the question" - lots of questions!
To clarify...I wasn't refering to the comments about the cake or what its worth. I'm DISSAPOINTED in the comments that were made in reference to this post being fake and just for drama. Members were comparing it to the dsevans saga and there was NO grounds for that. ABSOLUTELY none. Lu was posting that she knew someone who was getting a duff cake and she obviously thought some of us might be interested in hearing about the cake and maybe seeing a photo. There was NO drama, at least not until some people started ragging on her because she was having trouble posting pics. I'm saying THAT was uncalled for.
Another thread that got out of hand? I don't think so. Everyone just got excited and wanted to see the cake. A little impatient maybe, but not mean. we are just a bunch of kids when it comes to cakes. Show us the cake! Certainly it didn't look worth the $$$. Have seen so many artists on CCC that are much, much better & wouldn't have cost as much. Thanks for sharing with us, Lu and have a great week!!
To clarify...I wasn't refering to the comments about the cake or what its worth. I'm DISSAPOINTED in the comments that were made in reference to this post being fake and just for drama. Members were comparing it to the dsevans saga and there was NO grounds for that. ABSOLUTELY none. Lu was posting that she knew someone who was getting a duff cake and she obviously thought some of us might be interested in hearing about the cake and maybe seeing a photo. There was NO drama, at least not until some people started ragging on her because she was having trouble posting pics. I'm saying THAT was uncalled for.[/quote]
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE lets try and read some people's post with some understanding instead of jumping to conclusions.I mentioned the thread, and what I meant was I did not have time to sit with my computer as anticipation was killing me but will check back with the thread,sitting with my computer reminded me of when i did it for dsevans thread(simple).My not been able to sit with my pc is my problem, how is that an insult or an accusation to someone else.Lu did not force anybody to watch her thread,so where is the accusation.Definitely not fom me.Let's try and have an idea of what people have posted previously about a particular issue before drawing conclusions on just one post.
Oh okay,sorry about that,i'm just so not like that.
Haven't read all the responses since I last posted but although that cake isn't my style I totally appreciate all the work that went into it. It probably looked better in person than in the photo. My guess is the people who ordered it just wanted to say they got a Duff cake for the prestige, isn't that why a lot of people order from them anyways.
I can't make a cake like that so I'd be happy with it. (of course I make cakes, because I'm too cheap to pay someone for one 
but more power to those who can.)
Thanks Lu for the pics. Sorry, to read the flavors weren't what you expected. I'm one of those people who would rather have a really yummy piece of cake over a pretty one.
........It is NOT an "ugly" cake. It's not a CCC SuperBowl cake, or Fist cake or any of the other fabulous creations you see on TV .... but those cakes don't sell for only $2000 either.
I just get tired of the inconsistencies. Very. Tired.
Lu and Lu's son .... thanks SO much for all the effort to post these pics for these Enquiring Minds! Appreciate it so much! Thumbs Up!....
I sooooooo agree w/you Debi!
You know what...if it were me...if I was Lu...what was said wouldn't bother me one bit...I would never get pissed that people are questioning something I've said on a public board...especially if some of those people mentioned being had recently by another poster...of course they would skeptical...I mean, c'mon can you blame them?...(I just tracked that "stopped payment" thread down by the way, I'm on page 5...65 to go dammit). No one said anything over-the-top nasty at all.
I happen to be one of the ones that believed her...I know what a pain in the a$$ posting pictures on a thread is, and I didn't know about the phony post yet...anyway I'm disappointed that I hung on and didn't get to hear the details she enticed us with.
Most of us are being wrongly punished...LOL...I'm kidding...I'm totally kidding, it's not that deep.
Thanks for posting pics- I was one of the many curious ones too!
I get that at ccc, you are paying for the name...and I also feel that as long as you are in demand, price however high you like! What's surprising is that the "wow factor" is so much lower than any of the many pics on their website...and on their show. Not an ugly cake, but not what you would expect to come from ccc.
It does make me wonder who else is working on the cakes there...and there experience levels. The regulars on the show are so detail oriented and everything is so precise... that I have trouble believing that they had much to do with the cake. I'm not doubting it's a ccc cake-- just doubting that all of their decorators are up to par...and also wondering how often Duff and the other TV decorators are actually there.
Would you guys listen to yourselves?
I've seen cakes way below this standard and read post after post after post of people oooohing and ahhhhhhing all over the place ... over a cake that is average. I read post after post on here saying we're suppose to "love and support" each other and the ever popular (make me gag with a big' ole spoon) cliche of "if you can't say anything nice dont' say anything".
But let someone command a fabulous price for a cake .... Duff cake, or what a celebrity paid for a 2 year old's birthday .... and the cat claws come out.
We've had threads where a cake civilian complained because a 2 tier 6/8 cake cost over $100 or $150. And we've had CC'ers "support" the cake makers side with "I don't turn my oven on for less than ....." (me included).
But let someone "not turn their oven on" for MORE than the average standard on here, and more cat claws come out. There are some posts on here that sound like comments I'd expect from cake civilians, not fellow cake creators.
Pricing minimums have to cover overhead. Look at what comes out of Charm City Cakes .... look at the level of talent he's hired. You don't get that for $2 over minimum wage. If that commands a higher "I dont' turn my oven on for less than ....." statement, then that's just how it works. If someone doesn't want to pay that, then as it's been said on here frequently: "Walmart .... Aisle 8 .... knock yourself out".
It is NOT an "ugly" cake. It's not a CCC SuperBowl cake, or Fist cake or any of the other fabulous creations you see on TV .... but those cakes don't sell for only $2000 either.
I just get tired of the inconsistencies. Very. Tired.
Lu and Lu's son .... thanks SO much for all the effort to post these pics for these Enquiring Minds! Appreciate it so much!
Let me ask this: If this cake were sitting on a table at a local auction, how much do you think someone would pay for it? $20, $100, $500, $2000? It's absoultely fair to question the quality that $2000 buys.
You can bet if I spent $2000 on a Chanel purse and the handle fell off, I'd be ticked as hell because I didn't get what I paid for. I wonder if Lu's nephew felt the same. He may have loved it. He may not of but I'd never pay that kind of money for that quality of cake.
Let me ask this: If this cake were sitting on a table at a local auction, how much do you think someone would pay for it? $20, $100, $500, $2000? It's absoultely fair to question the quality that $2000 buys.
But see, this is where the celebrity factor may come into play.
How much would someone pay for a sweaty towel at an auction? $5?
How much would someone pay for a sweaty towel that wiped the brow of Elvis Presley? More than $5?
Part of the value of a CCC creation is that is it is a CCC creation.
As someone mentioned, a purse is a purse, so why do people go gah-gah if it has the letters "LV" on it?
You're not paying for "just a cake".
I'm sure that's a lot of it. That said, I cannot imagine putting my name on a cake like that and I've only been doing cakes for one year. It'd be one thing if the cake was going to my family (even then I'd be apologizing for it!). It'd be another thing if I charged for it.
You can bet your LV purse will last longer and be better made than a purse from Wal-Mart. It's a no-brainer.
I am sure that an LV purse is sold with the same respect to the person buying a 200.00 purse and to the one buying a 2000.00 purse. WHy wouldn't it?
Why is a different level of service excusable to CCC and not to other businesses? WHy do they get away with not telling customers that they will get sub-standard cake, sub-standard decorations, and sub-standard service just because the customer isn't spending enough? WHat is the MINIMUM for their excellent service and goods and getting Duff to breath on them? 3000.00? 4000.00? Does he come to the door for 5k? Does he take the extra time for 6K? How many "regular" cake decorators answer their door for 30.00 and throw in a thank-you card as well?
The thing is, who the heck is Louis Vuitton? Did he get to be who he was by putting out badly made purses? Did they fall apart, but just because he was such a fabulous personality his purses caught on?
Or did his purses become famous because of the quality put into them? And would he have wanted badly made purses being bought for outlandish sums to be his claim to fame?
ANd why aren't many CC'ers charging a 1k minimum...since we are seriously undercutting Duff. I mean....the decorators here are seriously underestimating their worth.
Maybe that is a great thing about our country...you can charge what you want and people can take it or leave it....but it still makes my stomach churn.
***P.s....Love Duff...Love CCC 
well... 
after reading all these posts about this cake i would have to say that many of us thought because a cake was coming from duff that it was going to be mind blowing, especially for that price. well...let's remember that duff is a celebrity, thus he can charge celebrity prices.
"non-cake people" see a cake at wal-mart an may think it's "awesome"... us cake people look at cakes differently. 
we look at others cakes with different lenses...thus we can pinpoint mistakes, flaws...what have you.
whether that cake is beautiful or ugly...what matters is that the person who ordered is happy.
would one of us order from another cake person...maybe...maybe not. i love some of duff's work...not all. would i order a cake from him...no. why...because i can make one myself.
thanks for sharing the pics with us!
Even if I lived close to CCC I would not be dying to get one of their cakes!!! Hell you have to schedule a simple birthday cake damly 2 years ahead of time.
Don't beat me down for saying this but I kinda like the Duff before AOC the Duff that competed & made cake that were 98% edible minus the blow tourch and stuff. I have come to the conclusion that the stuff I was thinking was "actually cake" is actually styro. (like the Harry Potter cake) only the landscape of that "cake" was really cake! Maybe they should be teaching people in theater ways of building stage props using gumpaste and royal icing.
Can Someone please explain this cake to me to me it looks like Wizard of Oz gone Wrong!!! "
Has anyone considered the thought that there is a child that has watched many episodes of AOC sitting next to her mom and that just the thought of having an AOC Birthday cake will be a memory that will last forever. That is worth $2K right? Maybe it is or isn't worth $2K in someone elses eyes. But in the eyes of a dad that just made his little girl the happiest girl in the whole USA, and it was worth every penny!!!!
Has anyone considered the thought that there is a child that has watched many episodes of AOC sitting next to her mom and that just the thought of having an AOC Birthday cake will be a memory that will last forever. That is worth $2K right? Maybe it is or isn't worth $2K in someone elses eyes. But in the eyes of a dad that just made his little girl the happiest girl in the whole USA, and it was worth every penny!!!!
That though never crossed my mind. In my neighborhood, kids are more impressed with spending the day with the friends and opening the gifts. My kids and others who do watch AOC have never asked for an AOC birthday cake. They want the latest theme. They don't care where it came from.
The cake simply does not look professional. I can see why OP was disappointed.
Whew! When I said I was done with this, I meant the picture crap we were going through. I had a migraine and was just trying to get done so I could go to bed. I am awake now and do not have a pounding head. So-------everyone has an opinion. To you that just hung in there while I was trying to get the pictures on THANK YOU!!!! My family goes to church on Sundays and I stayed home with my head. I didn't feel missing church to put pictures on the computer was that important. I thought I would try but as I said in previous posts--I am computer illiterate. To those that questioned the truth of the post that some felt you were rude and out of line------you were---get a life. I
don't deal with rude people in my everyday life and I don't have to deal with it on CC. So, for those of you that still have questions I am more than willing to answer them now that I can make more scense of everything. I just got done rereading everything. So here goes.
I don't know if DN gave them detailed instructions on what he wanted. I do know that he wanted fairies on it. I don't know what the significance of the cottage or the meadow was.
He flew up and drove back.
It was for his wife's 40th birthday. She is pregnant and due anytime. I have never known a man to love someone so much as he does. She watches all of the food networks and one her favorite shows is ACE OF CAKES. She really likes Geoff. She had stated at one time that she wondered what an ACE OF CAKES would taste like. Light when on for DN and this is one of the things he wanted her to have.
Did he think it was beautiful? I don't know. All I could see was the love in his eyes when she took the paper off of the cake and she saw it for the 1st time. She 1st said something about the fairies, and how she loved fairies. She wanted to know if the fairies were ediable. Then she lol'd and stated that maybe she shouldn't say she wants to eat a fairie!!!! lol. She has a really fun scense of humor.
Next she asked him who did the cake, was it Aunt Lu. I definantly said NO. (Mine would have been so much better). He said no ACE OF CAKES and then she said no and he said yes and it went back and fourth. Then she asked who at the party has had an ACE OF CAKES and she laughed and raised her hand and said I have and so will everyone else. She then looked at him and said it was beautiful and that she was the luckiest wife in the whole world. So,l if they didn't like it I am pretty sure the love that it was given with pushed the looks aside.
How could they afford it? I don't know it isn't any of my business.
How did I find out the cost? My sister (the MOM of the wife) played high low with me. Then she said for her 60th birthday they could give her 1999.00 and a box of little Debbie Twinkies. I said that they could give her 1799.00 and me 200.00 dollars and I would make the cake with twinkies and still end up with profit!!! LOL.
Yes, that was the box it came in.
I can't think of anything else so I would like to go to bed. If you have any other question, let me know.
As far as I shouldn't have said anything until it was all said and done then tell you all about it. I was excited. Many of times people have shared before something happens and like you all, I waited for the results. I thought that was part of the excitement with friends, you share from beginning to end. So to you that had a problem with me sharing before it happened, I suggest next time you read something and It starts with I'm excited I am going to get to....... maybe you should close the thread and go to another because like I said, the best part was the anticipation, waiting and the end results with friends.
Good night I am truly sorry for the mess!
Lu
First off-Lu, I am so sorry you were treated poorly here. Please keep in mind that most of us are nice, understanding people.
Next, OK, the cake is bad. It's isn't terrible, but it is sub par for a professionally decorated cake, let alone an Ace of Cakes Cake. If I ordered something from him, I would expect for it to be amazing, perfect, over the top, every detail thought out and just over all gorgeous. And I have heard before their cakes don't taste great.
So, in a weird way, this makes be think of Marina Sousa. She is awesome, and from I gather, she is obsessed with perfection. At OSSAS, she was saying she couldn't stand to have a cake with any flaws, even if that flaw was being covered with decoration. Also she is very concerned with the taste of a cake.
It seems like Duff is riding his own fame a little too much instead of working for it. That cake? Maybe $100-$200 at most. $2000? No way.
Okay, so the final episode that they filmed here didn't air today!....as most of you knew well before me(it's 5:41pm here). After doing a little searching, i found out the episode is set to air MAY 9th!...lets hope this info is correct. and here are a couple teasers:
This is the cake they did for the soldiers.....
http://www.pulpconnection.net/2009/01/ace-of-cakes-lost-in-hawaii/
And this is the cake they did for the show LOST....
THIS IS A BAD REVIEW OF THE CAKE: http://foodnetworkhumor.com/2009/02/ace-of-cakes-photos-of-the-lost-100th-episode-cake/
THIS IS A GOOD REVIEW: http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/2009/02/sweet-100.html
Lu-
Thanks for the story update and yes "the suspense"... to those who didn't like it, too bad...
I personally, enjoyed the up and down and waiting. But $2K fo r that....hmmmm?
G night all
That cake is head and shoulders above the one Lu is talking about. Not sure why that would be reviewed poorly.
That cake is head and shoulders above the one Lu is talking about. Not sure why that would be reviewed poorly.
I'm guessing because it's pretty simple compared to the cakes on the show??
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