I made a fabu orange pound cake for a 3D choo choo this weekend. It smelled great, tasted great. Made it Wednesday for a Saturday delivery since it was all fondant covered.

Now I'm on Jenny Craig, so I only tasted a sliver so I wouldn't ruin my diet. But my DH and DS ate some and said it was great. I used orange oil and orange peel since there was no liquid besides eggs in the recipe. I also drizzled some syrup flavored with orange juice on top for extra moistness.

Here it is Monday and I opened the container of scraps to smell them wistfully....and they smelled of chemicals!! I tasted another small sliver, and aside from starting to dry out, it tastes fine.

I haven't heard from the client, but I am really freaking out that the cake smelled like that when they cut it! This orange oil is supposed to be pure orange oil from King Arthur Flour....I used it in a vegan cake once, and aside from using too much for the size cake I made, it tasted great.

What would you do? I'd hate to think this is spreading a rep that my cakes are icky. But if I haven't heard from her...is this a no news is good news situation?

I'm just taking a guess here: But...when you say you opened the container, did you mean you had it sealed in plastic container? I ask, because I could see how if it were sealed tight, you would have an overwhelming smell just upon opening. If that is the case, don't stress, the customer would not have experienced that.

Yes, that is what I mean! And it was sooo chemically, not so "fresh and orangey"! Ack. But you have a point there....I guess cutting fondant isn't quite the same as opening a sealed plastic container. I hope.