What Would You Do?

Decorating By yates77 Updated 31 Aug 2011 , 2:38am by yates77

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yates77 Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 6:34pm
post #1 of 13

I was asked to make a wedding cake for a Bride. She asked if I made Jamaican Rum Cake. I said that I was sorry that I didn't have that on my list of cakes I offer. She asked if her Aunt made the cakes would I just decorate them. Now this is to be a 3 tier cake and with not knowing the stability of the cake I don't want to take the chance plus I don't want to mean but I don't know what her Aunt"s baking abilities are. I declined to decorate the Jamaican Rum Cake but said I would be more than happy to do her wedding cake in any flavour I already offer.
I feel that this could turn out badly if I gave into her, so I trusted my gut on this one. I would rather her be upset with me saying I won't do it than her being upset if something were to go very wrong with the cake on the wedding day! Sooooo, what I would like to know is, what would you do in this situation?

12 replies
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cakesbycathy Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 6:41pm
post #2 of 13

Exactly the same as you! thumbs_up.gif

I would NEVER decorate a cake I didn't bake myself. Ever.

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neelycharmed Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 6:48pm
post #3 of 13

I learned the hard way! thumbsdown.gif
I decorated the cake for a friend and she supplied the cakes (that a friend of hers made)...
When I got them, they were all different heights and corners were missing off the cake, so I had to patch them together the best I could.
Lesson learned, never did again after that!

You did the right thing!
Jodi icon_smile.gif

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Mammadukes Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 6:50pm
post #4 of 13

I don't do cakes for a living only for my family and as a hobby but I would have to agree 100% I would have done the same thing in your place : )

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LoveMeSomeCake615 Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 7:08pm
post #5 of 13

You absolutely made the right decision. Not only could there be an issue with the structure of the cake, but there's also the possibility that the cake could taste terrible or even make people sick if it wasn't made with the proper safety precautions.

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Chasey Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 7:48pm
post #6 of 13

Why not suggest the Aunt make the groom's cake in that flavor? I don't know what kind of icing is normally on that kind of cake, but having a family member make that would be more appropriate than the actual wedding cake itself. Even if she did a homemade job on the "decorating" part, I think it would be more of a sentimental gesture.

Good call on not decorating someone else's baking!

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jason_kraft Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 7:57pm
post #7 of 13

Decorating someone else's cake can be very profitable if they are willing to pay. On a few occasions we have offered decorating services to others at an hourly rate ($60/hour), so if there are problems with the cake that need to be fixed, the customer still pays for it. This always turns out to be more expensive for the customer than just having us bake the cake.

There's really no liability issue if you are insured.

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bakingatthebeach Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 8:20pm
post #8 of 13

I had planned to do our housekeeper at works cake for her wedding reception, got a call from a girl at work saying they had moved the wedding up to the next day. I had enough time to bake a six inch and my friend went to Sams and picked up an iced undecorated 10 inch. Got it decorated, turned out fine (its the the two tier with draping and calla lilys with gold), there was a height difference in their cake and mine but when your in a pinch it worked. It was our gift to them.

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Darthburn Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 8:26pm
post #9 of 13

Maybe the aunt would be willing to share her recipe with you? Maybe write an agreement not to share or sell that cake flavor for a year or so?

Then you could test bake and check firmness, stability, and taste. Then bake them.

At the very least a sample would be nice to have if only to see if it's firm enough to hold up.

Just a thought.

If not though... I think you answered it perfectly. icon_smile.gif

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BizCoCos Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 8:36pm
post #10 of 13

HMMMM, I would bake avery small sample cake and see if she likes it, very common recipe for Jamaincn rum cake on internet, if she doesn't like your cake I woukd quickly pass on this opportunity.
cake mix:
1/2 C. chopped pecans

1 (18.25 oz.) box yellow cake mix

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs

1/2 C. vegetable oil

1/2 C. water

1/2 C. dark rum

Glaze:

1 stick (1/2 C.) butter

1 C. sugar

1/4 C. water

1/4 C. rum

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a bundt or tube pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle pecans around bottom of pan.

Place cake mix, pudding, eggs, oil, water and rum in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 1 hour.

While cake is baking, prepare glaze. Combine all glaze ingredients except rum in a saucepan and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the rum. When the cake is done, remove from the oven and pierce thoroughly with a toothpick. Immediately pour glaze over the top. Cool completely before removing the cake from the pan. or

INGREDIENTS
½ cup white bread crumbs.
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
8 egg yolks
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp nutmeg powder
2 tsp vanilla
¼ cup Appleton white rum
½ cup mixed fruits

PREPARATION
Bring ½ cup sugar to a caramel and line bottom on baking tin with caramel.
Mix remaining sugar and milk to a boil, thenwhisk in egg and cook for few seconds.
Add all spices, rum and bread to liquid followed by the fruits.
Let stand for to soak thenpour into lined baking tin and steam-bake pudding at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.




Posted by getjamaica on internet site good luck, either way you might want to try out the recipes




here's a simple one:

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BizCoCos Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 8:46pm
post #11 of 13

oops, the simple one starts after the word ingredients 2 different recipes

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creativethoughts Posted 29 Aug 2011 , 8:50pm
post #12 of 13

Depending on the time I would maybe find a good recipe and try it out. But like you I don't make Jamaican Rum cake and would not want to promise something that I had never made and did not know how it would turn out.

Also agree with you not decorating the aunts cake. Big exaggeration here but it would kinda be like putting your signature on a Picasso or Van Gogh. You didn't make the cake and would not want to take credit for it if it tasted awful or came to you in pieces and you had to do your best to patch it up. Like wise you wouldn't want the aunt to say that she 'made the cake' because while she might have 'made the cake', she did not decorate it and usually making the cake and decorating go hand in hand! any who hope that something works out!

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yates77 Posted 31 Aug 2011 , 2:38am
post #13 of 13

Thank you so much for all of your responses! I really appreciate all your help. thumbs_up.gif

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