Confessions of a Cake Wrecker
October 15, 2008 Cake decorators are an interesting lot.
For example, some of them find this site absolutely hilarious...until they see their cake on it.* Others find the very concept of Cake Wrecks repugnant. Still others - and these are the ones I love - realize that Wrecks are a part of life and therefore nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, some of this rare, wonderful breed even submit their own cakes. Huzzah! That's the spirit! Why get cranky over a Wrecky creation when you can share it with us, generate some laughs, and be a proud Wrecker for the day?
With all of that said, today's Wreck comes from Alison, owner of Alison's Cakery in NC. Like most Wreck creators, she usually makes gorgeous cakes. She writes:
"I was asked to make a baby shower cake for a very non-traditional mother, [but] she had her baby 3 months premature. In a moment of brilliance (or insanity, or sleeplessness) I decided to make a 'surprise baby' just exited the mommy early, kind of like a new year's baby coming out of the cake. After a bit of time modeling I was pretty satisfied with my finished product."
And here it is:
[nodding] Very nice, very... er...hey...wait a second....can we zoom in?
AAAAAUUUGGGHH!!!
I've heard of losing your head over a pregnancy before, but your arms and legs, too?
Fortunately, Alison has more to say:
"I showed the cake to one of my associates, who said it looked like an alien bursting out of a decapitated mother's funereal body. Needless to say, this topper did not stay."
No, really, it's not that bad...
[checking photo again] Er, ok, yes it is.
Not to say that the alien-bursting-forth concept wasn't a good one, though. I mean, at least the mother's decapitated and dismembered torso has clothes on.
Alison, you just keep wrecking on with your bad self, girl. And bakers, I hope you've all learned a valuable lesson here today: submitting your own cakes to Cake Wrecks could get you free advertising. Oh, and always have an associate double-check your work. ;)
* My idea for an apron: "It's all fun and games 'til it ends up on Cake Wrecks!"
Reader Comments (147)
Wow, I'm glad I didn't have Dr. Allison do my c-section. lol But the cake is beautifully done.
Yes, Alien was exactly what I thought when I first saw it! Well at least she realised! That's why it's always good to get a second opinion.
BTW - Am v. concerned about what that black cupcake icing will do to the guests' teeth.
I am really having a hard time figuring out the whole mother's torso/cake topper. It looks like there are some legs where the head should be.
I guess we can be glad that this baby is being delivered via c section.
The best part is that it really is a gorgeous cake, artfully done.... with a really creepy topper. Lack of sleep does weird things to you. Good for this decorator for having a sense of humor.
Awwwesomely bad. lol! Good for her to share her mistake!
Other than than the alien birth, the cake really is beautiful, so it is a testament to her own sanity that she realized that her "vision" was actually quite terrifying.
I think you're missing the true horror.
BLACK ICED CUPCAKES. AGHGHHGHHHHHHHH.
I agree- it's a BEAUTIFULLY done cake wreck. Wreck on!
It would be great for a Macbeth party. Y'know, except for all the pink.
"...Macduff Was from his Mother's Womb, untimely Ript"
I always pictured it kind of like this. Y'know, except for all the pink. And he'd need to hold a sword.
Sounds like a great apron! Where do we sign up?! Hee hee.
You'll have to put the babies on the carrots image on it!
so, cupcakes as accessories to real cakes are ok..since they aren't the main attraction??? just wanted to double check that... as there are cupcakes around the main cake...
and it is beautiful, minus the alien baby topper as others have aforementioned.
LMAO. Only on cake wrecks will I read the comment, "...aside from the headless/armless torso and alien baby, bursting through the belly it is a nice cake!" This is great!
Oh the things you miss when you don't stop by Cake Wreaks for a couple of days!
Bravo! Ye Cake decorator! Not too many people reliaze their mistakes until it's too late.
Thanks for sending it though! ;)
I needed the laugh.
Peace,
Clueuin
P.S
First the Calendar idea now an apron! Gurl you best to get to implementing your ideas before someone steals them from out from under your very clever nose! :0 c.i.n
Had she taken the pregnant lady off and just had the baby popping out of the cake, it would have been cute! Thank God they saw the light!
I like non-tradition as much as the next person, but this is definitely wrecky...well done, but wrecky...Kudos to Allison to see the light in time
Absolutely you need to develop an apron line!!!!
Kudos to Allison for submitting a cake of her own! I really respect that. The topper is pretty funny, and even though it is a wreck it's so well done! I think it adds that little 'je ne sais quois' to the whole overall look.
Go to cafepress and make that apron!
"If at first you don't succeed..." LOL. That made me laugh. Excellent cake. I'm gonna have to try and make that one.
Definitely go to Cafe Press and capitalize on that apron. I'd buy one.
Now let's discuss all that BLACK on that wreck. (shudder) I can live with the creepy alien baby and all...but as the mother of a preemie, I think that cake looks like a harbinger of death. But that's just me.
Other than that, beautifully wrecktastic!
Hahaha...that is pretty frightening! At least the decorator owned up to it!
the cake, less that creepy topper, is stunning! real talent, Allison. And I'd buy that apron for sure.
That's a very realistic representation of Jr. Miss Funeral Pyre 2008!
The rest of the cake is absolutely beautiful. But as I just watched Alien over the weekend, I'm going to have to go with my initial reaction of, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
I sent this to my husband who took a disturbingly similar picture of my c-section. I need to call my therapist now......right after I figure out how to make an apron with that slogan! Love it!!
Holy Wachungas!! Great cake in an poorheadlessexplodingmommy kind of way. I can say that...I just had a Caesarean.
Ok so that cake was really scary and took a minute to realize that the baby was popping out of Mom's stomache - but the decorator said that that cake topper was quickly removed...what did the final version of the cake look like?
Yah, kinda scary for sure *LOL*
But the final version was nice enough...
http://www.alisonscakery.com/images/albums/NewAlbum_f6b3a/Picture_1907.jpg
Oh Alison, thank you for having the foresight to document your remarkably well-executed wreck and the lady balls (or Thatchers) to send it in.
Most of all, thank you for understanding that you had made a wreck that needed changing before the poor mother saw it.
Truly, wrecks happen to us all, but few have the wisdom to handle them appropriately. I bow to you, Alison.
And consider me another voice wildly in favor of the apron. I don't wear them, but I would absolutely get that one...particularly if you found a way to put naked Mohawked baby carrot riders on it in addition to the legend.
I'm so impressed that she sent this in herself that I want to re-plug her Web site:
http://www.alisonscakery.com/
Now, as for the cake. Yeah. Wow. It's all been said before!
RE: black icing, I see it as an accent here, nice contrast. Why not, since the cake is overall so bright and cheerful.
Personally I have no issue with the cupcakes around the cake because they're actual separate cupcakes and not glommed together in an unholy union from the Cthonic beyond.
I would buy a dozen of those aprons to use in my daughter's cake shop!
With the exception of the terrifying topper, this cake is awesome, an Allison deserves mad props both for it's creation and admitting when things don't go as planned.
Thanks everyone! The final cake is on mywebsite (linked) under the other cakes section, titled Purple and Black.
The baby did stay, and she got an early debut sign.
The thought started with all of the belly cakes, and then progressed because she wasn't pregnant anymore... and well, it just got out of hand.
I'm not saying it's appropriate for a baby shower, but I think it's kind of awesome. :-) And of course, beautifully made. How do they get the frosting to look so smooth and matte?
That hurts me just to look at it!
Marianne
www.crochetbymommaj.etsy.com
crochetbymommaj.blogspot.com
See, and I thought it was popping up out of a blanket at first...then the zoom in and I noticed boobs on that blanket, and THEN I realized what I was seeing.
Hahahahaha! I love someone who has a sense of humor about their creative mistakes. That's what makes it fun!
We all make mistakes but none as beautifully executed as this one!
Alison is a friend of mine and I remember this cake, most of us friends of hers told her it was very disturbing, LOL! Some of us thought the headless pregnant torso was a tutu! Alison does make beautiful cakes! Tracie
When you said the mother was untraditional, I thought at first this was simply mixing Halloween in with the baby shower at her request. Misspelling Alison's name in her website, that too kinda ties in with the whole horror concept... Not that I notice such things. Heh.
--another Alison
Okay, this is going to sound really weird and may be indicative of some deep-seated issues, but with all the pinkness and swirly-foldy-ness of the cake, did anyone else see a baby popping out of actual lady parts on first view of this cake? For a second I thought "Hmmm, actual natural delivery in cake form. Creepy." It took me a minute to blink and see the dismembered-mommy thing. I guess it's just me. Besides the baby it is an absolutely gorgeous cake and looks delicious, too.
Alison, you are a true artist.
I LOVE the finished final product and I'd have been tickled to death to have been that part of an after-the-fact baby shower once the preemie was out of the woods, home and thriving.
Though one could argue there are new moms who might find that whole disarticulated body thing funny. That's kind of what happens in the operating room ... all focus on mom's torso and the surprise within. Maybe surgical drapes next time?
Plus, that is one ugly baby emerging from the torso. Yikes.
LOVE that she's big enough to admit her own wreck! Gorgeous cake, sans split-open-mom-baby-popping-out thing....
Wow.... When I first looked at it it looked like a baby coming out of a vag. I think the baby bursting out of the pink tummy is probably better.
You should definitely make that apron! Both cafepress.com and zazzle.com have customizable aprons. I'm sure you'd sell a lot!!
Maybe the baby should have just come out of the CAKE like a striper. I mean the insinuation is less disturbing than the thought of the host being sacrificed for the life of the parasite.
Disclaimer: I do not consider babies parasites.
I was actually relieved at the close-up. Maybe it's just me, but the first thought when I see a baby erupting from something pink and oblong isn't that it's coming out of the mother's stomach Alien-style...
Too funny, either way!
Aside from the obvious badness/weirdness, I simply adore the colors and the cheerfulness of the cake.
At least the mom didn't have a multiple-birth pregnancy...THAT would have been a really scary cake!!!
hahahaha that's so hilarious! i love it! hahahaahahaa!
Just dropping by to let you know I am a fan! If you get a chance, check me out on Blogger at www.digsdaily.com where we discuss music, life and nostalgia!
Peace!
a.digs