Search

My Other Blog

What's a Wreck?

A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.

Now, don't you have a photo you want to send me? ;)

- Jen
Tuesday
Mar022010

Hold On to Your Hats, Sports Fans...

Wreckporter Barry B. gives us the skinny:

My wife went into a cake maker to get a small cake for my birthday. They asked what she’d like on it and she said, "How about the Chicago 'C', like The Chicago Bears’ 'C' logo? Is that possible?"

They said, "The Chicago C? No problem."

...it was the funniest present I’ve ever received.


Let's hope that Justina felt the same way about her University of Michigan cake, which was supposed to look like this:


But ended up looking like this:

Oh! A swing and a miss!

Karen M.'s son asked for the Alabama "A" on his birthday cake. To help the bakery out, his aunt brought in a photocopy of his Alabama hat to use as a reference.

(Can you sense where this is going? If not, then you really haven't been reading this blog long enough. Heh.)

Ready?

Here's the cake:

Thank goodness they didn't bring the actual hat in; that icing would take forever to clean off.


- Related Wreckage: Sports Sense

« Wreck Spotting | Main | The Frogs Talk Back »

Reader Comments (93)

As a Purdue grad, I appreciate the P problem. Others to watch out for:
Boston College 'B'
University of ILL 'I'
Tulsa University 'T' (several ways they could mess that up)

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLenore

I work part-time in a deli/bakery and you have to have licensing to use the logo's for most teams, and of course they don't have them. That could be *part* of the reason why they don't look the same... Although, I must say they still aren't even close! Have no excuse to help them with that! :)

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

I call shenanigans on the "Chicaco C" cake. Even if the baker wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't know whether to do a Chicago CUBS "C", or a Chicago BEARS "C".

Very different logo, very different "C".

No way that ones real.

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterHossrex

Shame about the Alabama/Atlanta cake because the handwriting and icing swirls are really nice.

The others are pathetic with a "P!"

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterBree

Every day I look at this site (except when the sweets are posted), all I can think is "What the hell?" I am truly dumbfounded that anyone would be so shameless to put these out on a store shelf. But on the other hand, I love knowing there will always be something I can laugh at so hard it makes me cry. : D

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterDSmo

Ahh, nothing like a good wreck to make me feel better about the cakes I have made.

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMelinda

Some cakes make me laugh harder than others. The Alabama cake cracked me up.

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterfuzzandfuzzlet

To get icing THAT red...I really don't want to know how much red dye was used. /shudder /gag

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCasey

I love this blog, plain and simple because I can recognize Wal Mart packaging and wonder if one of my coworkers made that cake. Ha ha ha.

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered Commentersqu1rrel

The Alabama cake is not a total loss. The picture of the hat looks pretty cool. At least the "A" is accurate.

JenniferinVA

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJen

Mmmmm, papery.

March 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

I am a cake decorator and NEVER would I assume that someone wanted the photocopy of the hat on their cake. I mean come on. I swear these people doing all these cakes must not be from this country. That has to be where the miscommunication is.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterangie and tyler

That's an Atlanta A, not an Alabama A.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

Oh my all that red icing.. not to mention the photo of the hat that looks a bit like Stewie from Family Guy than anything else. Must make note to avoid this bakery at all costs lol.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMarie

Wait, that's the actual photocopy? I just assumed it was a reproduction of the photocopy (like they put on photo cakes). Ew gross. Otherwise that's kind of an awesome cake, visually, if not exactly appetizing.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commentermyimaginaryblog

Wait a minute. People pay for these? With like, money? Their hard earned money? For these?
I'm baffled.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

I'm originally from Michigan but I'm an Ohio State Buckeyes alumna and fan, so fail school, fail "M" :-).

In any case, it looks more like a Minnesota M than a Michigan M, with Carolina blue. This is all kinds of bad...maybe I should get this for my good friend who is a Michigan fan who lives in North Carolina.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJaye

OI!

Two things I need to remember:
1. no coffee while reading this blog (thanks Stacie!)
2. coworkers were the reason I was embarassed to work at the grocery store bakery

WV: New disease discovered: Mallapsy - turns normally intelligent people into wreckerators!

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMichelle P

For years the University of Nebraska had a very stylized N for their logo, that had all rounded corners. We called it the WORM.

I shudder to think of the potential cakes.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMary Connealy

Ow. That Michigan cake hurts my maize and blue heart.

Almost as much as the last two years of awful football...

I'm sure it was an OSU grad who couldn't find a job in their field who did that one!

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

Chicago "C"... Okay, I'm giggling now...

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterBADKarma!

Actually, I believe that is the "A" of the Atlanta Braves but I could be wrong. Either way - not exactly the cake I'd want for my birthday.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterj.cro

I just read the comments and I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who could tell the Chicago cake didn't come from a bakery. It's obviously done by a home "wrecker" just trying to get her picture posted.

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJanet

Those are priceless. I can't believe that Chicago cake! What can you do but laugh?

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterErin of Brownie Bites

Well, on the plus side they got the "Chicago" colors right (as in the colors of Chicago's flag, anyway...)

March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterRed Wolf

I've got to disagree with those of you who think the "C" cake is a home job. No one who actually owns a #22 tip could use it that badly. It has to be done by someone who has access to the equipment but no training (or talent) for using it, such as someone on their first day in the supermarket bakery. That could be a fun wreck category -"On-the-Job Training".

March 4, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

That's not the Alabama "A", the "A" in the picture is the Atlanta Braves logo. Alabama's "A" is close, but that's not it, so this cake is a wreck from the beginning.

Nikki

March 4, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterNikki

Isn't that an Atlanta Braves "A"?

March 4, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

Funny thing about the Alabama A is that isnt even an Alabama A. The Alabama A is pretty and has a line coming off the top and the middle line doesnt go down. So the people that ordered the cake failed too.

March 4, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

So, uhm, anyone mention that that "Alabama A" is really an Atlanta Braves A?

Let's see, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight . . .

Yup, guess they did. Carry on, then.

March 4, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMarcos

my baby saw the U of M cake and started calling it the wonder pets cake.. wells she is only 3 but it does look like their "W" only upside down

pat

March 5, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

nice cake...hmmm...yummy

March 7, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAbdullah The Dictator

The 'Michigan' cake shows the Rotterdam Metro (Underground) logo and colour scheme:
http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/rot/metro-logo.jpg

March 7, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterDhr. DeLuxe

Only because I happen to be a huge fan of Atlanta.. I'd like to point out that is in fact an Atlanta A and not Alabama A. There is a slight difference mostly only noticed by fans of one or the other. :)

March 12, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

Pointing to photocopy of hat, "I want this on the cake." Really? That is a strange request, but the customer is always right.

March 12, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

Congratulations, Bama fans, on not knowing what your own logo looks like and buying Braves merchandise instead. Awesome. Go Braves (and go Dawgs)! :)

March 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAmanda

Maybe they should have used an Alabama hat...instead of an Atlanta Braves hat?

March 29, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

You know, as funny as these cakes are, there are times when I feel sad after I've laughed until I've - uh - well, until after I've laughed.

The requests for the decoration were not complicated or difficult. And that's what makes me sad, because, underneath it all, these cakes represent:
1. the combined lack of education/and ignorance of people in the customer service business.

2. the disappointment of the person who ordered the cake and found that it was, perhaps, so badly done and not acceptable that they refused to pay for it and so, missed out on the opportunity of having the (great and wonderful)cake as part of the celebration

3. the state of the hiring practices of well-meaning people who cannot spell and who are not familiar with the various sports. People mean well, but that's not enough when you're dealing with the centerpiece of a celebration.

When people get it right, the results are breathtaking and beautiful. And while not everyone can create a show piece, it appears to be too much any more to ask for correct spelling, punctuation, and logos.

Boy, I hope they tasted better than they looked!

Linnea
Mount Airy, MD

May 25, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterWooza

Love your site! Sooooo funny!!

Wow, it looks awesome!

August 16, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterBatman birthday party

I honestly wonder,how can people be so S-T-U-P-I-D?!?!?! Incomprehensible! But hilarious!

August 28, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

as a student of the university of alabama, that bakery personally offends me that they cant at least google our "A"... that's totally an atlanta a. boo...

April 26, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous

As the wife in question for the Chicago "c" cake, I can tell you that yes, it's real. It's from a popular nationwide ice cream chain. I considered telling them to redo it but knew my husband would love this so much more than a perfect cake. Being a huge Bears fan, this is now one of his favorite stories.

March 3, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterStephanie

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>