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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
Sunday
Apr292012

Sunday Sweets: Modern Chic

When I got married way-back-when, wedding cakes were hardly the sleek, chic masterpieces they are today.  Back then, all the hip cakes featured things like light-up fountains, fake ivy, plastic staircases from tier to tier, and rampant tulle abuse.  Those were different times, kids.

Nowadays, couples have so many super stylish options to choose from, it's really quite unfair.

Submitted by Debra H. and made by Cakeaholic

 You don't know how good you have it, whippersnappers!

 

Sure, there are still plenty of wedding cakes with frills and fluff, but today we're taking a tour of sleek modern cakes that make my heart bleed with lust. Like so:

Sub'd by Jennie S., made by Some Crust Bakery

 Seriously, I call a wedding do-over. I would have loved this monochromatic cake at my wedding. So simple and striking!

 

 Or maybe this sophisticated number with its immaculate appliques:

By Art & Appetite

Not a pair of plastic doves in sight! Oh, how far we've come!

 

This couple's cake was inspired by the paintings of artist R.N. Allen, which played a significant part in their early courtship:

Sub'd by Rikki C., made by Gateaux Inc.

My wedding cake's most notable characteristic was a wad of fake purple flowers.  See?  So unfair.

 

But even wads of flowers can look amazing these days:

Sub'd by Kaitlin M via Beyond Beyond. Made by Janet Mohapi-Banks; photo by Sugar & Spice Photography.

...if it's gorgeous graduating layers of edible roses, that is.

 

And this single flower makes quite a statement, with its petals gently descending down the cake amid declarations of love written in French.

Sub'd by Marie-Eve P., made by Sugarplum Cake Shop

Le sigh!


Speaking of France, how great is this Parisian-themed beauty?

By Sucre Coeur

I love how it tells a story, and I'm amazed by the workmanship on the Eiffel Tower topper. (And not just because I've been playing a lot of Draw Something lately, and have learned that it's, like, REALLY HARD to draw a recognizable Eiffel Tower).

 

Here's a modern twist on the 'dandelion clocks' wallpaper designs of the '50s.

By Sweet Disposition Cakes

Good thing no one is making wedding cakes inspired by wallpaper designs of the '90s, because those would probably feature geese wearing bonnets and baskets of dried flowers.  That's what I seem to remember, anyway.

 

Of course, black and white is so classic I'm pretty sure this couple's grandkids will never look through their wedding album and snicker at the cake.

Sub'd by Brook S., made by The Yummy Cake Company

Not that I've ever done such a thing to my relatives, of course. Especially not certain relatives who used stalks of wheat as a cake topper. Bwa ha ha!

 Ahem. Sorry. That was a totally a made-up example. Any resemblance to real relative's wedding cakes, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

 

I just love the colors on this next cake. It's so happy and fun and summery!

By Blissfully Sweet

It makes me want to get divorced so I can get married again! I'm sure I could maybe talk my husband into that plan ...

 

I could even offer up this cake as a compromise:

Sub'd by Jess W., made by Shockley's Sweet Shoppe

Half for the bride, half for the groom, and everybody wins!  Especially the wedding guests.

 

I love how the intricate design on this next cake wrap around the edges of these square tiers - no, wait ... are they hexagons?!  No way. That shape wasn't even invented back when I got married.

Sub'd by Kate K., made by Sweet & Saucy Shop

So unfair.

 

But I'm feeling really hip right about now, because I have succulents and gray chevron decor in my home, and this lovely would fit right in:

Sub'd by Kate K., made by Sweet & Saucy Shop

 Would it be weird to display a wedding cake year-round on my coffee table?
(You don't have to answer that.)

  

Hope you enjoyed today's Sweets, guys! And as always, feel free to send in your nominations (whether you made the cakes or not!) to Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.

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Reader Comments (62)

Those are the prettiest cakes i've seen-love the half groom, half bride cake :D

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered Commentermindy1

the cake with the French writing has a deeper love the lower you go. The first tier says: "I love you." The second says: "a little." The second says: "a lot." The third says: "passionately." The final one says "like crazy."

So it's a story cake showing how the depth of feeling between the couple grows bigger and bigger.

Quite beautiful really.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJulie Bo

Love these! New fact of the day, for those who don't speak French (even a little): the single flower one is actually the French version of the pluck-petals-off-the-daisy game (the English version is 'he loves me/loves me not'). By the petal drop, it goes: "I love you - a little; a lot; passionately; madly..." Much less equivocal than our version!

But I think the dandelions are my favourite :)

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommentertheangelJean

You don't have to get divorced, Jen--just do a "Renewal of Vows" ceremony. All the cake, none of the hassle of courtship!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterEvenSong

If you want a new wedding cake so badly, just celebrate your next anniversary with a big party and "renewal of vows" or some-such. Easy excuse for wedding cake--especially something less traditional like that summery one.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterwergittep

I love the simplicity of cakes 1,2,6,8,13; clean lines are hard to master but wonderful to look at!

Nice job Lindsey!!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterEla

Now I really want to see a picture of what your wedding cake looked like.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSara

I'd like to see a pic of your wedding cake, Jen and John. You know, as a basis of comparison ;)

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterflourpuss

You could renew your vows, you know. Just a thought. Have little tiny wedding cakes at each table....

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJedi Knight Ivyan

Apparently my tastes are very classic because I HATE these modern looking cakes! I look forward to Sunday Sweets each week but this week was a huge disappointment :-(

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterLisa

oh i'm so happy that one of my suggestions made it to Sunday Sweets!! You made my day! thanks!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterMarie-Eve

That black and white stripy one reminds me a bit of a bar code, but I quite enjoyed the rest of them today. I think I liked the frilly white one with the pink (very first picture) the best.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterDeirdre

Someone could probably make a great business out of making a permanent (ceramic, etc.) copy of these cakes so they could sit on your dining room table.

But to put a regular cake out there? C'mon, Jen, it wouldn't last very long...it's CAKE!!!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJoanie

But you know -- all of these couples' children are going to look at their parents' wedding album and laugh their butts off -- because the cakes will have changes by then, too.

Just like we were badazz with our big hair and neon clothes then -- but we hide those pics from our kids so they don't hurt themselves laughing....

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJust Thinkin'

Everything looks silly forty years down the line, but these are all gorgeous right now.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterNaomi

Is it wrong that, upon seeing the half-white/half-chocolate cake, I assumed it was for an interracial couple with a fun sense of humor?

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterunclemike

I adore the "Surprised by Love" cake especially. What a beautiful idea, wonderfully executed!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterHaiku Joy

These are all beautiful....but I can already imagine the Wrecks these very cakes will cause when an excited bride thinks her local Wrekery can pull one of them off....seriously, have you had any wrecked versions of your Sunday Sweet cakes yet?

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterConnie

Beautiful cakes! My family definitely had the geese-in-bonnets wallpaper; I laughed out loud when you mentioned it. I think the wallpaper itself was blue with little bouquets of flowers, and then there was a trim with the geese in bonnets and the the baskets of flowers.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterKristen

Unforutunately the pale blue cake with the French phrases on it looks a bit like someone is pulling the petals off the flower and doing "loves me, loves me not,...." which isnt all that appropriate for a wedding?

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterCapability Bowes

i love that blue/teal dot cake in the first pic.
not a fan of the half bride & half groom cake.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterarchersangel

I really like the half groom/half bride cake. It's almost suggestive - like the bride is slowly removing her gown...

That being said, most of these cakes? No, thanks. Especially the 3rd photo, that yellow thing. To each their own, though! I certainly wouldn't be able to produce *any* of these, so there is some appreciation for the skill!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterCaren

You could always do a styrofoam cake covered in fondant if you want to leave it out. Then the awkward molding wouldn't happen (at least not as fast). And to the majority of the other commenters: Lindsey wrote this one, not Jen. (Sorry, but little things like that bug me.) All in all, beautiful Sweets!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBella

@unclemike: hee, I thought the same thing.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterhedge

"Good thing no one is making wedding cakes inspired by wallpaper designs of the '90s, because those would probably feature geese wearing bonnets and baskets of dried flowers. "

Oh, so you've been to my parents' house?

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered Commenteranon

Whoa, a Rick Allen cake?! My husband and I absolutely adore his wood prints (we have one in our hallway called "Sparks Fly," which is iconic of his Northland/Duluth work, where we and he live). I had to show that to my husband, which made us both chuckle. So glad someone else loves his wittiness and charm as much as we do. :) His local "out of office" sign at his little shop is even amusing and made us laugh. (Kenspeckle Letterpress, everyone. Check it out! Just a huge huge HUGE HUGE fan of his work!)

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJessica (the celt)

I'm with Lisa. I must be a traditionalist since I don't care for most of these cakes. I do like the dandelion one, though. The blue swirly cake with the yellow flower is ok, along with the half and half cake.

Using goldenrod and avocado; however, as colors on a cake is too reminicscent of '70s kitchen appliances.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterNo capes

You know, Jen, you don't have to get divorced and remarried to have another wedding cake. It's a little thing called renewing your vows!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSami

I want to pin this whole post on pinterest! I have wedding cakes to make this year and I hope I can convince the brides to order things like this!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJoy C

Just too pretty for words. A picture of a lovely modern cake makes me swooooooon.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAC

Love them. Th Sanderson wallpaper one would look perfect in my lounge but I think hubby would be a tad annoyed at even the cake matching the wall

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterYolanda

I'm right there with you on the Draw Something Eiffel Tower...I've done it twice and both times had to rely on a doodle of a French guy to indicate "Something French In France". As for the cakes, I think my favourite thing here is what looks like blueberries. Cos it's just so damn sweet! <3

}:)

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSpacegeek Nat

Love love the Orange slice cake in the first pic and the half groom half bride cake is awesome! that one I wanted to eat...

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterLori

I can't believe we don't "have an Epcot" on this yet! The french cake has the text from the engagement bracelet that Roger gives Brianna in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterLisa

May I suggest you build a cardboard cake in the design you like, with the top piece being a tissue box? Stylish and useful. Certainly more stylish than large-dress loo-roll holders :)

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAC Wells

The cake with the French writing and the flowers is actually the French version of something we do. We pick off the petals of flowers and say "he loves me, he loves me not" But the French pick off the petals and say "He loves me...a little, a little; a lot; passionately, madly" :)

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterShara

Wow, these are spectacular. I got married a while ago too and there weren't cakes like this either - at least nowhere I knew about! Our cake had tiers and buttercream and was quite lovely but it wasn't anything like these.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterElise

So when do we get to see a picture of your wedding cake jen?

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSusan

A huge merci beaucoup to French majors who refrained from launching a major EPCOT. Truly, my hovercraft is full of eels; my giraffe wishes you the very best lunchbox.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterCraig

Thank you for the post! :) We had a lot of fun making that half and half cake. Here is a video of it turning if you would like to see it. - Jennifer, Tim and Dave Shockley. :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8zWS_zh0xo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSSS

Is that detailing on the Eiffel Tower cake all hand-piped royal icing? O. My. Goodness.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterLisa C

I love the graduated roses cake. Really don't like the black & white striped cake. Most of them just look very plastic. I guess I'm old-fashioned.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterDiana

The French chant actually ends -- "Pas de tout". That unlabeled bottom layer of the otherwise beautiful cake is sort of unfortunate. Just saying...

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterMarti

OH.

MY.

GOD.

The R. N. Allen. I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT. I'M NOT EVEN GETTING MARRIED. I WANT IT. SO BRILLIANT. SO GORGEOUS. SO PERFECT. SO CLEVER. AHHHHHH!!!!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBewildebeest

Glad someone else on here reads Outlander! Roger's bracelet to Brianna was the first thing I thought of when I saw the blue French cake--except the last line of the bracelet is "pas de tout." Love that bracelet, love those books, love that cake!

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAmanda

I'm always humbled by the Sweets selections and today was no exception. Maybe it's just the French Immersion schooling for my son, but the one in French and the gay Paris cakes were my favorites. The tiny little daisies on the Eiffel tower topped cake?! Wow!
I also, just for the record, saw the humor in the previous post about bris cakes. Sorry you had to disable; please don't let it discourage you.

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJake and Me

"Would it be weird to display a wedding cake year-round on my coffee table?" Not if you're Miss Havisham...

April 29, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterLet Them Eat Cake

So pretty!!

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterErica

I love that on the half-and-half cake the strawberries are wearing little chocolate tuxedos!

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterhyphen8

So I'm the only one who saw the 5th picture (roses, white at the top, red at the bottom, pink in between) and thought, "It looks like a tampon"?

Right. Spending too much time at Regretsy, I guess.

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAlex

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