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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
Aug192012

Sunday Sweets: Faith and Begonias

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, "Why hasn't john done another amazing flower sweets and filled us with his flowery knowledge of all things daisy?"

The answer to that is that I've been busy.  And also lazy.  Mostly the first one.

So today, let us ponder the beauty of the daisy as well as the begonia which I'm pretty sure may also be a flower of some sort!

Behold!

Submitted by Emily J. and made by Stephanie S. of Desserts for Breakfast

 The majestic Begonia!

 (Now at this point, there are most likely several people with PHDs in flowerology who are mentally composing emails in which I am compared to a dimwitted tribble.  To which I say, "Squeak, cooo, squeak.")

 

Now let me stop here for a second to get real with you, as the young'uns say.  Look at this orchid:

 Someone MADE that with edible stuff.  That is AMAZING!  I think we forget sometimes the incredible talent that goes into these sweets.  Just sayin'.

 

 And speaking of daisies:

Submitted by Laura P. and made by Sugar Creations

 You know what's awesome about this cake?  They took a simple, lovely blue cake, stuck a pocket on it and now it's a pair of overalls.  Love it.

 

And now for something that just reminded me that it's our anniversary next week and I need to get Jen something nice:

Submitted by Jeffrey K. and made by Zhanna Zubova

Like chocolates.  Or cake.  Or a day off.

 

Cupcakes!

Submitted by Julie B. and made by The Creative Cake Academy

I have been well trained over the past 14 years so when I looked at this cake, I immediately said, "POPPIES!" which are Jen's favorite flowers.

 (Adorable anecdote: the first time Jen ever saw an actual poppy was in Washington DC and she burst into tears.  There was something just so innocent and wonderful about that kind of joy.  One of my best memories.)

 

 Now this next one is my kind of cake:

Submitted by Kate K. and made by Sweet and Saucy Shop

 So simple and elegant.  I'd love to try to make it...  And now I'm all inspired and nostalgic for the Wilton class that Jen and I took all those years ago.  As I recall, I made a pretty mean daisy...

 

 And now I'm going to switch gears on you 'cause I'm crazy like that:

Submitted by Louise S. and made by Arty Cakes

 Shapow!  

This cake is not simple and it's not elegant.  It's wild and crazy and colorful and it's a testament to the baker's mad skillz with a piping bag.  My hand cramped just looking at this.  So.  Cool.

 

 And now, let's all take a moment to sigh contentedly:

Submitted by Rita F. and made by Planet Cake

 *sigh*

I love blue.  And white.  I think I must be a little bit Greek.

 

 Did I mention I have a thing for butterflies?

By amateur baker Yumi R-S

Wait, is that actually a daisy?!

 [googlegooglegoogle]

 IT IS!  Now I'm all verklempt...

 

And finally, a flower pot that Gezina made "just for us":

By Gezabella Cakes

Okay, not really but she was super sweet for making us our own little tag.

 

 

But you know, when all is said and done,  the best part of any of these cakes...

... is that you get to eat them.  And that's why I love my job.

 

 Have a Sweet to nominate?  Send it to sundaysweets(at)cakewrecks.com.

« 9 Of The World's Dirtiest Cakes | Main | Shark Week "Winners" »

Reader Comments (39)

I love all of these gorgeous cakes! Such beautiful daisies and begonias! Thank you,John, for cheering me up on a down morning.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAnnette

UH YUM.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterStoich91

Great post, John! I love the Sunday Sweets Flower posts. When you start the day with such beauty and sweetness, it HAS to be a good day. Some thoughts:

1. I'd suggest you start making up "Latin" names for the flowers, like "posietrificus totalis splendiferous." Yes, people will still call you a dimwitted tribble, but they'll have to spend some time on Google first.

2. Chocolate AND cake AND a day off AND something from her favorite Etsy store (or a power tool -- that dremel drill press might like a friend.)

3. I want an edible flower pot -- at least when I kill its contents I can say it was on purpose, rather than blaming my black thumb.

Have a great day!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSharyn

Oh those are the cheeriest cakes-my mom's garden club would LOVE those cupcakes :D

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered Commentermindy1

It is really, really hard to resist pointing out that the first cake HAS THE SAME FREAKING ORCHID TOPPER as the second picture.

But I think I can do it.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterLisa

That phalenopsis orchid is just amazing, but my favorite is the simple, white peonies on the wedding cake!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterPsychoCat

It's a lot harder not to point out to Lisa that the second picture is a detail shot of the first cake.

But I think I can do it (EPCOT!).

Beautiful daisies, John!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterMuria

Oomh pretty.

Especially the daisies .


The Wedgewood bowel with white roses and jasmine is my favourite. Perfect visual to accompany my afternoon tea.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterDiddleymaz

Great work, john (thoj)!! These are absolutley breathtaking! The cake of the white flowers in the soft-blue bowl is incredible. Alas, I, too, took a Wilton course (it was so many years ago they only had three tips...) but all I could ever make was a wiggly line or a lump of frosting.
Thank you for such a refreshing post, and Happy Anniversary next week!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered Commentermel

Absolutely stunning! And by the way, am I the only one who thought the first one was a cherry blossom?

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSam <3

The heart shaped cake says "Happy Birthday to a beloved husband and father" In Russian...if anyone was wondering.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterErin

John, you made me cry with that post about Jen and the poppy in DC. Then I couldn't even see the next cake. I wish I could find a slightly sentimental guy who appreciates flower cakes.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterdoodlebug

After a summer of 100+ degrees temps for more than 3 months and a drought on top of that, it is lovely to see that flowers are growing SOMEWHERE. These are gorgeous! Thanks, John, for a wonderful tiptoe through the tulips -- which you should feature in your next flower/cakes post, BTW.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterTLC

The Wedgwood bowl is just epic. It perfectly matches their style.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterWill

@Muria: See you in the bunker!

@Erin: Thank you, I was!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSharyn

John, what a sweet romantic you are. The joy the two of you get from each other comes across so clearly, sweetly, and un-sentimentally. What an inspiration. Have a wonderful anniversary.

And, I, too, love the poppy, and was overwhelmed at the sight of them on our honeymoon in California.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterjdens

Fun little fact about begonias (they're my 2nd favorite flower)..You know all flowers have "meanings," i.e., red roses mean romance and love, yellow roses mean friendship.. Begonias mean "Beware, for I am fanciful."

I have one tattooed on the inside of my left elbow. :)

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterRebecca Riot

Oh, wow. A Wedgewood cake. I'm swooning.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJules

The cupcakes.....that all-white wedding cake...the bowl with the flowers. (Yeah, I sighed too) Just absolute splediferous gorgeousness. Thanks so much John (thoJ) for bringing this beauty on a slightly crummy day for me. (And unfortunately, they aren't cake crumbs)

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSaraV

Today is my birthday, and so I am appropriating every one of these cakes for myself. No calories that way, and you all can still enjoy!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBarbara

OMG.. these are beautiful. Is the wicker basket real wicker or edible cake?

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterMike in Wheaton, IL

Did anybody follow the link to the Russian cake maker? Talk about cakes to die for! Simply stunning, and there is no end to them.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterLady Anne

I had to show this post to my hubby, cause it's our anniversary next week (and my b-day-same day)
I'm hoping to get an awesome cake this year, not a wreck.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSusiemc

Honestly.. I love the cakes... and although I wish I could make them I really do not want to put the time into learning how.. I would rather put my time and effort into eating them. I really think it is a better use of my talents.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterPaulette

Thanks for that one fondant-free cake, because I was getting ready to request it!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterErica

Amazing post, John - cheered me up on this rainy day in DC!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAnne S.

You are amazingly sweet (the memory of Jen seeing a real poppy is pretty wonderful,) and these are some gorgeous cakes! That orchid, especially! And the beautiful white one, and the crazy bright happy ones... ALL of them are amazing!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterKaty

lol

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered Commenteryuri

Lovely post, John (thoJ)! maybe you two should skip posting on your anniversary so you'll both get a break! Also, for that day, I vote for what Sharyn said plus a pedicure with Kermit green polish.

@Erin, thank you and I was wondering.

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBarbara Anne

John, I do believe that you are as adorable as these cakes. Jen is a lucky, lucky girl!

August 19, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterRPainter

Now, I really must stick up for the dimwitted tribble. It's very noble bird, with a hauntingly beautiful song and lovely plumage. Like the yellow-footed booby and the spangled drongo, it has been burdened with a name it would not have chosen voluntarily, but that is our fault, surely?
:-P

August 20, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAA

So happy you featured a cake by Arty Cakes. Her work is spectacular! It just gets better and better.

August 20, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterKathy

That bowl of white flowers is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen.

August 20, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterKhymera

Love the heart shaped rose cake (even though it kind of reminds me of a funeral flower spray that you'd put on a easel. Working at a florist will do that to you.) It would solve the problem we have at my house where everyone fights for the cake pieces with the flowers. ;)

August 20, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterKitty

Good to see something fonant free finally, as Erica said. Anyone can do fondant.
EVERYTHING Arty Cakes does is 100% buttercream! That woman is talented beyond measure.
And yes, Mike, the basket is buttercream.

August 20, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterMichelle

beautiful cakes, great post!

August 20, 2012 | Unregistered Commentermary

I just have to say that every time you do a post on daisies, I just love it. Plus I get to see some flowers that I could have been named after.
Thanks for making my name a little more cool :)

August 21, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterdaisy

*Ahem* Begonia? Ain't that a meat shaped like a sausage?
Sausage and battery's a crime.
Monkeys crimb trees.
Trees a crowd.
Crowds a noise a rooster makes.
Noise is on the face between the eyes.
Eyes is opposite the nays.
Nays what a colt says.
Go to bed with a colt, you wake up in the morning with double begonia. (Aaaaand repeat)

My ex's dad used to break this out anytime someone mentioned begonias, and it was drilled into my head. I'm sorry if it gets stuck in anyone's head, but I just had to share.

August 23, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterOlivia

Q. How do you know you've been reading "too much" [read--plenty of] Cake Wrecks?
A. You see an actual pot of flowers and think, "That should be a cake on Sunday Sweets."

Also, I think it's important to note that that happened before I even got to this post. I'm reading through from the beginning and just got to this post today, and that happened last Saturday.

October 17, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKay S.

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