25+ Cake mistakes that were not what customers wanted: 'Ordered many days in advance, and this is what they gave me'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jul 4, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

If you're paying a bakery the big bucks to make you a nice cake for a celebration, you'd hope they do an incredible job. After all, for many bakeries, churning out dozens and dozens of cakes each day is just par for the course. Even when people request specialty cakes, or those with writing on them, they expect that a professional will handle it, and all they have to do is pick up the dessert and arrive at the party with a beautiful cake to feed their loved ones. 

However, it's clear that not every bakery is hiring professionals. I imagine it takes some time to learn to properly ice a cake and write on it: there are 12-week courses that teach the baker how to nail a "Happy Birthday" or "Congrats, grad!" message on a cake. Sometimes, the person doing the cake writing just doesn't understand what people actually want on the cake, or they write the directions down, being too literal instead of just reading between the lines. Like when someone writes "red heart," you aren't supposed to write that out, friend, you're supposed to… draw a red heart! As dismaying as some of these cakes made their recipients, we can only hope that they got a huge belly laugh out of it, and also got a nice refund or discount on their next dessert. 

After that, read about the job candidates whose mid-interview mistakes cost them the job: "I could barely contain my laughter." 

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  • 01

    Such dramatics

    My dramatic teenager made a cake Pain It was pretty good, ngl. Her journey of being gluten free has been...rough.
    via u/BelleB***

    I hope her gluten free cake helped her feel better! 

  • 02
    Our anniversary cake Happy Anniversary Re Heart
    via u/charliebrown3011
  • 03
    It was supposed to say "Congratulations" one Cancella Ordered this cake from the grocery story bakery - didn't want anything fancy, just something quick for a family member. The person who normally writes on cakes wasn't around, so another person in the bakery offered to do it. This is what I got.
    via u/lilsunflowers
  • 04

    Looks great, what's wrong with it?

    Bought this cake in the supermarket coles RASPBERRY & VANILLA Celebration Cake LAYERS OF CLASSIC VANILLA CAKE WITH SMOOTH RASPBERRY ICING, FINISHED WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE PIECES AND FREEZE DRIED RASPBERRIES 16 SERVES- 05/06/25 BEST BEFORE An NO 1.2kg
    via u/Odd-Conclusion6528
  • 05

    ...Oh... that's uncool

    coles RASPBERRY & VANILLA Celebration Cake LAYERS OF CLASSIC VANILLA CAKE WITH SMOOTH RASPBERRY ICING, FINISHED WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE PIECES AND FREEZE DRIED RASPBERRIES -16 SERVES. BEST BEFORE 05/06/25 RUNG NO Artical Colours Favours C coles RASPBERRY & VANILLA serving suggestion 1.2kg
    via u/Odd-Conclusion6528
  • 06

    I think many of us could call this a single serve cake

    So i bought a cake on the Walmart app for my boyfriend. I picked the 12 slice cake and this is what I got. When I asked how this is 12 slices they told me they couldn't do anything and to just buy some cupcakes! I got so mad that I just turned around and walked out Happy B-Day Cameren
    via u/jen12617

    Plus the spacing of the writing looks just terrible! 

  • 07

    This is the kind of thing you should leave a 1-star review for

    12 inch cake refers to the box not the cake 10 22 23 28 29 30 12 11 13 11 5 6 Bought a 12" cake for my dad's birthday but realized at dinner time during the celebration that it was 10". Texted the bakery and they told me to "measure the box" for 12" ignored the picture very clearly showing the cake was 10" After lots of back and forth they told me to drive 30 back tomorrow to return the cake if I wanted a refund, no compromise was made by the bakery ☺
    via u/TuEstParfait

    That's just a rip off, and it could've affected how many guests were able to have a slice of cake! 

  • 08

    Too literal

    Drew an example of how I wanted my birthday cake, the bakery said say less... HAPPY 17W BIRTAUR KELSEY I guess when I said I wanted Jake on top of the cake they took it literally
    via u/Ketchupcrab
  • 09

    What's your best guess?

    I know this is a fail but what is it supposed to be??
    via u/Mindless_Avocado3587

    One person thought that this was an attempt to make a barbecue grill with a spatula, while another person speculated that it was a football field. Art is up to interpretation, I suppose. 

  • 10
    My mom is going to a veterans event this weekend and custom ordered a cake with an American flag on it. This is what she got: Honoring All Who Served "American Flag"
    via Wesley Tingey For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 11

    The top part is pretty... maybe they can just swirl around the bottom 2/3 of the cake icing and forget it ever happened

    When you say 'write it exactly like this' and they take it very literally. ON.The cake Happy Anniversary onth.base maa &clad
    via u/Any-Border-7471
  • 12

    Happy Farther's Day to all those dads near and far

    Happy Farther's Day from Walmart bakery!! Vanilla Cake WITH VANILLA PUTTERCREME STYLERING FRESHNESS GUARANTEED NET WT 43 02 (2 LB 11 02) 1.22kg 4 Happy FRESHNESS DATE EST IF USED BY 06/27 Farther Day!
    via u/Plenty_Fly8485
  • 13

    "American Flag"

    My mom is going to a veterans event this weekend and custom ordered a cake with an American flag on it. This is what she got: Honoring All Who Served "American Flag" EN
    via u/bobapants
  • 14

    Campy! Fun! Strange!

    Was just scrolling through Facebook and saw this posting for Joan Collins' 92nd Birthday
    via u/DeeLeetid
  • 15

    Let's see how one grocery store handled Mother's Day

    Mom your BEST the
    via u/k*nyecwest
  • 16

    Best of ever?

    BEST of EVER
    via u/k*nyecwest
  • 17
    Morimi of YEAR
    via u/k*nyecwest
  • 18

    Well this one's true at least

    Mommy's CANT STOP won'ts Stop
    via u/k*nyecwest
  • 19

    Hmm okay

    Mommy WORLD
    via u/k*nyecwest
  • 20

    Whoops!

    Twenty Didn't see a speed bump
    via u/m_p_s_
  • 21
    Sam's Club fail. Ordered many days in advance and this is what they gave me lol Congratulations Cast & Crew of Moon Over Bayle I have no idea why they would attempt to smooth out whatever mistake they made, but not actually smooth it out and then proceed to write so tiny I've never had something from Sam's Club bakery look so atrocious.
    via u/heavenlyhoya

                Congratulations

    Cast & Crew

          Of

    Moon over Buffalo

     

    A lot going on with this cake! 

  • 22

    Hinty?

    My Wife's Thirtieth Birthday Cake Confusion Hinty
    via u/Soggy_Reindeer3635
  • 23

    Ohhh, it's the handwriting

    Raspberry ster Tail Cream w/ Stawberry arrot Cake 2 $67.60 Lemon Cherry 1/2 Sheet Carrot Cake 12" Tirami $60.32 Rum cake 0 n Cake: ors: mint gre int Green 1/4 Rum Cake ☐ 1/2Rum Cake $70.80 greecew сакс Decorations: Hirty $124.80 Spring flowers Writing Flower Color: glitter Customer: ce: Ok'd by Baker: Amount Paid: Amount D
    via u/Soggy_Reindeer3635

    I hope the 30 year old laughed and laughed about this one! 

  • 24

    This person wondered if they were overreacting to how much frosting was in this cake, but commenters assured them that 2 inches of frosting is a bit much

    Is this too much frosting? لله
    via u/Frellie53

    It makes you wonder if their cakes are always like that, or if they just turned out thinner than usual that day. Sadly, this person wrote that the cake was "totally inedible," and strangely enough, the manager admitted they "get a lot of questions about the frosting," even though they just make it as the recipe states. If only someone had the managerial sway to do something about that! 

  • 25

    I think lowercase words were around before 1993

    They wrote "lowercase" Lowercase est. 1993 I asked for the letters to be lower case not the word lowercase and when I went back in they said "are you sure" um YES im sure
    via u/Hot_Literature5687
  • 26
    Cheezburger Image 10525376256
    via u/ashamedlee

    I love this lil Elmo! The creator writes that they were bored at work, and this was the result.

  • 27

    Straight to the point

    When you order the gender reveal cake from the babushka at the Russian bakery It is Girl
    via u/fiero444

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Tags

celebration cake fail cakes mildly infuriating birthday cake funny
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