The internet is a phenomenal source for baking recipes across a massive selection. Pulling these recipes off can be a bit of a headache, however, cakes being particularly difficult. While we’re not denying that a lot of hard work went into these creations, you can’t help giggling at some. Strap in for some of the wackiest (and most hilarious) baking ideas that should have stayed as ingredients!
The Ultimate Cake Disasters
The Humble Chocolate Cake
A straightforward recipe doesn’t always become an easy process. It seems like this casual baker’s early attempt at pulling off frosting went south. Looks aside, the cake still looks quite scrumptious, despite being so messy that the accompanying “Happy Birthday” message couldn’t be added.
The Humble Chocolate Cake
Doggy Cupcakes
Some baking attempts are hard to describe. Perhaps this baker found that they were way out of their depth with this one. The collection of cupcakes seems passable, despite the pooch’s face looking like a dog’s breakfast. Maybe this person should try landing a simple chocolate cake first. This is simply animal cruelty! Well, at least everyone got a laugh out of this disaster.
Doggy Cupcakes
The Frosted Palace
The Disney hit ‘Frozen’ is a super popular theme for little princesses. This particular cake design, however, is rather difficult to even attempt. It takes a skilled hand at fondant use, which serves as the castle cake’s foundations. This castle seems to have come out as a demented snowman. No one could have guessed what it was supposed to look like!
The Frosted Palace
A Romantic Valentine Confection
This idea does not look that hard to perfect, but appearances can be deceiving. Only seasoned bakers equipped with the right tools can handle smoothening out the frosting so perfectly, as seen in the original photo. Further, it takes a still hand with plenty of experience to write so attractively. Don’t give up, as each try brings you closer to perfection!
A Romantic Valentine Confection
The Rainbow Layer Cake
Perhaps some natural disaster is to blame for this tragedy. How could any cake become so ruined? Layered cakes aren’t a mission to put together, but they do involve some lengthy preparation. This is due to the method involving the individual baking and stacking of each layer. Finally, it’s time for the white frosting. Something went very wrong during this process with this cake!
The Rainbow Layer Cake
A Cake Rarer Than A Unicorn
Unicorns have always been popular among young girls, but in recent baking trends, the magical creature has been turned into a confection. Even the most finnicky of kids will be satisfied with a cream cake with a few magical decorations that look like a unicorn. You really don’t need to go to extreme lengths. This particular example, provided by Reddit user Rsa375’s ten-year-old niece, is a very cute first attempt.
A Cake Rarer Than A Unicorn
The Discount Llama
The initial concept wasn’t that challenging. One only needed to pay careful attention to the frosting piping process. The challenge presented in this case was that the baker did not arrange the cake parts properly, or ran out of them. The llama then looks quite mismatched. Its blanket is weirdly positioned, and its face makes it look completely crazy! Nonetheless, it was a decent effort.
The Discount Llama
The Secret Center Cake
One of the most exciting trends seen in modern cake ideas is including a secret within the center. Such novelties include a large heap of Nutella spilling out after the first slice is cut. This idea involved an assortment of candy. Sadly, this cake ended up resembling a certain famous Italian tower. Maybe the cake’s parts were not arranged properly following the addition of the surprise. This is a great start, however, one which shows much promise.
The Secret Center Cake
I Choose You, Pokémon Cake!
This attempt is so far off the original design, no one would believe it was supposed to be a Poké Ball. Pokémon is wildly popular with kids, something like this super cool concept being a birthday wish come true. This imitation is just laughable, though. Another design would be more easily carried out: a half-round cake heaped with colorful fondant. This Rice Krispies spin on the original just came out looking more like an old soccer ball than Pikachu’s home.
I Choose You Pokemon Cake
Laid Back Sparkling Water
This entry to the list isn’t the most ridiculous member, but it is still far off from the expectations. It’s simply a lazy copy. As you can see, this cake is supposed to look like an actual sparkling water can. This baker opted for the far easier option of sticking on an image of the can in question. This sneaky thinking would work better on a flat, square cake with the image stuck on.
Laid Back Sparkling Water
The Cubist Cake
Who said that cake cannot become art? This idea brings the cubist master Picasso’s beauty to the dessert table. The fun part of this design is that you must treat your cake like a canvas, with sugary brush strokes. It’s then time to let out your inner Monet! This artist-baker, however, seems to have discovered a whole new art movement.
The Cubist Cake
What Did The Fox Say?
Animal-shaped cakes are quite straightforward and unchallenging, but for those without an artistic side, they can be quite tricky. A Reddit user called analrimmer just wanted to surprise their partner with this frosted critter, which unfortunately turned out quite bizarre. We’re certain that it was still a scrumptious treat, as well as a good lesson.
What Did The Fox Say
Gravity’s Rainbow
We’ve tried to be as forgiving as possible with the baking disasters on this list, but this one is just shockingly hilarious. This attempt at a rainbow layer-cake did the rounds on the internet a while back. This irresistible idea involves the stacking of crepes cemented with a thin layer of frosting between each one. Baking enthusiasts know that rainbow cakes are a highly desired choice across the world. In this case, however, the rainbow hit stormy weather as the frosting was washed away. How this wannabe baker got the recipe so wrong is beyond us!
Gravitys Rainbow
The Bug Cake
Bugs are hard to love, but some people with sweet teeth have more bizarre tastes. A cockroach cake is actually more popular than you would think. The realistic nature of this idea might scare away a lot of people, however. This failed attempt is unusual in that it looks more attractive than the original design! Most people would probably ask for a slice of the cuter cockroach, to be honest. Let’s all try and keep our baking ideas family-friendly, alright?
The Bug Cake
Wooden Stump Cake
This cake concept is incredible thanks to its center being dressed in the classic lumberjack checkered flannel. As you can imagine, this pattern is quite testing to land for novice bakers. Although we can’t see the center of the failed example, we’re sure that it’s just as chunky as the outside is. Still, children would probably still be amused by this attempt.
Wooden Stump Cake
The Piggy Cake
Ask any kid if they would like a ‘Peppa Pig’ cake and they’re likely to jump for joy. You’re then tasked with a cake design that should not take too much out of you, provided that you at least took art as a subject in high school. While this person’s attempt isn’t too terrible, it’s never a bad idea to simply pay someone to make a cake like this for you.
The Piggy Cake
A Terrible Wedding Surprise
While the outcome of this popular wedding cake look is passable, the icing’s colors are all wrong. The couple that suffered this strange creation paid for the cake on the left but were presented with the one on the right. Whoever made this wedding-ruining cake needs to work more on their food coloring skills. This isn’t a casual baker, after all. I’d want my money back!
A Terrible Wedding Surprise
The Muppets Pops
Cake pops are another massive hit with children’s birthday events. They look quite easy to make, but the method involved in making one is actually quite challenging. Here we have a ‘Kermit the Frog’ cake pop which, when done correctly, looks like it’s about to start telling jokes. This creepy example, however, became the butt of every joke.
The Muppets Pops
Mirror, Mirror, In The Trash
As one can imagine, getting this frosting to look like the glass is no easy task. This is quite a tricky and specialized type of frosting. Understandably, there is much room for error with this idea which can easily turn out as ridiculously as the one pictured does. This poor cake looks like someone sat on it. That must be what happened, as we can’t imagine what went so wrong during the method process.
Mirror Mirror In The Trash
Secret Love Bundt
Sometimes, you can get everything right in a cake, except for that special surprise you were hoping to wow everyone with. In this case, the Bundt itself is very appealing, but the secret heart came out broken. Reddit user ‘404error_nerd’ might think twice about going for the ‘hidden center’ idea next time they bake.
Secret Love Bundt
A Christmas Tragedy
Bringing a 3D cake with layers in it to life is one of the more challenging parts of modern baking trends. In the case of this festive error, the frosting missed out on the Christmas spirit. It seems like someone left this creation out for Santa, which then sadly melted in the heat. Next time, try leaving your cake in the fridge until it has actually settled properly!
A Christmas Tragedy
A Fabulously Feathery Cake
This is one of the most stunning cake designs that we have seen online. The peacock’s fabulous tail is constructed out of cupcakes resembling its individual feathers. This is obviously a painstaking process best left to master bakers. If you are inexperienced but are dying to try this idea out, go for a tinier version. Once you perfect the smaller example, you can start attempting larger designs.
A Fabulously Feathery Cake
An Emotional Cake
The ‘poop’ emoji is one of the most frequently used among texters. This amusing little character just happens to resemble the icing on a cupcake! While perfecting the cupcakes shouldn’t be too hard, the toilet roll cake is quite challenging, as witnessed with this disaster. It just fell apart, looking more like an actual bathroom disaster than an edible treat.
An Emotional Cake
The Witcher Cake
This delectable take on a popular video game franchise is completely accessible until you get to the star symbol. This shape takes a fair amount of drawing practice, so get your frosting hand up to scratch! It may not look as extravagant as other entries in this list, but this cake still involves a fair amount of effort. It really does help to begin with the tinier ideas when it comes to baking.
The Witcher Cake
An Unnatural Disaster
It’s incredible to see just how creative people can be when it comes to baking ideas, the “Hurricane Cake” from Publix being a particularly entertaining example. Reddit user “thegemguy” decided to try their hand at making the cake when the shop ran out of them. As you can see, they really messed up the ocean, proving that the right piping equipment and a practiced hand are essential. It also seems like they rushed the final product, which is a big no-no in the baking world.
An Unnatural Disaster
The Video Game Flop
Reddit user “Mariiexcx” took their passion for Minecraft into the kitchen with a concept that seems quite simple. Sadly, even the most basic of ideas can become a nightmare if your fondant doesn’t cooperate. Evidently, Mariiexcx did not get what they were expecting. The red coloring of the squares looks faded and they haven’t been cut out very neatly, either.
The Video Game Flop
Did Someone Say, “Timber”?
This attempt is actually quite shocking. It’s hard to tell what is even happening in this mess, which looks a lot like potato salad. What is usually a very pleasant and fun cake to make appears to have been attacked by termites. The wife of Reddit user “THE FORMIDABLE MULK” seems to have microwaved some Hershey bars and then sloshed them all over the flat chocolate log. She seems to have ironically tried to hide her failed log with heaps of mess!
Did Someone Say Timber
The Prehistoric Popup
This poor T-Rex looks like it’s fallen into the cake itself, which actually looks quite appetizing! It’s a pity that its accompanying giant reptile has such a humorous expression. We’re not going to be too harsh on this baker, as 3D cake modeling can be very punishing without going for something as complicated as a dinosaur. Maybe next time, this ambitious baker will just put a toy dinosaur on top of the cake, which is just as likely to please a child as an edible one.
The Prehistoric Popup
The Bowser Cake
We doubt that Super Mario will be rescuing Princess Peach from this collapsed castle any time soon. It looks like his giant nemesis, Bowser, decided to jump on it! Now this is what we call pound cake. Again, this baker went for the 3D effect, clearly reaching further than their current skill level. We’re not going to fault them though, as ambitiousness is the foundation of being an amazing baker! We can give them one tip, though, which is to slice the roof of the cake to flatten it.
The Bowser Cake
The Drunk Candies
These M&M characters look like they had a seriously wild night. The actual M&Ms have not been arranged very neatly either. We’re just hoping that this baker wanted the M&Ms to look like they’d been partying for too long, otherwise, this is just scary! Jokes aside, this individual shows much potential, and we truly hope that they didn’t let this humorous example kill their confidence.
The Drunk Candies
The Force Is Weak
It isn’t often that a single character outshines an entire show, which is what happened with the Baby Yoda character from ‘The Mandalorian’. It seems like some people can’t get enough of the cute little green munchkin, as he has even started appearing on cakes. The force was not strong with Reddit user ‘robszie’ when they decided to make an even sweeter version of the little tyke. We hope that they opted for a printed Baby Yoda for their next Star Wars themed cake.
The Force Is Weak
Guardians of the Oven
Baby Yoda took the “Cutest Fantasy Creature” position from ‘Baby Groot’ from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This cake shows signs of brilliance, but the mismatched proportions stop it from being a true work of delicious art. This Baby Groot looks more like an actual tree. We can see that the cake is definitely scrumptious though, so at least it serves its basic functions of being a treat.
Guardians Of The Oven
Thanksgiving Cake
The festive season of Thanksgiving has enthusiastic bakers across America pulling out all the stops. The actual cake itself looks really good, it’s just the turkey aspects which came out looking quite demented. We can definitely see that Reddit user mineguy232’s pal really struggled with the big bird’s face. It seems like they tried making the cake on a particularly sweltering day and the poor turkey got cooked before even entering the oven.
Thanksgiving Cake
Fruits of the Forest Cake
The most difficult part about making a layered cake like this is landing its beautiful structure and appearance, which this person sadly messed up completely. This cake imploded under its own weight. It seems like this baker received a particularly engaging phone call and left their creation out to melt in the sun. What a pity! Thankfully, no flowers were hurt in the making of this cake.
Fruits Of The Forest Cake
The Baller’s Cake
We have a feeling that the baller who was presented with this cake was not very impressed. This design uses an incredible amount of fondant, for a very detailed application, meaning that you must be the Michael Jordan of baking to even attempt making it. This basketball treat was made with frosting instead of fondant, which was the first mistake. Only the net seems to have been made from fondant.
The Ballers Cake
A Nightmarish Cake
It isn’t often that you make a cake so badly that it brings someone to tears. This is exactly what happened to a sibling’s friend of Reddit user louielouielouie22 when they presented this spooky disaster to their husband. The lack of the classic Halloween orange color, coupled with the weird-looking cat, is enough to make anyone depressed. This cake really is a trick rather than a treat.
A Nightmarish Cake
A Dark Disaster
If you fail to even represent the original idea with your own attempt, you can always just throw some related sweets on and hope for the best. The original idea was quite unusual, as licorice cake isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The imitation (if you can even call it that), however, just looks like a crepe with some Miracle Whip lathered on. This baking flop didn’t have much effort put into it, clearly. You can do better than this!
A Dark Disaster
A Cocoa Tower
Are the pancakes of the failed attempt burned, or did the baker use too much black food coloring? Either way, we don’t think we will be biting into this one. The baker in question was also quite selfish with the strawberries! Also, the flood of cream is too much to handle for even the biggest dairy fans. The funny thing about cooking and baking, however, is that looks can be deceiving!
A Cocoa Tower
A Hooting Cake
The owl on the left looks completely adorable and phenomenally well put together. The owl on the right, however, looks like it wishes it had never been born! We’re suckers for chocolate buttons, so we might not be too critical of the actual cake. Crazy expression aside, this chocolatey owl looks good enough to gobble up in one sitting. The wife of Reddit user ‘iamdizzyonfanta’ is on the right path here, she just needs to work on the cuteness of her display.
A Hooting Cake
More Piggy Punishment
We’re going to be quite sympathetic this time as the original cake on the left is obviously on a very high standard of baking. The imitation certainly doesn’t come anywhere near to replicating the fabulous original, but at least Peppa was drawn quite sweetly. In a case like this, it is best not to show anyone where you got the idea from. The cake’s shape isn’t exactly a perfect circle, but the frosting looks amazing.
More Piggy Punishment
Beauty And The Beast
Now that you’ve returned to your seat after witnessing this horror, let’s try to make sense of this abomination. We’re starting to wonder if Belle isn’t the Beast in this instance. Reddit user ‘Scaulbylausis’ even tried hiding the abnormal neck with a sugary pearl necklace! This just goes to show that simply printing your favorite Disney princess on a cake is the easier way forwards. We doubt Disney will be in contact with Scaulbylausis any time soon, unless it’s for a lawsuit.
Beauty And The Beast
Star Wars Villain Cake
This imitation is actually quite accurate, except for Darth Maul’s sinister face, which has been fattened up hilariously as pointed out by Reddit user m00ska. This baker deserves special praise, as Darth Maul himself has quite a complex design. The horns look really good too, let’s just hope that they’re edible, otherwise some eager cake fan is in for a dark surprise!
Star Wars Villain Cake
The Little Mermaid Cake
It seems like Disney’s iconic princesses will never go out of fashion when it comes to cake design. Sure, they are timeless, but some people really need to stop trying to create them out of frosting! Maybe they seem like simple cartoons to some people, who will quickly learn that they can’t pipe frosting as artistically as they first thought. If you look at the original design, you can see that this one takes an exceptionally long time to complete.
The Little Mermaid Cake
Space Cake
This mirror cake design is another concept which takes quite a few attempts and a good understanding of coloring to perfect. Then there is also the see-through sugar glazing which provides the mirror illusion which takes time to master. While there is probably a certain, very distant part of space that resembles the failed attempt, we recommend a bit more time on Google for this baker.
Space Cake
The Prehistoric Gang Cake
Dinosaurs seem to still be all the rage with children, even after millions of years! This cake also looks like it’s survived several mass extinctions. It seems like the toy versions of the titanic lizards angrily stomped on this cake. We will give this baker points for the prehistoric arrangement on the top of the cake, which looks very convincing. Maybe they should stick to setting up amazing scenes with toys?
The Prehistoric Gang Cake
Make A Wish!
This is one of the more passable imitations we have seen online, provided by Reddit user altusvires. This is what is known as a Wishing Tree, and although altusvires’ attempt isn’t of an award-winning standard, it’s still quite adorable and definitely yummy looking. If we had to be overly critical, we’d say that the tree’s expression and stump are a bit crooked. The leaves look great, though!
Make A Wish
The Sporty Critter Cake
We can imagine this cake (at least the one on the left) being presented to an honored member of a golf club, or a much-loved retiree. This idea will definitely need a whole day to complete, considering the various detailed 3D figures topping off the cake, which will take a lot of time to complete to begin with. The cake pictured on the left isn’t a hole-in-one, we’re sad to say. The squirrel looks rather rubbery and the golf ball seems to have been whacked by a real golf club.
The Sporty Critter Cake
The Cherry On The Top
This is probably one of the messiest disasters on our list, and that’s saying something. What was supposed to be a naked layer cake with an exposed pound section turned into a sloppy puddle? We’re actually amazed that Reddit user audible actually decided to share this one with the world. It seems like the cake was quite enjoyable, however, given the two plates with slices on them.
The Cherry On The Top
A Fantastical Disaster
This idea is guaranteed to make any boy’s birthday party incredible and will delight all your guests. That is, of course, if it is done correctly. While the initial attempt came out ridiculously, the second one is a massive improvement. This is a great inspiration for budding bakers who need a bit of motivation. You can achieve anything you like in the baking world, even a colorful dragon guarding his chocolate coin treasure!
A Fantastical Disaster
Building Blocks Cake
The original idea involves the stacking of two separate cakes which are then coated with Lego man yellow fondant. In the failed attempt’s example, however, the cake collapsed under the weight of the thick coating. Another mistake was using frosting, rather than fondant. The best part of this arrangement is the Lego block collection. Baking, like a Lego sculpture, requires a strict following of the instructions.This was an entertainingly hilarious experience for baking enthusiasts, as well as for people who simply enjoy eating cake. We might have come across as a bit harsh when reviewing the special cases in this list, but that’s only because we have all laughed at our own baking disasters many times. Did this article bring a smile to your face today? If so, we would really appreciate it if you passed it on to your friends and family, who might be needing some good belly laughs. See you soon!
Building Blocks Cake
The Ideal Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cake
One look at this concept tells you how difficult it is. A real understanding of fondant is needed here. This person’s attempt hilariously looks more like a ninja frog. Where did they go wrong, you may ask? It was when they swapped fondant for frosting. Green-colored fondant can be simply found at the right shop and easily used. Thankfully, this train wreck ended with the first tier.
The Ideal Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cake
Starfish Fail
‘SpongeBob Square Pants’ is another classic kids’ cartoon which became a popular choice for cake themes. It’s also one of the easier choices for a special design, especially considering that it is a 2D theme. Making the cartoon characters look believable does take time and work. Smoothening out the frosting for an accurate look takes several attempts to perfect. You can expect to make a few cakes that look like this until you reach your sweet spot!
Starfish Fail
The Bulldogs Cake
UGA fans are not going to be very impressed with this silly tribute to their team. The worst part about this rather cute looking bulldog cake is the fact that it seems to have been made by a ‘professional’ baker, given the label and container. The original UGA bulldog mascot is one of the meaner looking sports mascots, who has been hilariously reduced to a puppy who looks to happy to see you.
The Bulldogs Cake