Who doesn’t love a delicious slice of cake? Of course, not all of us are professional bakers. But that won’t stop us from trying our hardest. After all, how difficult could it be?
As it turns out, pretty darn difficult. Those beautiful cakes you see on Pinterest were made by people who’ve practiced their craft for years. They’ve messed up over and over again until achieving perfection. Just like with music, the only way to get good at cake baking and decorating is “practice, practice, practice.”
As for the rest of us, we don’t have as much experience. When trying our hand at making a cake, we might be surprised to find out we have a talent for it. But more than likely, we’ll end up with a disaster on our hands.
Ultimately, the most important thing about cake is that it tastes good. We can forgive the ugliest creation if it tastes amazing. But you can bet we’ll still take pictures of those ugly cakes and laugh at them. And yeah, we might post them on the internet. But don’t worry, it’s all in good fun.
Here are 65 cakes that didn’t quite match up to the expectations.
1. The fail is so much cuter
Sure, some cakes are amazing works of art, but no one wants to bite into a realistic-looking cockroach. The second cake isn’t great, but at least it’s kind of adorable.
A crepe cake is incredibly difficult since it uses dozens of thin layers separated by cream. This version is even more complex. But that second cake…it might just be the world’s most violent rainbow.
The Little Mermaid is a popular Disney princess, so it’s not surprising to find her adorning birthday cakes for kids. But when you try to make a homemade version, don’t be surprised if it turns out…well, like this.
Mirror glaze cakes are beautiful but also extremely difficult to make. One baker tried to make a replica of this lovely cake and ended up with a sloppy mess.
Darth Maul is a great idea for a cake, but this version is looking a little bit chubby. It’s just barely good enough to be recognizable as Darth Maul. Just barely.
There’s nothing like a fun Christmas cake, one decorated to serve as a gorgeous centerpiece. But while this baker had high hopes for their recreation, it didn’t exactly go to plan. I hope it tasted okay.
Lava cake is chocolate flavored with a “molten” center. It’s supposed to ooze delicious chocolate sauce when you cut into it. But this lava cake skipped over “molten” and went straight to “scorched.”
A couple put in an order for the first cake to be served at their wedding reception. The second cake was the one the bakery delivered. It’s a mystery how any professional bakery could sell that in good conscience.
Queen Elsa is so popular that it’s not surprising to see her on top of birthday cakes. But those delicate features are hard to capture in fondant. It might be better not to try.
This Dolly Parton cake attempt is so hilariously bad, I don’t even know where to start. The smushed top layer, the unwrapped chocolate kisses, and those thick, square legs are just too much.
When you try to recreate Batman in fondant, pay close attention to how long his bat ears are. Otherwise, you might end up with Batman cosplaying as a bunny.
The second cake has almost no frosting, which I can only conclude means the dragon was skinned. Maybe it was already defeated by a knight. Or perhaps an amateur baked it. I think I’ll stick with the second option.
It’s sweet that Dad tried to make his son a Patrick Star birthday cake. It was just sweeter in the intention than in the execution. But hey, I’m sure it tasted delicious.
Clearly, this baker didn’t double-check what Spiderman looks like before attempting to decorate this cake. The result looks like a low-budget dollar store version of your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
This is, without a doubt, the most horrifying reproduction of Minnie Mouse I’ve ever seen. I think it’s safe to say the poor kid won’t like that character anymore after this.
Who doesn’t love Chewbacca, the Wookie from the Star Wars saga who speaks in wails? We don’t love this cake version, which is more than a little nightmarish.
Here’s yet another attempt at a Star Wars cake, this time of the friendly droid BB8. Remember, when your cake doesn’t turn out as planned, just toss a bunch of glitter on it.
Not only that, but she also seems to have grown a couple of extra flippers. Is she swimming in radioactive waste down there Under the Sea? And what’s wrong with her hands?
Star Wars figures are popular subjects for immortalizing in cake. Of course, some bakers do it better than others. Let your cakes cool before you frost them, dang it.
This cinnamon pear cake looks like it belongs on “The Great British Bake-Off.” At least, the top version does. The bottom looks like it belongs in a trash can.
Aw, what a cute little lamb. The original, that is. The reproduction looks less like a lamb and more like a traumatized cat covered in shredded coconut.
In all fairness, caramel is an extremely difficult thing to cook. Ask any professional baker — they’ve definitely burned more than their fair share of caramel. But still…this cake.
I don’t even know where to start with this cake. It doesn’t look even remotely like a fox. Maybe the baker should find another hobby for a while. One they’re good at.
Trying to recreate a logo can be pretty difficult, as this amateur baker found out. Their Nilfgaard cake didn’t turn out quite as they expected. It’s not terrible for a first try.
To be fair, this rainbow cake recreation doesn’t look terrible. It just looks a lot more like a messy paint rag than a rainbow palette. But hopefully, it was tasty all the same.
This guy’s girlfriend shelled out for a customized cake that looked like a White Claw…or at least, it was supposed to. She spent $100 and this is the cake that she got.
One woman ordered the cake on the left to celebrate her husband’s birthday. When she saw the delivered product — the cake on the right — she was so upset she burst into tears.
What a beautiful layered berry cake — the one on the right, of course. The one on the left is enough to make a grown person cry…tears of laughter, that is.
The personified M&Ms are a little creepy at the best of times, but these ones are on another level. I can’t get past the eyebrows. Those eyebrows are something else.
This Groot cake isn’t terrible, but it is missing a few vital parts. More than that, it’s also has an odd shapey. I guess they were going for a log shape rather than a real tree shape.
This is a professionally-made cake. Let me repeat that. This is a professionally-made cake. I feel like I need to reach out and help that poor dinosaur out of the frosting.
This couple was going for a very particular aesthetic with their wedding cake, and the baker just didn’t get it. While the cake’s a disaster, hopefully, it didn’t ruin the day.
I don’t know which is worse: cake made to look like poop or cake trying to look like poop and failing. Both of them are terrible, but the one on the right is just sad.
One man had the sweet idea to try and replicate his wife’s childhood birthday cake. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out quite as expected. But hey, it’s the thought that counts.
38. Well, I don’t think they’ll want to watch Elmo again
Hey parents, I have a new idea for how to get your kids to stop being obsessed with a character you can’t stand. Just make them a horrifying birthday cake shaped like the character. They’ll hate it forever.
39. Bahahhaaha — wait, give me a second — BAHAHAHA
What a cute idea for a little girl’s birthday cake. But it didn’t turn out right at all. It didn’t even come anywhere close. Oh, my word, this is so bad it’s good.
I can’t quite put my finger on why the second cake is so disturbing. I think it has something to do with the combination of chocolate brown and the glistening sheen on the frosting.
There are ugly cakes and then there are cakes that are so bad, you wonder if the baker has ever even SEEN a cake. Who knows? Maybe they grew up somewhere where cake is illegal.
