Sweet 16 birthdays are essential milestones in every teenager’s life, and parents do their best to make them magical for their children. Hence, this mother on TikTok splurged $100 to get her son’s birthday cake, only for the baker to ruin the moment.
Expectation Vs. Reality Ended Badly
She shared a picture of her wishlist cake vs. what she got and it’s a nightmare of expectation vs. reality.
What She Wanted

The mother asked for a double-tiered black cake with color splashes and ribbons piled atop the first tier. Unfortunately, the baker said she couldn’t bake black cakes.
She Hated Black Cakes
The baker didn’t explain why she doesn’t work with black cakes but the customer conceded and allowed her to make a white cake. Despite her concession, the result was still awful.
Not All Good Packages Have Good Contents

When the customer’s fiancé went to retrieve the cake, the baker shared a nice picture of the dessert with him, so he was none the wiser.
What She Got

Unfortunately, once he got home with the cake, the fiancé and the 16-year-old’s mom saw it falling and realized the baker used weaker kebab skewers to hold it up.
Everything About The Cake Was Messy
Worse than the cake falling apart, the white fondant was messy, and the baker used colored fondant instead of splashes to decorate the cake. The ribbons were messy, the lettering needed to be neater, and the base piping needed to be better.
A Ruined Party
The customer said it made her want to cry because the baker ruined her son’s big moment. She’d spent two months planning the party and the cake was supposed to be the highlight.
Grounds For A Contract-Termination
The commenters under her post wondered why she didn’t terminate the contract when the baker said she couldn’t make black cakes. The woman said the baker promised her white cakes were better, and they glow in the dark like black.
Using The Wrong Decoration
Instead of fondant, the baker used buttercream causing it to melt under heat as the pieces fell into each other on the 15-minute drive from the bakery to the party venue.
Miscommunication Between Baker And Customer
The customer said if she saw the cake before it left the bakery, she wouldn’t have accepted it like her fiancé did.
Straight From A Harry Potter Movie
The commenters also made jokes like one person who called the cake something out of Hagrid’s cottage.
Preserving Family Ties
More commenters assured the mother that she deserved a refund, but she didn’t want to because the baker was a family member.
Grounds For A Refund
To that excuse another commenter said she still deserved a full refund. The person wrote per Daily Mail Australia ,
Not Worth The Value

Another commenter was upset about the cake’s value saying it wasn’t worth the service. They said she should’ve practiced more before charging $100 or less for a cake.
Getting A Replacement Cake

The mother bought another cake from a local supermarket, but it couldn’t be the centerpiece she wanted.
Commenters convinced her that spending money on another cake was grounds for a refund since the service delivered didn’t serve its purpose.
It’s Not Uncommon With Wishlist Creations
Expectations vs. Reality are very common with service providers especially creatives from hairstylists to dressmakers and shoemakers.
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It’s Not Always Bad
The best solution to this common problem is hiring the maker of the wish list product rather than giving a new person tips. Alternatively, you can allow the new service provider deliver their best product to you. At least they’ll be in their comfort zone.