AndrewZimmern.com: What inspired you to create your blog, Cake Wrecks?

Jen: A friend e-mailed me the famous Wal-Mart cake – you know, the one that says “under neat that” on it? – and I thought it was hilarious. Since I had a few other funny cakes saved on my hard drive already, I thought it’d be fun to put them on a blog.

AZ.com: Cake Wrecks launched in May of 2008, and your readership is through the roof. Did you ever expect your blog to take off the way it has?

J: Absolutely not! I started Wrecks purely for my own enjoyment, and I think I told maybe half a dozen friends about it. I’ve never solicited readers or even advertised, really. The first time a stranger commented on one of my posts, I was in awe. Nowadays, I’m just in a continual state of disbelief.

AZ.com: What’s your connection to baking/cake decorating? Any professional experience? Do you even bake at all?

J: Nope, no professional experience at all. For Christmas of ’07 my husband signed us up for cake decorating classes, since I’d always thought it looked like fun. We got hooked, and proceeded to take every class the store offered over the next four months. It’s purely a hobby, though; I only make cakes for friends and family. I can’t even call myself a baker, because I use box mixes. (Shhh! Don’t tell anybody!)

AZ.com: Ever get mail from angry cake decorators?

J: Three times, and I’ll never forget any of them. The first lady was actually quite nice – the other two less so. I think some people see the name of the blog and immediately think I’m a nasty, cruel person, when in reality I’m the type to cry at Disney movies. Any baker who objects to one of their cakes being on Wreck needs only e-mail me, and I’ll remove it. Fortunately, though, many bakers are coming to see Wrecks as a goofy badge of pride: kind of their way of showing the world they don’t take themselves too seriously. I love that the perception of Cake Wrecks is shifting that way, because I never set out to offend anyone.


AZ.com: Five rules potential cake buyers should live by to ensure theirs isn’t “Cake Wrecks-worthy.”

J: 1) Don’t pick the cake up 30 minutes before the party starts. Give yourself time for a Plan B if necessary.

2) Remember that the old adage “you get what you pay for” is often true - try to have appropriate expectations for a $15 cake.

3) Check out portfolios and references. If the baker doesn’t have any, keep looking.

4) Be realistic with your cake design - not every baker can replicate the Taj Mahal in miniature.

5) Relax! It’s only cake. Besides, if it really IS a Wreck, you can always send it to me.

AZ.com: Five tips for decorators to ensure their creations don’t end up on your site.

J: 1) Practice! Formal training might help, but then again it might not. Experience really is the best teacher.

2) If you’re not a perfect speller, have a dictionary handy. Try to have an associate double check your work before it leaves the bakery.

3) Experiment on your own time, not the client’s. Don’t attempt something for the first time on a commissioned job.

4) If you make a Wreck, then for goodness’ sake don’t charge for it! (My requirement on Wrecks is that the cakes must have been paid for.)

5) If all else fails, either keep your cake photos off the internet or plaster your bakery name in huge letters down the middle of the photo (I try not to post anything with the bakery name on it).

AZ.com: Name three people in the pastry/cake industry that you’d trust to whip up something phenomenal.

J: Ack, to answer that I’d have to actually know three people in the industry! Oddly enough, having a blog called Cake Wrecks hasn’t instantly endeared me to the professional baking world. ☺ That said, I have had some astoundingly nice e-mails from chefs and bakers across the U.S. and even from other countries, which is pretty darn cool.

AZ.com: Favorite kind of cake? Least favorite?

J: Least favorite would have to be carrot cake, although anyone who knows me can tell you if it has enough sugar in it, I’ll eat it. Still, my favorite is probably good ol’ fashioned chocolate, warm from the oven and with marshmallow frosting – mmmm.

AZ.com: Are you a frosting person or a cake person?

J: I’m all about the perfect ratio of both.

AZ.com: What’s in your fridge?

J: [Opening fridge] Let’s see… a jar of strawberry jelly, a liter of “super food” – that’s the green sludge drink made of wheat grass and fruit and stuff – and, oh dear, a slice of leftover pizza from at least ten days ago. Nice. I guess I should mention here that when it comes to cooking I have a lethal combination of impatience and ineptitude. I pretty much live on sandwiches, protein bars, and take-out. (Poor John - I don’t know how’s he’s managed all these years.)


Jen is the author of Cake Wrecks, a blog celebrating when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong. In the past Jen has been a clown, a cash office accountant, a Jungle Cruise skipper, a children’s book inventory expeditor, and a house painter. She currently lives in Orlando with her husband John and their two cats.