50 Of The Funniest Cake Fails

As we can all clearly see from this post, confectionery is one hell of an art form not everyone was born to master. The skill, dedication, time and eye for detail that go into a beautiful piece are immeasurable, and so it’s only fair that when trying to recreate them at home, people will fail. And they will miserably.

One of the greatest symbols of cake fails is the one and only, notorious hedgehog cake. With so many absurdly bad attempts at recreating this edible monstrosity, it has become a meme in itself. Now, more and more people are embracing the horrible looks of the hedgehog cake, trying to make their own representation of it.

So we spoke with Corinne Mankoo, the Co-Director of April's Baker who shared some very interesting insights on the ugly hedgehog cakes, as well as a simple cake recipe that anyone could make! “First of all, who doesn't find hedgehogs cute? Of course, so many people attempt to recreate them,” Corinne said.

“However, although the cake might look simple, when it comes to it, some people find that's not the case. It's almost become a trend now to take on the hedgehog cake challenge and share how badly you fail at it,” she explained. According to Corinne, what makes the hedgehog cake that ugly is its teeth. “Why do people insist on adding creepy human teeth? Surely that's a recipe for a disturbing disaster,” she said.

For anyone who’s had enough of the bad tries at making a cake, Corinne was happy to share a recipe for a mini chocolate cake (serves 6) that will put a smile on anyone’s face who tries it. So take out your notebooks, everyone!

“Chocolate ganache: 350 g dark chocolate chips, 400 ml double cream. Weigh the chocolate chips in a bowl. Heat the double cream in a pan on a medium heat until steaming. Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate chips. Whisk together until all the chocolate is melted and you have a smooth ganache. Set aside for several hours to cool, or pop in the fridge until the ganache starts to set.”

“Chocolate sponge: 82 g all-purpose flour; 24 g cocoa powder; 56 g light brown sugar; 75 g caster sugar; 1 large egg; 0.75 tsp baking soda; 0.25 tsp baking powder; Pinch of salt; 0.5 tsp espresso powder; 0.5 tsp vanilla extract; 45 ml olive oil; 90 ml whole milk; 90 ml boiling water."

"Method: 

1. Heat the oven to 170°C. Grease two 4-inch cake tins.

2.  Boil the water and pour in the espresso. Set aside.

3.  Mix together the oil, sugar, brown sugar and egg. Beat on high till thick and fluffy.

4.  Weigh the dry ingredients and mix together in a bowl. Add to the sugar/egg/oil mix till just incorporated.

5.  Pour the milk and vanilla into the mix.

6.  Finally, slowly pour in the boiling water. Mix together, scraping down the bowl to ensure there are no lumps.

7.  Pour the batter into the cake tins and bake for approximately 45-50 minutes till done.

8.  Trim the chocolate sponges if need be so they’re flat on both sides.

9. When the ganache has started to set but is still soft, place a little in the middle of the cake board or cake stand.

10. Stack the sponges, spreading the ganache in the middle and around the outside.

11. Using an offset palette knife and a cake scraper, smooth the ganache until crumb-coated. Chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes until set.

12. Cover again with a second coat of chocolate ganache. Smooth the ganache with an offset palette knife and cake scraper.

13. Decorate however you’d like, we like to use Maraschino cherries.”