25 cake decorators that spectacularly misunderstood their instructions

'Happy birthday, Adam with blue flowers'.

We get it - decorating a cake isn't easy. The crumb coat, the buttercream, the sprinkles, the fondant; there's a whole bunch of stuff for you to consider, and that's before you even THINK about icing the message on the top.

However, even if they look a bit wonky (or taste a bit funky), most of our homemade culinary creations at least get to the point where they're presentable - which is why we couldn't believe our eyes (once we finished crying tears of laughter out of them) when we saw THESE.

These 25 cakes, mostly created by professionals, have suffered from quite a critical case of crossed wires, and the resulting confusion has caused them to be some of the worst (and funniest) birthday, leaving and wedding cakes we've ever come across - and in the face of this lot, even our slightly dodgy Victoria sponge doesn't look half bad!

Let's take a look and see where the struggles started, shall we?

1. When this unicorn cake didn't look exactly like the one you saw online

Image: Reddit So close, but yet so wrong

2. When you were 'only joking'

A photo posted by on

Poor Matt... we wonder if all was forgiven after this hilarious slip up?

3. When technology has more of an influence than you think

Image: emilyseggie_ Twitter A mum ordered a birthday cake for her daughter and asked for a blonde girl on top. Auto-correct had other ideas...

4. Sprinkles proved troublesome for lots of the bakers

Image: Cake Wrecks Well, sorry, you don't get any.

5. Particularly when paired with stars

Image: Imgur Nope, none of them for you either.

6. Writing 'under neat' things came with its challenges too

Image: Imgur But not enough to buy you a cake that reads correctly.

7. Even when the biggest of questions was being popped...

Image: Pinterest We hope she still said yes?

8. Some misinterpreted requests for specific adornments

Image: The Berry No sparks for this unlucky purchaser.

9. Um...

Image: Imgur Well, geography's not our strong point either...

10. In fairness, the Olympics only happens once every four years

Image: Reddit It could happen to any of us, right?

11. Thinking too literally caused even more cakey kerfuffles

Image: Cake Wrecks We think someone MIGHT have failed their languages GCSE.

12. You wanted simple?

Image: Cake Wrecks Too bad!

13. 'Just happy birthday', the orderer requested innocently, not knowing the absolute bafflement that lay ahead

Image: Cake Wrecks If you cut off the bottom half, it's technically correct.

14. Colours weren't without their difficulties either

Image: Cake Wrecks The heartwarming sentiment isn't really the same in kind-of-gross blood red.

15. 'I said in PURPLE'

Image: Should Be Viral The sprinkles are halfway there, we suppose?

16. But for most, the biggest, most overwhelming hurdle in their decorating careers was spelling

Image: Imgur Fingers crossed Ashlee's got a sense of humour!

17. Names proved nearly impossible

Image: Daily Writing Tips She probably has two eyes, no?

18. But some even got mixed up when spelling the word cake

Image: Should Be Viral Reeeeeally starting to hope this is some kind of in-joke.

19. And don't you go thinkin' that numbers are exempt either

Image: Imgur Yeah, even first birthdays don't get special treatment around here.

20. In light of all of this, it's unsurprising that technology threw a spanner in the works

Image: Cake Wrecks Yes, that IS the URL for the image they wanted on the cake.

21. Um, a really BIG spanner

Image: Imgur Happy birthday, beloved USB stick!

22. Animal requests were hit and miss

Image: Cake Wrecks Who knows what would happen if you asked for a hand.

23. Particularly when they didn't ask for an animal in the first place

Image: Reddit Graduation CAT. Obviously.

24. Mostly, we can't help but feel sorry for Sasha

Image: The Berry They're wishing her luck, honest!

25. Poor, poor Clint

Image: Cake Wrecks Erm, we don't imagine this was a very happy birthday after all.

Ever been given (or made) a cake that went hilariously wrong? Show us a picture and we'll add it to our round-up - may the most ridiculous sponges win!

Jessica Dady
Food Editor

Jessica Dady is Food Editor at GoodtoKnow and has over 11 years of experience as a digital editor, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the must-buy seasonal food hampers and advent calendars for Christmas to the family-friendly air fryers that’ll make dinner time a breeze, Jessica loves trying and testing various food products to find the best of the best for the busy parents among us. Over the years of working with GoodtoKnow, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside Future’s Test Kitchen to create exclusive videos - as well as writing, testing, and shooting her own recipes. When she’s not embracing the great outdoors with her family at the weekends, Jessica enjoys baking up a storm in the kitchen with her favourite bakes being chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and a tray of gooey chocolate brownies