A $200 cake a woman ordered for her granddaughter’s first birthday has sparked a debate on TikTok, with some swearing it was straight out of Netflix’s “Nailed It” and others saying she got what she paid for.
November 7 TikTok user and Tennessee resident Khrissy (@khrissyjoe1) posted on TikTok about her experience ordering a fairy-themed cake for her granddaughter’s first birthday — and its not-so-fairy-tale ending. The video quickly went viral, garnering over 5.2 million views.
“I spent over $200 on this cake and this is what I got,” Khrissy says in the video. “This is the worst cake I have ever seen in my life.
In the video, she shows off a lumpy and messy looking creation, though in her defense it looks like it grew right out of the forest floor, dirt and all.
Khrissy says that when she told the baker—whom she chose not to name—she was less than happy with the cake, the baker admitted her shortcomings: “She said, ‘Well, I’ll admit it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.'”
“Those are… fake plants. They’re supposed to be fondue,” Khrissy adds, mixing the melted dip with the fondant topping. “Not to mention there was hair in the cake.
In the buzzing comments section, people generally sided with Khrissa, but some said her expectations were too high for a $200 cake.
“Looks like play doh,” commented one TikTok user.
“I would have thought they were playing a prank on me!” Look for the hidden camera!” wrote another.
“This looks like one of those Kylie cakes!!” someone else commented, referring to the drama known as #CakeGate, when baker Kylie Allen posted a TikTok about a customer dispute that went viral in April.
“Try to see if there’s a bachelorette party you can give him to,” another TikTok user joked, referring to his phallic shape.
After several commenters asked Khrissa what the cake should look like shared a picture of inspiration for the cake in the TikTok short, which received another 1.4 million views. In the video, she shows off an intricately decorated cake she found on Pinterest called “Fairytale cake with sugar flowers.”
“Only $200 should have been 🚩,” one person commented.
“As a cake decorator: this is an $800 cake,” wrote another.
“This is classic client expectations (vs.) client budget😂,” someone else commented.
“Regardless of the value of the cake, the baker should be honest before accepting any money,” wrote one TikTok user, to which another replied, “yes!! the baker should have said something beforehand.”
The inspirational cake was made by Texas baker Dena Reed from Sweetly unique cakes from Denawho, when reached for comment, estimated that her own creation cost just over $300.
Editor’s note: Reed is the creator of the cake on this photo which Khrissy showed her baker for inspiration; she didn’t make the cake Khrissy got. Khrissy decided not to name the baker.
“I would pay $500 for a cake, something that represented my granddaughter, just something that was hers,” Khrissy, who asked that we only use her first name to protect her identity, told TODAY.com. She later posted an update on TikTok and revealed that she was refunded half the cost of the cake ($100).
“We didn’t even eat it. There was hair in it,” he says.
But even though she didn’t get to enjoy the cake, Khrissy says she was very pleased with the internet’s reaction to it.
“The comments were hilarious,” she says. “Honestly, I can’t wait until my granddaughter is old enough to look at it and say, ‘Oh my, you really failed.'”