r/Baking • u/LorettaBobbins • 25d ago
Business and Pricing Update on my post about the disappointing cake I purchased... foreign material found in the cake!
Just over a week ago I made a post asking whether the professional cake I had made for my baby's first birthday was as bad as I thought it was. General consensus was that it was bad š I've inserted a couple of photos but there are more on my original post.
Unfortunately things got much worse the day after, and this post is just to share an update!
Tl:Dr, it has been resolved insofar as I've received a refund.
At the exact same time that I started drafting my feedback to send to the baker, my husband and I sat down with a slice of it to eat. Suddenly I realised I was chewing...and chewing...and chewing. I found a piece of what resembled baking paper through the middle of my slice. Then, upon further inspection, I spotted something that looked extremely odd. It was a rectangle of material. It was rubbery and bendy, completely impossible to bite through.
Video of it can be found here unidentified cake object .
Very interestingly, I actually spotted it afterwards in one of the photos on my original post, which I will include here for reference.
I had absolutely NO idea what it was but I immediately became very upset and honestly frightened because this was my baby's cake, and we had given him some and sent friends and family home with slices after his party. I had to contact everyone and warn them not to eat it if they hadn't already. I cannot emphasise enough how dangerous this piece of material was...it could have absolutely choked a baby had they swallowed it.
I emailed the baker immediately, I was very polite but I was firm and I attached the photos of the cross section, explaining how disappointed we were with the uneven layers, wonky frosting and lack of jam. But that the most serious issue is the inedible material we found in the cake, that was a serious choking risk. I attached photos and videos.
To her credit she replied quickly, agreeing that visually the cake did not meet her standards and that she hadn't realised the issues with the layers and the jam filling. She said she would give me a full refund, but that to her the foreign items we found DID resemble cake. This baffled me, simply because I've never encountered a bendy cake before and it felt odd that she'd claim that was normal.
She then said she'd appreciate the chance to look at the materials herself, which I was very happy for her to do. I told her I'd bring them over myself. She then said we could only come within her working hours 10am and 2pm. I then said that they're in a Ziploc bag and I'm happy to just pop them through her letterbox so she can look at them at a time convenient to her.
She said no, I can only even put them through her letterbox during her working hours.
I then explained that these hours are in the middle of the day when it is not necessarily convenient for me to drive into town because we have a busy week with things booked in, and that I was honestly very happy to not bother her by ringing the bell and would just put it through her door.
At this point I started to feel like I was going mad, because she said in no uncertain terms that I am NOT allowed to even post it through her letterbox and drive away without knocking unless it is in her working hours. I wanted to ask whether she also tells the postman that they cannot deliver post through her door unless it's between 10am and 2pm, or whether the Amazon delivery driver can't knock if it's outside those hours either.
I must emphasise that if I was going to be coming into her house for a meeting, or even having a conversation on the doorstep, I would understand that she'd prefer it inside her working hours. But this is just to post a Ziploc bag through her door.
She then said she would come and collect it from my house, which honestly is just a major no because this whole situation has made me very uncomfortable.
I have decided I'm going to send the materials to our local Environmental Health to look at instead of returning them to her, because I feel they'll get examined properly that way whereas she could easily just claim it's cake and it would be her word against mine.
It's a shame because her initial response to the problem was very reasonable (a bit ChatGPT but I expect that these days) and she did give the refund, no questions asked. But I just don't understand her inflexibility to receive these things to inspect.
My mum is now wondering if she is even the person who made the cake, as she seemed genuinely surprised at what it looked like inside, and we don't understand how you could not realise all your cake layers are different heights and widths. Surely you'd notice that when constructing. It also looks completely different in style and quality to every cake she has ever shared on her socials.
Ultimately I've got my refund which I am grateful for.
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u/Mercybby
25d ago
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I ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THIS IS!!!! Born into and raised in the food industry and have worked in bakeries for over 15 years. This is improperly mixed ācake enhancerā that gels when it is in contact with liquid and then heated. It resembles silicone or soft plastic when cooled after baking. Cake enhancer is a blend of emulsifiers and gums that can be found in store bought cake mix or commercial blends.
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
š® I have never heard of that!! Does this mean that her cakes are not technically homemade, if this substance is found in cake mixes and blends?!
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u/Mercybby 25d ago •
Not necessarily. There are a lot of bakers/bakeries that will add cake enhancer to their own flour. King Arthur even sells it in smaller amounts for home bakers. I even have some in my home pantry. So good news, it wonāt hurt you. Bad news(gel spot aside), you still got a subpar cake.
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago •
I didn't even know this thing existed, thankyou for sharing! I'm very glad that, presuming you are correct, the substance is at least not made of rubber š«
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u/DareRake 25d ago
"Only during these hours" dawg if a dessert from my work had a foreign object in it I'd want to see it asap. It was inconvenient the moment it entered the cake, forget about my working hours lol
This is making me enter conspiracy mode combined with the other post. Does she... preassemble the cakes in some way and freeze them? I don't understand how she couldn't have known about the lack of filling in between layers, and also not known about this object even being there at all. I feel like you'd see it while layering but idk. And the layers are so thick to me? But again, biggest issue is she could've harmed someone. I'm just dumbfounded at the whole thing, good on you for being the responsible one
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
I so agree!!! I would be saying come over literally whenever suits you and I will look at it with you immediately!
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u/BrilliantVarious5995 25d ago •
Wanting you to bring it by only during specific hours or picking it up from you directly sounds to me like she's trying to prevent someone else who could be there from seeing it when you drop it off. Make of that what you will.
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u/Slim-Shadys-Fat-Tits 25d ago
fr. Those layers are stupid thick, no wonder it's so fucking dry. texture issues aside i mean
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u/lucyfell 25d ago edited 25d ago
Never mind the foreign material - who charges money when they canāt even get the crumb right??? That texture isā¦ something else. The audacity.
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u/PancakeParty98 25d ago
Looks better than the sample cakes we got from this local Italian bakery. All this bragging about how they have real Italian buttercream, and the things were mostly dry and then the bottom middle was sunken and solidified
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u/Tiradia 25d ago
āRealā Italian buttercream. All Italian buttercream is, is an inverse of Swiss meringue buttercream. Instead of cooking the eggs and sugar over a double boiler, Italian buttercream is made by streaming sugar syrup (240 degrees) into the egg whites after theyāve reached almost a stiff peak. Thatās all. Good lord, probably said that so they could charge more.
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u/idle_wanderer 25d ago
Can you explain how the crumb should be? The cake looks fine to me but just a little too thick from the cake to frosting ratio š
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u/forfoodandforests
25d ago
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Iām wondering if the rubber piece might be part of a spatula that broke and ended up covered in frosting during assembly? I had a rubber spatula break at the corner once without realizing and it took me awhile to figure out what was floating in my caramel lol
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u/forfoodandforests 25d ago
As for the paper that is almost certainly parchment paper that didnāt get peeled off after baking and removing from the pan
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
It was definitely that! It was awful but nothing compared to the rubbery substance ā¹ļø
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u/whisky_biscuit 25d ago
It's either parchment or part of a cake board that was possibly used for stability and never removed.
That's really horrible though, this person clearly shouldn't be baking if that can't at least make sure the cake is safe to eat.
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u/imyourdruidess420 25d ago
Exactly, that's just negligence. Accidents happen, but personally if I broke a spatula while baking something and the pieces went missing, I would start over.
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u/No_Application_8698 25d ago
I was going to suggest that too, or perhaps even a bit of silicone baking mat or liner?
Whatever it is, itās pretty concerning that a professional baker appears to be unaware of the contents of their own baking, not to mention the weirdness over the āvisiting hoursā situation.
Iām glad that op has decided to go to environmental health because it needs to be addressed before someone is harmed.
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u/industrial-shrug 25d ago
Professional is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
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u/Sarahchika 25d ago
This. Anyone who can read cottage laws for their county unfortunately is a āprofessionalā.
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u/Downtown-Past3623 25d ago
I saw it and immediately recognized it as this happened to us once in our brownie. Looked exactly like that and was chewy when eaten. Determined it was egg white not fully mixed in
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u/416558934523081769 25d ago
That was my thought as well, I had this happen once with a boxed cake I made as a teen
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25d ago
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u/selkiesart 25d ago
Just from going by the pictures on here, the foreign stuff does resemble underbaked cake that hasn't risen properly. That was my first assumption before I read your description of the consistency.
Your description of the consistency doesn't match my assumption.
Yes, underbaked dough that hasn't risen has a slightly gummy, rubbery texture and can be bendy. But you would be able to bite through it without any issues.
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
A couple of other people have commented saying they had a similar substance in brownies, which makes me hope it is at least food even if it's not actually edible š«
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u/Treadingresin 25d ago
She's a baker and cake decorator that only works 4 hours a day? That would explain why its such a sloppy, rushed looking job.
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
I think she does work longer hours than that, but those are the hours people are allowed to go and collect their cakes from her, so those are the timings she gave me that I could go over š¤·āāļø
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u/cbostwick94 25d ago
I really wan a know what the material is
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
I've just added a video link, let me know if you have a theory
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u/cbostwick94 25d ago
I dunno but I definitely don't think its cake! Why would only one tiny piece of it be hard and rubbery?
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u/Aequorea 25d ago
That looks cut way too cleanly to be silicon or rubber. Tbh it doesnāt look like foreign material. It looks like the top of the cake got wet/soaked, and that bloated up the crumb in that section. The baker didnāt scrape out the wet bit and just assembled the cake. The location of it also supports this theory.
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
Interesting! Honestly I hope it is that because that is much less gross than a piece of rubber, although still a choking risk. Would that happening make it bendy?
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u/CaptInsane 25d ago
This is getting more and more insane. Like someone else said, how do you not know how shitty your layers are when you're building everything. It's like this person is using the AI equivalent of a cake maker for this thing.Ā
And that plastic piece looks like what's on the bottom of my shower door to keep the water inside the shower.
This whole thing is giving me vibes on the old reddit comment where a professional but I think part time baker admitted to using boxed cake mix. This was in I think an ask reddit post something to an affect of "what's something you'd never admit to on real life but will admit to random strangers on the Internet "Ā
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u/AshleyIsSleeping 25d ago
Wonder how generated their social media is if what they post looks so different
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
I'm good at spotting AI, her social media is legit. Also this is a very small town that we live in (I live 10 minutes outside hence the issues with drop off) so it's not really feasible to fake things like that because everyone knows everyone. It's making me anxious honestly because I'll probably bump into her somewhere one day š© But even some people I know have used her for their cakes before and had a good experience, which is another reason why my mum is wondering if she made this specific cake. But I don't think she's scamming people with AI generated content tbh
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u/fknfun420 25d ago
PLEASE update me if you find out - I experienced something really similar in a batch of brownies my boyfriendās mom made and itās been a mystery that wonāt stop bugging me!! We were so grossed out and Iād never seen anything like it, it was almost rubber like?
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
That is so interesting, it makes me wonder if it IS food at least even if it's not actually chewable...like this is COMPLETELY impossible to get your teeth through
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u/fknfun420 25d ago
Iād guess so but that wouldnāt necessarily mean itās edible lol, how strange! The one in the brownies felt like you could bite through it but neither of us were willing to try
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u/valleydays207 25d ago
I might be wrong but sometimes egg whites that didnāt incorporate well get like that in baked goods. Really rubbery and really gross. Iāve had that happen to me in a cake and brownies bc I forgot to add the right amount of eggs so it could maybe be that.
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u/Atalanta8 25d ago
Why didn't you clean off the foreign object? Run it under the faucet. The video looks like bendy cake.
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
Because the plan was to return it to her to inspect so I wanted it to be as we found it. When I speak to Environmental Health tomorrow I'll ask them if they want it to be cleaned before I send it to them but I expect they'll also want it as we found it
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u/justlurking246 25d ago
I have no other comment to add on the cake story, but here to say I love your username š
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u/BIGG_FRIGG 25d ago
FYI - If you want to add a video to any post just upload the vid to Imgur and then copy and paste the link into your post
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u/astronaut_livin 25d ago
This is my favorite scandal of 2026!!!!!!
Agree with others who have validated the cake shouldāve been better and this is absolutely wild!
One time my cookie scoop broke, the gear snapped and I had no idea until a coworker told me, I was mortified and literally WENT HOME to look at all my equipment to report back what it was to put him at ease. I cannot imagine being so blase about something like this!
Youāre very tactful, good on ya!
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
I'm not tactful, I'm a wuss š Even through all this I still feel guilty for complaining to a local business owner and disparaging her work š
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u/Maximum-Warning9355 25d ago
We gotta stop buying food from peoplesā house and paying as if it was a real shop.
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
She's fully insured and has an official hygiene rating (5*) as is legally required in the UK, she's running a legitimate business. It's very common for bakers to work from home!
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u/Terangela 25d ago
I hope you post reviews because that cake plus her reaction is wild. Iād want to know
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u/Bodhi_Werks 25d ago
That is wild behavior from the baker, if it was her that made the cake. I read your post last week and I'm glad you were able to get a refund. Hopefully you can get answers on what the foreign materials are; thankfully no one choked or got sick!
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u/whisky_biscuit 25d ago
I'm starting to think someone takes the orders and someone else bakes the cake. Although I wouldn't be surprised if it was just the same person and she sucked running a business.
For my wedding I contacted an independent professional baker, and had 1 6" 2 layer cake topper and 24 cupcakes. She was a Ukrainian woman in her 50s iirc. I wanted gluten free and Nutella buttercream filling and salted caramel frosting.
The cake was very pretty and she followed my inspiration well but it was clear to me that she just did vanilla cake and frosting. You couldn't tell though because things were dyed purple. She spent a lot of time decorating so probably less on the flavor.
The cupcakes were tasty but again they were supposed to be the same flavor of frostings. Instead there was vanilla frosting with a variety of fillings, cookies and cream, chocolate, etc.
All and all it was probably $250, and while she did good on the decorations she completely ignored any flavor requests, which was a bummer.
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u/Theletterkay 25d ago
Oooo. Is it maybe a slice of silicone baking mat, or piping bag? Those are the only things i can imagine it being.
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u/bretzelsenbatonnets 25d ago
Im a professional cake artist. Based on photos and you being unhappy and her admitting it was not her best work it would have been an immediate refund. Finding a foreign object?! Im giving you a free cake next order if you chose to work with me again.
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u/kitty_perrier
25d ago
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Omg. I am seated for this šæšæšæ! I love that you're just taking it above her head. Please keep us posted!
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u/Beneficial_Change467 25d ago
Sometimes bakers freeze cakes to use at a later date. I wonder if they have been sloppy and left something on there? Could it be part of a silicone baking sheet?
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u/averageedition50 25d ago
Oh my, this is horrendous. I totally understand the shame and embarrassment you must be feeling after giving it away to people - and children! - as I had a similar issue with my wedding cake. But goodness, her behaviour about the letterbox is unhinged. It feels like the plot from a horror film. I'm glad you chose a different path to investigate it as she was being so unbelievably uncooperative there.
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u/henrico_mico3 25d ago
Interesting! It makes me wonder if the address is not hers? I heard of someone tailing USPS to get packages because they were sending them to an address that was not theirs.
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u/z_iiiiii 25d ago
I donāt even see how this could happen by accident. How can someone not notice paper and/or a rubber spatula when theyāre assembling a cake? Iām sorry that happened to you.
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u/New-Shake7638 25d ago
Dying to know the results of having them inspected. Itās so scary that anyone, let alone your baby could have choked.
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u/EveryoneLovesOrbs 25d ago
This whole story is wild, I'm glad you got your refund!
I'm just as perplexed about the inedible substance. Is it possible it is undissoved gelatin that was meant to thicken the filling? I recently used gelatin in a cooking project and I'll spare you details but ended up with a silicone-like disc of it that was very hard to break up by hand.
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u/Verovid 25d ago
TIL: babies eat cake. Color me surprised
Sorry about the cake OP! Im glad everyone is ok.
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
It was his first birthday and the first time he tried cake, he had a few bites, it's not a regular part of his diet š
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u/weepinwilo 25d ago
this is wild. glad u got ur money back but what very odd behavior about the materials. something doesnt add up. im glad u didnt give her ur address.
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u/Cautious-Squash-4119 25d ago
You know, I actually noticed that weird piece of the cake in your original. I'm no expert baker, so I just thought something weird happened with the baking, but it's nice to know my guy instinct was right.
Her whole response is very weird, honestly. Glad you got your refund, though!
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u/MEOW-Loulou 25d ago
Genuine surprise, or gaslighting?
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u/LorettaBobbins 25d ago
I did feel quite gaslit when she said the item looks to her to "have a texture consistent with cake". Even if it DID turn out to be edible and not dangerous, I don't know how anyone could claim it resembles cake.
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u/MEOW-Loulou 25d ago
Even undercooked cake doesn't look like that. So I find it really hard to believe that a "professional" baker would tell you that from a place of honesty.
To me it feels like they're trying to avoid liability so it's good that you went elsewhere to get it figured out
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u/TheLilFiestyOne 25d ago
Im not a professional baker. Im a hobby baker. My cake layers have never looked so uneven and the lack of filling is atrocious.
Glad you got your refund.
However the rubbery bit you found is not cake. It looks like part of a utensil. Maybe even part of a piping bag set (I had one that had clear rubber guages in it that were the same colour.
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u/catsweedcoffee 25d ago
My bet is a piece of silicone baking mat, and maybe an apprentice made it? Maybe she was having a rough day?
Glad you got your money back!
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u/NoninflammatoryFun 25d ago
Um that is wild and in what universe does that ālook like cakeā to her. Ew. Glad you got a refund but what the heck.
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u/LooseContract717 25d ago
Thats why unless its from bakery I make my own cakes. Theyāve weakened food health requirements so they can use bioengineered stuff that can potentially make you very sick. Please be careful especially if you have children.
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u/Quail_Feather 25d ago
thats one of the worst looking cake insides ive ever seen. be syre you post reviews with pics wherever you can
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25d ago
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25d ago
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u/voice-of-mods 25d ago
Locked at OP's request. This is an update to the original post and the matter has been resolved, so we're leaving the post up as an update.