Messed up the frsoting on the cake....what should I do?

Question

I placed the cake on top of the car seat and when I braked, down went the cake and now the cake frosting is ruined!!! I have an hour to figure out what to do with the cake whether to leave it or try to fix it like take out all frosting and spread new frosting? Please help.

Answer 1

You'll definitely have to remove as much of the damaged frosting as possible and reapply NEW frosting.  Forget trying to remove it all, as you’ll likely be unable to remove all of it and replace it without damaging the cake any further or running out of time.

If you find yourself really running short on time, you’ll have to cut your effort spent on damage control and spend more time with the application of the new frosting.  If the frosting was from a can or premade in some other way, then you will definitely have to find the exact kind and brand of frosting and get to work replacing it and finishing the frosting.  If the frosting is homemade from a recipe, then you or someone else should get to work immediately to make a new batch and get it onto the cake.

It goes without saying that if:

the cake itself is damaged or misshapen, then you should think about another dessert.  The embarrassment caused by a damaged cake is significantly greater than that caused by serving a lopsided or dented cake at a gathering.  If you have to use a cake from a professional source, be truthful and do not attempt to pass it off as your own.

the cake was contaminated by dirt  or something else (very likely), you should think about just replacing it with a store-bought cake or another type of dessert.  Using a cake from a bakery or store might be embarrassing, but it is better than the embarrassment that might come from someone finding dirt or some strange taste in your cake.

the cake has fondant or some other type of advanced frosting, repair might be difficult or impossible based on the amount of damage.  The cake would need to be replaced if this happens.

Answer 2

Been there, done that:)   I had a cheesecake fall off the car seat once, so now I put everything on the floor in front of the passenger seat:)  (I had to put a bunch of whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top of the cheesecake) .....  If you wet your finger you should be able to smooth over the frosting.  If want to put more over that, then you can.  Or put chocolate sprinkles, finely chopped nuts or coconut over it.....

Answer 3

Try and fix it. You should be able to smooth it over.

Answer 4

You mean, like, it was wrapped up or in a container and all the frosting stuck on the wrapper?

I'd go with the suggestion to sprinkle something on it.  Grated coconut, shaved chocolate, chocolate curls, chopped nuts, sprinkles, pretty much anything fairly dry that will sprinkle well (you could even try cookie crumbs.)

Smooth out what frosting is left (try very hard not to get crumbs in the icing--that looks worse than no icing at all) and cover with a nice thick layer of something delicious.  What about some Heath bar crumbles, huh?  Hit up the ice cream topping section of the store and see what they have to offer.  Or just get some cookies and crunch them up (Oreos, mmmmm...Nutter Butters, butter wafers--something crumbly.)

Just match the inside with a complementary flavor.  Sometimes people crush up hard candies and sprinkle them on (works best with starlight mints and chocolate cake.)

Have fun with it.  This is a good opportunity to be creative, and it might even turn out better than the original cake!