Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hello all,
I have had a cake returned, due to the jam being mouldy,the cake was made,baked,decorated in one day,it was collected that evening and was cut the next day at the party.The jam was purchased from a large supermarket,i have emailed the said retailer.I only use the best of ingredients,the jam was the most expensive,looked lovely tasted like home made jam like my gran used to make.I have apologised to the party concerned and am really upset, this has never happened to me before in all the years i have been baking,it has really knocked my confidence, and rocked me, to where i feel like not baking any more,i know this sounds a bit extreme but it really upset me, Any advice or help you can give will be appreciated, thankyou…….

Oh no! Don’t be disheartened. Did you see the jam, and was it mouldy? I find it hard to believe that a jam could spoil in such a quick time…

Hi Treacle

First I’m so sorry to hear this and how it has affected you, this incident must not deter you from baking. Obviously you’ve done nothing wrong and it is not your fault.
Jams which have not been made with the correct proportion of sugars and not sealed and stored properly can mould. It is quite possible this is a manufacturing problem which should not only be reported to the supermarket concerned but also to environmental health department in your area. Any jam you have left will be tested by them and the results sent to you to show your customer. The supermarket will also be sent results and if at fault will have to compensate you for your loss. The jam may have looked fine when you bought it, unfortunately if it was beginning to mould, once out of the jar and coming into contact with the moisture of the cake, it would have turned pretty quickly. The other thing you probably don’t know is how the customer stored the cake on the handover day. Do you have any of the jam left and what has happened to the cake? I have had two similar problems one concerning jam with broken glass, and one with shop bought pasty which contained bits of decayed wood. So you see these things do happen and they are not something in our control. I think if you tell your customer the actions you have taken it will restore your and their confidence. Please don’t be dis-heartened, your reaction is a natural emotional one and will pass. One incident in many years of good baking should not rob you of livelihood. I think everyone here will be supportive and add any similar experience they may have encountered to console you. xx

Hello,
thankyou for all the advice, i have emailed the jam retailer, will see what happpens, i dont have the jam jar ,as i recycle and it was washed ,etc and the seagulls have devoured the cake i didnt think to get it checked, just to upset at the time,.but the person concerned was so sweet and said was n ot my fault, i have made many cakes for this persons family and as she said it has never happened before. Monday is a new day .i have 2 cakes this week,rather large ones too,so better give myself a talking to,get back to the kitchen and my Kenwood tomorow. Many thanks clare.barret and madeitwithlove, xx:)

You’ll be fine! I did some cupcakes for a friend, and one of them had something strange in the buttercream. I was absolutely mortified! Turned out, it was a bit of cardboard from the cut-out circle in the box, but it still really knocked my confidence. Good luck with the cakes this week…you just need to get back on the horse!! ;o)

Take care xx

Hi Treacle,
Don’t be disheartened, these things do happen & they aren’t your fault.
my mum once had museli from the health food shop that had little bugs in. Like madeitwithlove said she had broken glass.

Move on up is the way to go x

I agree, did you actually get to see the mould? See where it was – in or on the cake? It takes sometime for a commercially produced jam to mould and then it is only what is exposed to the air. If it was spoiled when you opened it im sure you would have noticed. If anything the quickest place to mold on a cake is where the cake sits on the board even if it is covered with foil,fondant, etc. Another thing that promotes mould growth is heat, did they store it in a plastic cake carrier or was it in a cake box. the Carriers are like little greenhouses and i have seen a cake mould sealed in one of those overnight. Im sure you did everything right, take it as a learning experience. Keep baking!!

Hi everyone,
thankyou all for your great advice and suggestions, i have received a reply from the retailer , they will look into the matter, i have since returned to the store purchased the same jam and have made the two large cakes, they have both been collected and received nice messages saying how soft,moist and tasty the cakes were,this has cheered me up, and as all you lovely cake peeps have said, not to be disheartened and get back on the horse, i am well and truly back in the saddle,and paying very close attention to every ingredient i use,even more so than usual, (touch of the OCD now) , thankyou all…… 🙂

All the bunting and balloons are out here for you Treacle, well done gal, Hiha!! xxxx