A birthday cake mishap has gone viral after a Reddit user shared an "expectation vs. reality" moment about their father's 54th birthday.
The post by u/weryou91 featured two photos comparing the cake they ordered and what arrived (second photo). The poster said that the dessert was meant to showcase a car speedometer with the dial pointing to 54—his age.
Instead, the speedometer was squashed into one-quarter of the cake with "Happy Birthday Dad!" in red, lopsided wording and the needle incorrectly pointing to what looked like the number 58. Newsweek reached out to u/weryou91 on Reddit. We could not verify details of the case.
As a true car enthusiast, the dad took one look at the cake and said: "I'm not turning 58!"
In the post's comments, the original poster said that the baker, a professional who acknowledged the cake was "not her best," refunded half of the original $60 price. Despite the disappointment, the family decided to keep the cake since they had only 20 minutes before the party began.
The cake didn't receive glowing reviews either, with u/weryou91 declaring it "extremely dry."
"My mother choked on her first bite and I nearly had to Heimlich her," the poster added in the comments.
Newsweek spoke to Ramzy Ladah, a trial attorney and personal injury lawyer at Ladah Law Firm in Las Vegas, Nevada. He said that consumers have clear rights when purchasing custom goods.
"When someone orders a custom cake, there's usually an expectation that the final product will resemble the design or description provided during the order process. If the cake doesn't turn out anything like what was promised, the buyer may have valid legal claims, depending on how clear the agreement was between the customer and the seller," Ladah said.
In this case, the customer ordered the cake with specific details, including the speedometer pointing to 54. However, the final product fell short of the agreed design.
But the baker's acknowledgment of the mistake and the partial refund were steps toward resolving the issue. Ladah said buyers should always document their experiences with photos or a description if necessary.
"If the seller acknowledges the mistake but refuses to resolve it, the buyer can escalate through local consumer protection authorities or, if necessary, small claims court," he added.
At the time of writing, the post has received more than 78,000 upvotes and over 2,300 comments. Many Reddit users thought the poster should not have had to pay at all.
"Frankly she shouldn't have charged you for this, I feel. it's really different from the expectation, and even the lettering is abysmal," one wrote.
"Not her best? She didn't even try … good thing you kind of got a refund," another commented.
Although the cake wasn't a resounding success, the family saw the funny side. "We had good laughs all around and other than causing my mom to choke, I think we enjoyed having this cake and the memories it made as I think we will laugh about this for years to come," the original poster commented.
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