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Just by you telling as many people you know as possible the cupcakes from that place are so bad will do the damage. Think about when you have a good meal and a bad meal at a restaurant you more than likely tell more people about the bad meal.

If you told her you didn't like them, she'd either say that it's a matter of taste (which in fact it is...) and that she can't help it if you didn't like the flavor. She would probably be thinking that you were trying to scam some free future cupcakes or get yourself a refund.

I'd suggest that you simply find someplace else to deal with.

I think that some places that specialize in wedding cakes don't care so much about the flavor, they're selling a pretty cake to a bride who probably won't eat more than the bite for the photo. Find yourself a bakery that sells good baked goods, and talk to them about a cake.

Can I third a hope for a big pie trend? I am so tired of cake!!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE pies of all kinds and wish they weren't relegated to holidays and treated like they are so much work. I can whip out a dozen pies faster than I can do a decorated cake. I would much rather be making pies all day than cakes and cupcakes and such. Mmm pie.

As for the original question (sorry, pie tangent) I don't think it would hurt to tell the place that your cupcakes were bad. State you don't want anything else and you have no intention of returning, but thought the owner should know on the off chance it was a fluke or something they may be interested in fixing.

db is right about some bakeries worrying more about the look than the taste. It will never cease to amaze me that a bakery with fabulous artists on staff that can do amazing work in icing and fondant and sugar, will use a cheap warehouse-style cake mix for the cake, and filling from buckets. I hear more people saying they don't like wedding cake, because it is nasty...and that is just not right. I would rather have a cake with a few flaws but fantastic taste over a look of perfection with sawdust inside. Go for many tastings and pick some good bakeries that focus on that and THEN worry about the decorations.

Had to chime in here since I'm a baker and am getting married this year...

Lots of places use BOX MIX for their cakes. I know this for a fact. One of the best wedding cake bakeries in the DC area does so and everyone gets their cakes from there because they think it's the best (and no I'm not talking about Charm City Cakes, their cakes are made from scratch and when they do actually make a cake, it's excellent!)

Just because a cake looks pretty doesn't mean it tastes good. Unfortunately most people think any cake tastes good so they base their decision almost entirely on looks since they don't have the palate to judge substance.

Since I'm really particular about cake (and all baked goods), I went to 6 bakers for tastings, all of whom were very high end NYC bakers who make gorgeous cakes. The irony was that the one who was considered the best (she's regularly in Martha Stewart weddings) had the WORST cakes, the texture of all of them was like a dry sponge, the flavors were all off, and she used inappropriate ingredients - like lemon extract in a lemon frosting, nutella in a hazelnut frosting (if it'd advertised as hazelnut then it shouldn't also have chocolate in it!), and a weeping espresso buttercream frosting (she obviously mixed in WAY too much liquid espresso and the mixture separated because it couldn't hold so much moisture).

Anyway, I ended up going with one woman whose cakes were the best of the lot, not totally amazing, but still very good. Moreover, she was the nicest, most accommodating, most creative, and most willing to listen to my many demands :)

Lots of ways to approach this. One part of me says "go back and tell the owner in a diplomatic way. You could be doing her (or him) a favor" - maybe she had some help that wasn't following a recipe or had a bad batch of ingredients.

On the other hand - if you've alternative bakeries - try them.

Not much different than getting served a bad meal in a restaurant.

Then again - go for the pie!

I went through this same thing...well sort of. I'm getting married in October, and I scheduled an entire day of cake tastings (my mom lives out of town) and we ate cake ALL day long.

Needless to say we stopped by this one particular bakery and they were all very nice. The owner actually ran the tasting for us and gave us the background of the bakery, it's been around for 30 years blah blah blah. But in the end he spent most of his time bragging about how good their cakes were, and that they used the original recipes from 30 years ago.

So he gave us this mass of cake that had one flavor of buttercream and one flavor of cake. Yellow cake, with vanilla butter cream...which is not bad, but I'm going for a more inventive stance on my wedding cake flavors. I'm also used to bakeries offering several flavors in their tastings, but apparently not this one.

The hunk of cake that we were served looked like a small cake that you might by from a Wal-Mart bakery. And what was even worse, is that it tasted like that too. It was honestly the worst cake that I've ever put in my mouth. We kindly ate our cake, and smiled at that guy, my mom was able to stomach nice words before we quietly left the bakery and vowed never to go back!

Long story short...don't go back to the bakery. Just keep your opinions outside of their store and make sure to tell anyone who's thinking about trying them what they're really all about.

@AuntJone, I'm not sure (and hopefully charm city cupcake will add more) but I think I read somewheret that CCC's actual cakes are made off-site, and they only do the structuring and decorating at the outpost that's on TV (and only four blocks from my apartment!!!).

Regarding pies: Although I am not a fan of them myself, I have heard that there is a growing trend toward pies as substitutes for wedding cakes. You can have *loads* of varieties to suit everyone's tastes and they can still take interesting visual appearances (like a layer cake does) and be really cool-looking. I would definitely look into that. :)

I may be lambasted for saying this, but we used Costco cake for our wedding and just had a seriously small cake for pics and for us. I actually really like Costco cake. Does anyone else?

am actually saddened when a cake opportunity is wasted by supermarket cake.

This is why local bakeries have all but disappeared in all but the most populous cities. The need for "one stop shopping" has aced out a lot of boutique businesses. Unfortunately, bakeries fall into that category.

Wal-Mart is perhaps the biggest offender. Sometimes you need a pound of butter AND a bolt cutter. WM is the place to go when your shopping list is varied and your time is short. It's also the reason local hardware stores, bakeries and butchers have gone the way of the Fuller Brush Man.

To be honest, 9 out of 9 1/2 times, I'll bake my own cake unless it's something so ethnic or specific that I can only get it at a bakery. As for "wasting" a cake opportunity on a supermarket cake - no chance, no way.

oh my .. i'll have what therealchiffonade is having... I like CAKE! Any cake done right.. is alright with me.

"The "cake" should be just as delectable, flavorful and tightly-crumbed as any full-sized "company" cake you can make. The icing on a cupcake should be so rich and wonderful that, after consuming one, you are left with the distinct feeling you've just had sex."

AMEN.

@bobbob - seeing as you are from the center of the universe, NYC, you are probably five years ahead of the smaller cities and towns in the provinicial backwaters of America - so - we will luxuriate in our cupcake bonanza while you guys "source out" the next fad.

@bareneed its just a comment about cupcakes and the ridiculous number of places that offer them in NYC since the whole sex in the city craze it wasn't meant to be an appeal to your apparent insecurities.

Cupcakes haven't even started up here in Maine. We're (semi-actively) trying. However, I have never been tempted to go into a cupcake shop in New York, just because I know I'd like my own cupcakes tons better. No one needs another boring cupcake shop that only sells chocolate, vanilla and red velvet.

Surprisingly, I actually generally prefer to eat pie. As long as it's fruit pie. But I like to make cupcakes better than making pie or a whole cake. I like the process of inventing a cake flavor and a filling and frosting that will go with it. A pie is just crust, filling, bake, you're done. Not as creative. I HATE making actual cakes. You need a whole set of special instruments to make an attractive cake.

Finally, cake mix has no business being anywhere near a wedding cake. That's disgusting and deeply insulting. Good luck finding a decent cake.