Netflix Nailed It: Best Baking Fails

A Layer Cake Disaster

The Best (Worst) Baking Fails from Nailed ItCredit: Netflix — Netflix

The first episode's special guest, cake designer, Sylvia Weinstock, has baked cakes for Kim Kardashian, Ralph Lauren and Hillary Clinton, but duplicating her iconic style of using only buttercream (not fondant) posed some problems for contestant Heather Creekmore. Her cake layers were too hot, and a rookie mistake of not using the blast freezer before she frosted them resulted in this bright blue Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa-esque situation.

Season 1, Episode 1

02 of 10

Broken Heart Cake Pops

Things go horribly wrong when Elena Timman, a social media coordinator for Tinder, tries to recreate cake pops that embody the reason most users turn to Tinder in the first place: a broken heart. Instead of replicating the cartoon version, Timman’s cakes were too big, so they couldn’t stand upright, and her creation ended up looking like actual organs that had been ripped out of the human body.

Season 1, Episode 1

03 of 10

Pirate Doughnuts

Amanda Giles is a full-time grandmother, and it’s quite obvious she’s not a full-time baker. Once she finally figured out how to work the microwave, she thought things might be looking up, but she ended up with more black fondant on her hands than on the doughnut. Although the judges loved her attitude while she took a stab at making the dessert for the first time, her pirate décor did not win them over.

Season 1, Episode 2

04 of 10

Princess Tower Cake

When Giles didn’t win her final round while trying to create this Disney-inspired confection, she wasn’t surprised. Even she admitted, “This is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.” Instead of creating different sized layers, Giles baked her cakes in the same sized pans, completely removing the tower effect of the cake. The judges did admit that it tasted better than it looked, but there's no denying that her princess was more terrifying than enchanting.

Season 1, Episode 2

05 of 10

A Box of Chocolates

Although Toni Bryant didn’t technically make these chocolates on the show, they’re such a food fail that they have to be mentioned. While trying to create her pirate jelly-filled doughnut using royal icing, Jacques Torres asked her what went wrong, to which she responded, “We’re both chocolatiers. This isn’t our field of expertise.” For arguments sake, maybe chocolate isn’t her strong suit either.

Season 1, Episode 2

06 of 10

Hot Tub Cake

As a retired police officer, Sal Venturelli always follows the law, but as a Nailed It contestant, he chose not to follow the recipe. In fact, he never even turned his tablet on to get the instructions. The result? A bunch of burnt chocolate he couldn’t use for his ganache, and a cake with a consistency that apparently rivaled pudding. Oh, and the “elephants” on top resembled cement droppings more than they did animals.

Season 1, Episode 3

07 of 10

Emoji Cake

At times, it was difficult to know if Dana Moon thought she was a contestant on The Bachelor or Nailed It, as she spent most of her screen time talking about how the show could help her get a boyfriend. So naturally she chose the kiss emoji cake to recreate. However, her rendition didn’t quite meet the judges expectations. Instead of using fondant to cover the cake, she used buttercream, and her final product looked more like a Picasso painting than an emoji.

Season 1, Episode 5

08 of 10

Cheesy Mistake

One of the hardest challenges of the whole season was when contestants were asked to duplicate cookies featuring their own faces. Fashion designer Anabell Pica started off behind the curve when she made her cookies oversized, and instead of using royal icing to paint her face, she used fondant and pantry ingredients. Her solution for lips? Spicy Cheetos, and according to host Nicole Byer, the cheesy snacks should never be used as cookie toppings.

Season 1, Episode 6

09 of 10

Facial Recognition Faux-Pas

Kymberli Talton graced this show with two of the most terrifying baked goods in Nailed It history. When asked to recreate her own face on a cookie, she took a more abstract approach. Instead of cutting the cookie dough beforehand, Talton baked the whole slab in the oven, and ran out of time to paint icing on the dough directly. Instead, she painted the icing and placed it on the dough afterward, which resulted in this abstract version of a human being.

Season 1, Episode 6

10 of 10

Trump Cake

As Byer said, Talton’s version of the president “looks like the stress has really gotten to him.” She used ramen noodles to replicate his hair, and painted red eyeballs on his face to give viewers “the real deal.” Although Talton didn’t win, her cake made a lasting impression, as Byer said it will “haunt her dreams.”

Season 1, Episode 6