11 Of The Biggest Fails On Nailed It

These days, cakes seem to be getting more and more elaborate. From birthday cakes shaped like unicorns to cupcakes that resemble penguins, we are seeing more unforgettable decorations than ever before. The best part is that actually creating this kind of extravagant dessert seems to be increasingly common for home cooks. Thanks to the newfound prevalence of cake-decorating kits and tips about how to make flowers out of icing, casual cooking aficionados are able to bring professional-level decor into their own kitchens. The actual professionals, meanwhile, seem hyper-competent, with "Real or Cake" videos becoming a common form of entertainment.

Luckily, however, one reality show is here to show that perfect cake culture is still not as universal as the Internet might lead us to believe. Netflix's "Nailed It" invites home bakers with a lot of enthusiasm but little professional training onto the silver screen to show off just how little about cake decorating they know. Every episode begins with a challenge presented by the two hosts, Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres. With the help of a celebrity guest judge, this duo gives each of the contestants a perfectly-polished looking cake and asks them to replicate the decor to the best of their ability. To what we can only assume is the audience's somewhat bewildered joy, the contestants never seem to make their cakes look anything like the original. From the "jaundiced" Neanderthal to the cake that had no cake, these are some of "Nailed It's" biggest fails.

One of the biggest challenges of decorating a cake is whipping up the right shade of frosting. This was especially evident on season 3, episode 4 of "Nailed It" when the contestants were asked to make various kinds of cakes pertaining to a prehistoric theme. The first challenge was to make a cupcake shaped like a Neanderthal, with each of the home bakers taking on the feat of decorating their entry to resemble a member of a pre-historic family.

While this idea might sound cute, the results were not exactly ideal. For one contestant, things started going south the minute that she started to color the frosting. Asked to create a Neanderthal with a light skin tone, this aspiring accidentally gave her character a more ... neon shade. She herself admitted that things were not looking good when she told the cameras, "I almost wish he had more clothes because his skin tone ... He is yellow." Looking on from behind the judges' counter, Jacques Torres asked, "Is it jaundice?"

The final result was a Neanderthal that looked more like an emoji than a prehistoric person. With bright yellow skin, a vibrant red smile, and two dot-like black eyes, the creation seemed like a more adequate response to a texting-themed challenge. The good news, though, was that guest judge Nicole Byer had some advice to rectify this, relaying that the contestant had to add "just a little bit of brown" to her frosting. 

Michelangelo's statue of David is undeniably a great work of art. Unfortunately, the same could not exactly be said for the statue of David replica cake created on season 3, episode 4 of "Nailed It." Of course, we do have to admit that this particular feat seemed to be more complicated than usual. As even Jacques Torres had to admit when introducing the challenge, "Michelangelo's David cake is extremely challenging on several levels ... This body is carefully sculpted from modeling chocolates to really define his muscle. We don't want a dad bod David."

In the end, though, a so-called "dad bod David" was the least of the contestants' worries. Each of the participants struggled with body proportions to such an extent than none of their creations really resembled a statue — let alone a famous one. 

The first attempt featured a stringy-armed man who appeared to be flexing his muscles. The only problem, though, was that his forearms seemed to be sweepingly large, overshadowing his biceps. Meanwhile, the second contestant submitted an attempt whose proportions were arguably even more questionable. With short stubby thighs and far-reaching arms, her David attempt looked slightly primate-like. Torres even remarked, "You understand that the arms are longer than the legs?" The pièce de résistance, however, was the final submission — a marble-legged statue with one arm that resembled a curly cue. Out of pure shock, Nicole Byer exclaimed, "I'm terrified!"

On season 4, episode 7 of "Nailed It," the 1990s made a comeback — and not in a good way. The contestants were challenged to make cakes in the shape of cartoon-animated boomboxes, each one with an equally expressive facial expression. Instead of doing the decade justice, however, the home bakers made boomboxes that were basically just "killing us softly." One of the participants, David, even managed to cook up a boombox that looked like it had been killed, although not exactly softly. 

In contrast to the model cake, which was both tall and thick, David's example was thin and flat, as if it had been ironed out by a steamroller. As Jacques Torres noted, the home chef had forgotten to grease his pans, meaning that his cake did not come out in the beautiful shape that he intended. This prevented the remainder of the decoration from looking very appealing since the cake's bulky cartoon eyes and wide smile were intended to match a boxier dessert. Guest judge, Fortune Femsteir, accurately noted that it looked like she had to "go through, like, Laffy Taffy to just get to the cake."

Sadly, even the winning boombox cake looked a little bit deflated. Shaped like a squished-down balloon, the snack cake boasted enormous cartoon teeth that were all but biting a large gold coin necklace. That being said, the delicious ice cream cake interior saved the dessert, reminding us that sometimes flavor is everything.

Sometimes, it is best to go back to the originals, and in the case of "Nailed It" flops, that could not be more true. One of the biggest fails in show history occurred in the very first season's third-ever episode. Titled "Head Over Water," the episode accurately describes how the participants must have felt when they were challenged to decorate their cakes to resemble hot tubs ... with safari animals floating inside. 

If this challenge sounds particularly difficult, that's because it is. The very first hot tub cake submission had serious problems when it came to the engineering of the mud bath imagery. The hot tub shape leaked, causing the chocolatey fluid that was supposed to resemble bathwater to seep out of the structure and form a brown pool that surrounded the cake. Even the home baker who created this cake was disappointed in the results, describing his project: "There was an overflow at the pool ... It is just a mess."

While this cake-making disaster was less than ideal, Jacques Torres was able to help the aspiring baker avoid this same problem in the future: "I think what happened here is instead of using chocolates, you used candy melt, which is chocolate with no cocoa butter." According to Torres, the difference between these two ingredients is key, especially since candy melt, "doesn't set properly. It is difficult to make it adhere to the cake."

Generally speaking, sports medals are for champions, but in season 4, episode 4 of "Nailed It," they took on a different meaning. During this episode, the contestants had to do their best to create cookies in the shape of these prizes — and then decorate them with elaborate icing portraits of people achieving different physical feats. Unfortunately, making these special treats seemed almost like an Olympic event in and of itself, with the contestants struggling to pound and ice the cookies from the very beginning.

In the end, none of the participants managed to create a medal that any athlete would wear — champion or not. This became clear when one aspiring baker started sporadically pouring blue food dye into her icing. As Jacques Torres noted, "Stacey is mixing the color in her piping bag, so this is not well-mixed." Indeed, this strategy prevented this casual cook from achieving the exact shade that she was hoping for, resulting in a cookie that resembled tie-dye in some places. Torres later explained, "Usually you mix the color in a little bowl." 

The biggest cookie medal flop, though, was undoubtedly a cookie trio that did not even hold a consistent shape. The contestant made three medals, each of which had a totally different size. In shock, Nicole Byer noted, "None of these cookies are the same shape. This is as if you learned shapes and you said, 'I rebuke thee! I won't retain that information."

During season 5 of "Nailed It," contestants were allowed to work in pairs to try to do a better job when it came to their cake decorating attempts. Unfortunately, though, double the home bakers meant double the flops. In episode 3, sibling duos were asked to bake cakes in the shape of underwater sea animals — including an eight-legged octopus cake, complete with tentacles and large googly eyes made out of icing. Perched on a candy coral reef, this creature cake was particularly difficult to make, as it required extreme attention to detail.

Of course, the difficulty of this feat, ultimately, resulted in some really questionable cakes. The second one looked particularly ill, with white dots painted all over its body, instead of circular dots. This image of a poxed-covered cake led Nicole Byer to burst out the comment, "He is going to a formal prom ... even with the measles!" 

The octopus cake's apparent sickness was not the only trouble with the decoration. As Jacques Torres told the bakers, there were issues with the treat's proportions as well: "The legs [don't] start all at the same level." The good news, though, was that the expert judge had some tips to help these aspiring home cooks achieve better results. Torres explained that making the legs thinner as they went down could help the animal cake look more realistic. Indeed, when it comes to decorating cakes, every detail counts.

The legend of the Loch Ness monster may be a bit scary, but it certainly is nowhere near as terrifying as some of the cakes created on "Nailed It." On season 6, episode 2, the contestants — who included the comedic actor, Jack McBrayer — attempted to decorate their cakes to resemble the infamous sea monster. And, unfortunately, their attempts had a little too much bite. Literally.

As the aspiring bakers designed their cakes, one issue seemed to plague the resulting monsters time and time again: dental issues. This was apparent from the moment that the very first contestant unveiled his creation, revealing a "Nessy" that might have benefited from braces. Upon viewing the creature for the first time, Nicole Byer could not help but cry out, "He's goofy-looking ... It's just the overbite is so funny to me!" Inevitably, Jacques Torres agreed, "It looks like a cake with a big worm with teeth coming out of it."

Interestingly, though, that first Loch Ness monster was not the only one to need a bit of dental repair. In some ways, McBrayer's cake actually had a similar issue. The comedian and actor forgot to give his cake the structural support that it needed to keep its head from falling off. And so, in the name of architecture, he decided to give it a brace, which ultimately resembled a retainer. "You know, those teeth. They gots to be fixed," McBrayer joked. 

Most people know that cakes have layers, but on season 7, episode 4 of "Nailed It," the contestants had to take that concept to a whole new level. For this Halloween special, Jacques Torres and Nicole Byer challenged their three aspiring bakers to make a cake that looked like an alien on a surgical table. As if that weren't difficult enough, the participants were expected to give their aliens a slime filling that would ooze out the minute the cake was actually cut open. In other words, the final result was expected to include layers of fondant, slime, coconut cake, and molding chocolate.

Naturally, though, this did not really end up happening. The first contestant's attempt at a slimy alien cake did not have any ooze effect at all. In fact, when she cut her cake open, nothing really trickled out, except for a few chunks of green dough. According to Torres, this happened because the contestant missed a key ingredient: "You didn't put any chocolates on the bottom. You put some rolling fondant." As a result, the expert explained, "Your cake absorbed all the slime."

As if this initial fail was not enough, things only went from bad to worse. The final contestant created an extraterrestrial that was so pale that it called to mind severe blood loss. And, apparently, the judges saw things similarly. Byer even blurted, "This is the most haunted-looking thing I've ever seen. Just the color you chose!" 

Sometimes, it can be amazing when two worlds collide. But, when "Nailed It!" contestants were challenged to make donut action figures in the likeness of their favorite "Umbrella Academy" characters, the results were not exactly magical. As per usual, the participants faced the typical challenge of decorating an elaborate dessert. But, this time, they were asked to make donuts — something that they had little practice with.

And so, it was not exactly shocking that the final creations were questionable as best. One of the contestants even lamented that her figurine's "neck, like, is a million miles long. He doesn't have a chin. This is, like, going to haunt people's dreams. They should not show this to children." Indeed, her action figure's proportions were completely off, with two stubby arms poking out from either side. What's worse, the character's neck was rounded at the bottom, making it seem like he was just back from a trip to the guillotine. Nicole Byer commented, "It's as if he's half giraffe."

The cringiest moment of the episode, though, happened when one of the bakers tried to make a replica of Emmy Raver-Lampman — the actress who plays Allison on "Umbrella Academy" — as she watched on in real time. The actress did not seem to hate the home cook's cake portrait of her, but she didn't seem to love it either, chuckling awkwardly when she finally had the chance to see it. 

Anything might sound romantic "à la francaise," but the French version of "Nailed It" will take you from "oh là là" to "uh oh" in about half a second. In season 1, episode 5 of "Nailed It: France," the contestants were asked to make cakes shaped like little love monsters. Instead, though, they just made monsters. 

The second contestant, in particular, struggled with the task of making a puffy pink creature with three chocolate eyes and tentacles clutching white hearts. Instead, she made a squished pile of pink frosting with two jelly bean "nostrils" pushed toward the front. In other words, she accidentally made a cake that looked more like a pig-shaped cushion than an adorable love monster.

And, that was not the scariest cake to haunt the episode. The third contestant made a cake hidden beneath an odd little pile of blue frosting — after sticking his fingers into the mix, licking them, and proceeding to dig them back into the batter and frosting alike. This strategy goes against just about any sanitary code that we have ever heard of, and French chef and show hostess, Noémie Honiat, agreed. The culinary expert chastised the aspiring baker for this major oversight, saying, that his "hygiene [was] off the charts." She went on to add, "There's plenty of kitchen utensils. And look, you are green all over [with frosting stains]." 

The idea of sinking your fork into a mouthwateringly soft apple cake might sound appealing. However, in season 3 episode 1 of "Nailed It," the idea of an apple cake was taken a bit more literally. The contestants were challenged to whip up a cupcake and balance decorated cookies on top –  and apples were not on the ingredients list.

Things started to get complicated when one of the contestants realized that his cupcakes were so under-baked that they could not support the weight of the superhero cookies. Short on time and desperate to make a good impression on the judges, the aspiring baker grabbed an apple, smothered it in purple buttercream, and placed the cookie on top. In other words, he pretended that his apple was, in fact, a cake, presenting the judges with a big deception. 

In the end, the participant's lie resulted in a major flop. The smooth surface of the apple wasn't textured enough to keep the buttercream in place, and when his enormous cookies were placed on top, their weight pulled everything down, revealing the fruit for all to see. Luckily, the judges were not too mad, although they were a bit baffled. Nicole Byer tried to see the positive side of things, telling the casual baker, "Well, I appreciate you not serving us an uncooked cupcake. That's great."