This question is the most common one we get. It’s certainly a valid question, but there’s no way to answer it without much more information. While we have base pricing in custom cakes, each order is an individual work of art created especially for you. So each cake will be a different price depending on how it is customized.
First, we need to know what kind of cake you want — round, square, tiered, 3D sculpture, individual desserts, etc. Then we need to know what flavors and options you want, and there are many! It can feel overwhelming, but we are here to help you through it. That’s why we have created an online order form to help you get started and help us understand your vision.
When you purchase a cake from Cakes ROCK!!!, you receive not only the cake itself and all its yummy deliciousness but also the hard work, expertise, and visual mastery of our cake artists. Every cake is made with care and attention to detail with your specific vision in mind. It’s like commissioning a beautiful bronze sculpture – except you get to eat it! The photographs and memories of the cake will last a lifetime.
If your dream cake isn’t in your budget, we will work with you to create a design and appropriate size that fits your budget. There are many techniques at our disposal, and we know how to apply them creatively to deliver a tasty, gorgeous cake. So give us your budget, and we will do our best to design your cake within it! However, some budgets won’t allow for a custom cake, and we understand if you need to choose another option.
We are custom-only and do not have any ready-to-go items in the bakery. However, we’ll occasionally have extra treats left over from other orders. In this case, we’ll post flash sales on social media, so follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see them first!
We usually need at least two weeks’ notice for custom cakes if possible. We will take on shorter notice orders if we are not completely booked up & still have the capacity available, but please keep in mind that we are a small boutique bakery, typically fully booked every week. We are not a giant online retailer and most likely cannot get your cake done in two days! We create incredible works of art that take lots of time and effort, and we cannot push aside cakes already on the schedule to take care of last-minute emergency cakes, as that is not fair to the clients who have booked ahead. We won’t compromise the quality of our cakes by rushing and not devoting the proper amount of time to creating the cake.
If you need a short-notice cake (under two weeks), please ask us about availability! If we can help you, we want to, and we certainly will if our schedule permits.
Our cakes start at 6-inch rounds that serve 12-16 guests, starting at $80 for simple buttercream or a minimum of $125 for themed decorated cakes. Once you get past the basic cake, size doesn’t matter with custom cakes. Depending on the design, the same size cake may take four or 40 hours to decorate. So smaller doesn’t necessarily mean less expensive, although the price for the number of servings will decrease in the standard cakes. In some cases, smaller is more challenging because the details are so tiny and more difficult to create and place. For this reason, there is a reasonable minimum size for us to work on to give the best result, and the prices start there, accordingly, regardless of the number of servings needed.
Don’t fear the leftover cake! Our cakes are baked fresh from scratch using the best ingredients, and they last for a week or more when refrigerated and sealed. For longer storage, our cakes freeze beautifully. If you want to freeze your cake, please ask us about the best methods. Many wedding couples keep their top tier for the one-year anniversary tradition and rave that their cake is just as delicious as it was on their wedding day! You can keep them for long periods and enjoy them on future occasions. (Or for breakfast. Or a midnight snack. There’s nothing wrong with that!)
Everybody says that! Our mission is to change that notion, one bite at a time! It’s usually just a perception, or their only experience has been with bakeries that used too much, didn’t know how to use it properly, or used the commercial fondants which aren’t too tasty. We make our own fondant from marshmallows and powdered sugar, then flavor it just like buttercream. It’s soft and delicious! And you get just as much buttercream in a fondant cake as a buttercream cake. There is still a lovely coat of buttercream icing on the outside of the cake, smoothed to perfection because fondant is like white stretchy pants — it shows EVERY flaw underneath!
Our cakes are tall with four layers of cake and three generous layers of buttercream and filling, so you get a perfect cake-to-buttercream and filling ratio in every bite! And with the way custom cakes are sliced, very few slices include the outside layer, so it’s even more important to make the inside awesome. The outside of the cake is nothing but skin and is only essential for the cake’s design. It doesn’t affect the inside or the taste at all.
For the truth about fondant (the wedding magazines and bloggers are often so off base it’s scary), please read my blog post at Confessions of a Baking Rockstar Blog!
Blog Post: “I’m Not A Fan of Fondant” and Why it Just DOESN’T Matter!
Yes! Cakes ROCK!!! believes that on any occasion where there is cake, there is love. And you will only find love here--for ALL. We seek to foster a climate of purposeful inclusion of all people regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin. We are a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community.
There are definite busy seasons in Austin due to the cycles of weddings and graduations. Those who aren't in the events industry wouldn't know how insanely busy it gets during certain times of the year. In Central Texas, our heavy wedding seasons are from mid-March to mid-June and from the end of September until mid-December. That's because it coincides with when the weather is the nicest! There are far fewer weddings during the extreme heat of the summer and the cold and unpredictable winter weather. The other CRAZY season is graduations, which also overlap with weddings in May and early June, which causes that particular time frame to be the busiest season of all. If you have birthdays, graduations, or other events during these times, it's best to contact us at least a month (or more is even better!) in advance.