It was Dave’s birthday this weekend, so I got him something he’s been wanting for a long time now: a Costco cake. Now, you might be laughing thinking that there is no way that he’s actually been hoping for one, but you’d be so wrong. Every week for at least a month he’s been hinting or just out and out saying he wanted a cake from Costco for his birthday. So, I finally gave in and got him one. [ I should explain here that I wasn't hesitant because of the taste or quality but more the qunatity. That's a whole lot of cake to consume.]
Fresh from the Costco Bakery
We got him one of the generic sheet cakes that they put out for people like me that didn’t plan ahead to get a giant cake. We went with the chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, and chocolate mousse filling. It had some pretty flowers on it and a nice design but let’s face it, all that chocolate was the real draw. So, finally, after all this time of hearing from everyone how great the Costco bakery cakes are, we finally got to judge for ourselves. Turns out no one was fibbing even a little bit when they gushed about the yummy cakes at Costco.
The cake itself is moist and has a nice flavor that is chocolaty but not too sweet. I’m amazed at the moistness of the cake because usually when you buy a cake at the grocery store, or even some bakeries, they’re more on the dry side or totally Sahara-like. And then there’s the frosting: delicious! I’m not even a frosting person and I thought that it was great. It was light and fluffy with a great taste and most importantly not so sweet you have a headache after eating it. Really, that sickeningly, cloying, over-sweet frosting that most places put on their cakes it just completely uncalled for. Don’t they taste it and realize that it is horrible? The other thing it didn’t have that a lot of commercial bakeries seem to have problems with is that greasy, slick frosting; you know, it feels like you’ve eaten some Vaseline with your cake instead of frosting.
Look at all that filling!
Lastly, but not least for sure, there’s the delicious filling that you’ll find between the layers of your moist Costco cake. It’s not just a thin little layer that you can barely see, it’s a big thick layer (like 1/2 an inch at least) of this light and yummy chocolate mousse. Costco says that they put an amazing 2 pounds of filling in each cake! It’s such a better filling than frosting too because it adds another texture and taste to the cake, which of course just makes it that much better.
So, all in all, I must say that this was a great cake. It’s even better if you realize that it is only $16.99 and can feed a bunch of people. Depending on the size of your slices, I think you could get some place between 30 to 60 pieces out of one of these cakes. That would be $0.56 to $0.28 per serving. The official word from Costco is that there are 48 servings; that would be $0.35 per serving. So, with that many servings, you might be wondering what the heck we did with all that cake. Well, we didn’t eat it all. We cut a few pieces off it and then put the rest in the freezer. We ended up cutting it all and then freezing it like that so it would be good and frozen before we wrapped up the individual pieces and put them in a Ziploc bag so that we can pull out a piece or two at a time. I’ve heard that the cake maintains its moist and delicious taste even after freezing, so I’m expecting good results from the freezing. I imagine that it is like the Costco cupcakes (so good) that we froze and still thought were outstanding when we thawed them out.
Costco Bakery order form
If you would like to order your own cake, it seems pretty easy. They have a form that you can fill out at your local Costco and a box to drop it in. Unfortunately, the Costco website doesn’t have much information regarding their bakery but they do have some images of designs that they put on cakes. Also, strangely, they do not have the form online so that you could download it and fill it out to take with you or to fax them. In any case, I’ve attached it (and hopefully you’ll be able to print it out and use it) to make it a little easier when you want to order one of these wonderful cakes for your next celebration. The most amazing thing on the form is that they would appreciate 1-day advanced notice. Does that really mean you can get a cake in less than a day? In any case, they have a variety of selections and combinations you can make from the flavors and decorations. You should really get one of these next time you need a cake for a party.
1
Kenny //
2013.04.16 at 1:45 pm
Go costco!!!
2
Gary M Kodish //
2013.03.31 at 1:32 pm
Hi:
Does cosco’s make first communion cakes?
3
Lora //
2013.04.23 at 10:36 pm
Yes they do Gary, in fact I will be ordering one tomorrow for my Godson’s Communion. The cakes are fabulous and beautifully decorated.
4
Sam Jones //
2012.12.20 at 1:53 pm
We need to start a petition to bring back the filled cakes with whipped toppings. That is what made Costco cakes great.
5
Amanda //
2012.07.31 at 12:42 pm
I went to Costco and they are unable to customize the cake to fit my needs
I’m bummed. Was looking forward to trying their cake for my shower. I went with a 2 tier Wedding Cake from Wal-Mart for my baby shower. It’s gorgeous! Costed only $50… much better than the price quotes from bakery shops I received ($150-210).
6
Amanda //
2012.07.03 at 10:10 pm
I have a baby shower coming up in a month and am wondering if I can get a pink colored sheet cake with brown polka dots from the Costco Bakery. Nothing fancy by any means, but I do want it to have some “life” and not be a plain white or brown sheet cake. Any input? Thank you so much!
7
Teri //
2012.07.29 at 1:41 pm
Costco will decorate it any way you want it. I would suggest creating the design in MS Word with the colors you want and attaching it to the order form. They will also put a custom image on the cake if you bring one already made. There are some websites that will do this as well as getting them on Ebay. You can also search for a design in Google images to get some ideas. Hope this helps and not too late. By the way, Costco needs at least 24 hours advance notice. Teri
8
Kimberly //
2012.07.29 at 2:48 pm
Teri do you work at a Costco Bakery? Because what you are saying is completely contrary to everything I’ve ever heard from people that work at Costco. They say that they will not do custom designs at all.
9
AZ Cake Decorator //
2012.07.29 at 4:49 pm
Hi Teri,
I really appreciate your help regarding our cakes but I’ve been a Costco decorator for almost 10 years and unfortunately I do need to correct some information before people go through any trouble or come to us with a misunderstanding.
Unfortunately, Costco is pretty strict with what designs they will let us do. Because of the amount of product we are expected to produce in a short amount of time, we are only allowed to spend at most 5 minutes on each cake, which is why our selection of designs is somewhat limited, and the designs themselves are relatively simple. We can, however, customize the colors to whatever the member wants. (For example: brown and green baby shower decorations, or a pink and purple dinosaur.) This is about as far as customization can go though.
Most bakery managers do not allow us to use a design that is not our own, mostly for copyright purposes, but also because Costco wants people to recognize our cakes at parties based on the quality, and being able to recognize a certain design we do.
Unfortunately we do not have the equipment to transfer a design brought in onto a cake, and we are not allowed to bring anything in the department from outside the warehouse and put them on our products for health code reasons. All of our designs are hand drawn, and like I said earlier, must take us less than 5 minutes to complete. Not only are decorators responsible for sheet cakes, but we are also in charge of red velvet cakes, red velvet cupcakes, tuxedo mousse cakes, carrot cakes, all american cakes, cheesecakes, and many other items, so we spend a very short portion of our shift working on sheet cakes, which is why we keep it so simple.
I’m sorry if someone misled you or provided false info about our policies but I hope I cleared it up. Thanks again for supporting us and our delicious cakes
10
Kelley //
2013.04.04 at 11:12 pm
Hi AZ Cake Decorator,
My friend and I have a bet and I’m hoping you can help. Do you know if/when/and how long Costco offered whipped cream frosting on their sheet cakes. I say they never offered it and if they did it was for a very short time. My friend claims they offered it for a long time and just within the last few years discontinued it. Can you please help settle the disagreement? Thanks.
11
Theresa //
2012.05.21 at 9:36 pm
What experience is required to become a cake decorator at Costco?
12
Kiera //
2012.04.02 at 4:10 pm
I bought a carrot cake on Sat the 31st that was marked to be sold by the 2nd. Was wondering if it will still be good on Sunday the 8th? Should I and can I freeze it until then?
13
Sharon //
2012.02.20 at 10:44 am
Kendall–all the decorations on the cakes are frosting.
14
Bernadette //
2012.02.19 at 4:42 am
Bought a Costco tuxedo mousse cake Halloween 2010, just noticed it was back today February 2012, so of course I bought one. (Not sure if i missed it last year or if it was simply not made, doesn’t matter.)
My four year old exclaimed to Daddy how it is the best cake ever. Does anyone know what the individual layers are? Chocolate cake, obvious, but what are those fantastic fillings and the frosting on top?
Anyone?
15
Kendall //
2012.02.17 at 7:12 pm
Does anyone know if the balloons on the balloon cake are made with frosting or plastic? Someone ordered a decorated one when I really need a plain one to decorate. It’s too late to make a change.
16
Grigoris //
2012.01.10 at 10:16 am
I love these cakes! its tradition for us to order one for every one of our birthdays! so tasty!
what size are they does any one know? I found some star wars icing and it would be nice to purchase to eat with the cake..
17
Randy //
2011.12.31 at 11:35 am
If you think the generic cakes you buy without ordering are good, order one special and pick it up early in the day. In almost all cases, the cake was still warm when I got it.
18
Heather //
2011.12.29 at 2:17 pm
Former Teacher and now Stay at Home Mom and Wife…I LOVE LOVE LOVE Costco cakes and cupcakes! I used to tell my students to bring in Costco cakes or cupcakes for birthdays, I also used to by a sheet cake for my students at the end of the year. Now, as a Mom, I get their cakes for my boys parties.
I love to bake, but sometimes there is just too much to do, so Costco is a great option!
19
marie //
2011.12.12 at 9:35 pm
what about refrigeration for the sheet cakes? I am having a party for 3 hours and wonder how soon i could set out the cake. Would it be ok to put it out 2 hours ahead as the refrigerator space is limited?
20
Kimberly //
2011.12.13 at 9:52 am
@Marie – I’ll be honest, I’ve left my sheet cakes from Costco out on my countertop for at least 24 hours without a change in their tastiness. I didn’t have fridge space to keep the whole cake in there, so I left it out and it was fine. Really tasty, as usual.
21
Julie Claflin //
2011.12.03 at 1:10 am
Was at Costco in Coon Rapids, MN today looking for the apricot mousse carrot cake. Was told that as of January, corporate has done away with the apricot and strawberry mousse filling and will not be doing them anymore. They did have vanilla mousse filling with white and chocolate cake but heart was set on apricot. Oh well. All good things come to an end too soon. I could see this ending if there was no call for it but that doesn’t seem to be the case according to what I am reading here.
22
Nikki //
2011.11.13 at 11:48 am
Is the delicious Costco cupcakes returning? I noticed cupcakes at the bakery section last week? Any Costco cake decorators have any inside news?
I love Costco cakes, muffins, and pastries. I hope the cupcakes return. Our office staff looked forward to cupcakes during office holiday parties.
Costco cake decorators you rock and are the best!
23 Happy Fourth Anniversary, AddictedToCostco! | Addicted To Costco! // 2011.11.09 at 6:25 am
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24
Robin from Orlando //
2011.10.23 at 12:51 am
I’ve seen two types of GF Cracker/chip but I haven’t noticed any GF baked goods.
25
Jackie //
2011.10.22 at 4:36 pm
Does costco offer any gluten free cake or bakery items?
26
Kimberly //
2011.10.25 at 6:08 am
@Jackie – I don’t know that they make any gluten free bakery items. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t carry someone else’s products that are free of gluten. But that would definitely depend on the individual stores, I’m sure.
27
isabella //
2011.10.02 at 8:57 am
I read this forum. Thank you costco decorators for the information.
Kimberly or anyone can please post updated costco cake designs. Costco cake decorators you are the best- the cakes, muffins, cookies and pastries are the best. Looking forward to the costco pumpkin pie.
28
Hmmm //
2011.09.21 at 5:58 pm
Brian…gotta say it. Costco is a wholesale bulk supplier. Of course they only sell 1/2 sheet cakes. They only sell 4.5lb round cakes and huge cheesecakes and pies. That is what they do.
29
Amazed //
2011.08.07 at 11:27 am
Brian, I understand what you’re saying about not wanting to waste part of your purchase by giving it away. But, think of it like this: if you bought a 1/4 sheet cake at a grocery store, you’d pay about the same as if you buy a 1/2 sheet cake at Costco. So, at Costco you’re getting WAY more than you paid for. Go ahead and let others at work enjoy the leftovers and they’ll appreciate you! Or, just freeze the leftovers and eat it yourself.
30
Leslie //
2011.07.29 at 12:19 pm
I’m afraid that Costco cakes USED to be delicious…. unfortunately I tried one yesterday, and it was awful. Incredibly dry & dense, with sickeningly sweet frosting. It was the white cake with vanilla filling. I was really disappointed. I think they changed their recipe – now it tastes like every other grocery store cake. Safeway makes a far better cake, in fact. It’s a lighter texture, and they offer the option of whipped cream frosting, which I love. It’s worth paying more.
What happened, Costco???