All About Custom Cake Ordering

So you’re thinking about ordering a decorated cake from us!

Below is information about how to do this. We have tried to make it as easy as possible! The best way to place an order is through the website.

Why?

Because then we’ll have your order – and especially the Special Instructions – in your own words, not ours, so we can be sure to prepare the cake exactly the way you want it. Because then we’ll have your order in our system and we’ll be able to look it up in the future if you or a friend want to order the same thing.

What if I hate computers or don’t want to deal with ordering through the website?

Then feel free to email your order to Jenny at jenny@jennycakesbakery.net and she will place it through the website for you, or come into the bakery and we’ll place the order on our computer for you. Just promise us that you’ll look at the emailed confirmation to be sure we got everything right. If we didn’t, please email Jenny or call us at 240 388 9989.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ORDERING CUSTOM CAKES

Go to jennycakesbakery.net.
Click on Menu and Order
Click on Cakes
Click on the cake flavor you would like.
Most people order under the first category called All-Classic Yellow or Chocolate Cakes. Be sure to check out that category because there are things like chocolate chip cookie dough filling buried in there! But don’t forget to scroll down through the rest of the flavors like Red Velvet, Cookies and Cream, Just Vegan, Vegan and Gluten-Free.
Select from the various dropdowns, such as size (which includes info on how many people each size serves).
Scroll down a bit further and, if you’d like a message or have special instructions, fill in those sections.
Click on Add to Cart. Cart will appear on right-hand side of your screen.
Click on Place Order.
Add your contact information.
Scroll down a bit further and click on the date and time you would like to pick up your order.
Click on Place Order one last time. You will receive an emailed confirmation. If you don’t see it right away, be sure to check your spam folder. Thanks!

You’re done! The price on the confirmation will reflect just the base price and will not reflect the extra charges for decorating or special fillings (salted caramel and ganache) or tiered cakes.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How much advance notice do I need for a custom cake?

Almost always, a week’s notice is enough. But sometimes we can prepare a cake with less notice. It just depends on how busy the week is.

When can I pick up my cake?

As part of the checkout process, you will pick the date and time of pick up and we’ll be sure your cake is ready for you by then.

Closed on Sundays and Mondays – If your event is on a Sunday or a Monday, you should plan to pick up your cake on Saturday and keep it refrigerated or in a chilly room. A few hours before your event, take it out and bring it to room temperature. We promise it will taste just as good and look just as pretty when you serve it.

What size cake should I get?

Under each cake flavor, there is a size dropdown that will show you the available sizes and how many people each one serves. Here’s a summary though:
4″ rounds serves 2-3
6″ round serves up to 10
9″ round serves up to 22
¼ sheet serves up to 22
12″ round serves up to 50
½ sheet serves up to 50

Can I add a message?

Yes, on most cakes. Type your message in the space called “Message on Cake” found below the various dropdowns for your order.

The following cakes are hard to add a message to: any cake frosted with whipped cream (strawberry shortcake, cassata cake) or a glaze (glazed lemon cake) or chocolate ganache (flourless chocolate cake, Boston cream cake).

What if I’d like a special design on my cake?

*** IMPORTANT: We only decorate with buttercream and do not decorate with fondant because we are not fans of the way fondant tastes. So we can only do FLAT designs and we cannot do designs with 3D elements. ***

If you would like a special design…

FIRST, check out the many, many photos of cakes we’ve done under the Photos tab on our website.

To search in a general category (like Children’s Birthday Cakes or All Things Baby), click on that category at the top of the Photos page and scroll through.

To search for cakes with specific themes, type into the search line at the top of the page a word or phrase to search, such as “elephant” or “fire truck”, and all of the cakes with designs related to those words will come up.

If you see something you like on the Photos page, under Special Instructions mention the image number and any modifications you’d like us to make to it.

SECOND, if you do not see something you like among our photos, you can send an image you like or the link to an image to Jenny at jenny@jennycakesbakery.net and she will let you know if it’s something we can do.

THIRD, once you decide on a design, as you place your order, under Special Instructions mention the number of the image you liked under the Photos tab (and any modifications), or refer to the image you emailed me, or generally describe how you would like the cake to be decorated.

Things to keep in mind when selecting a special design:

The size of the cake you plan to order so you can be sure to pick a design that will fit on a cake that size.
We do not have any figurines, toys, toppers or candy generally on hand at the bakery, but if you drop them off, we are happy to incorporate them into the design.
We do not have an arrangement with a florist but if you would like flowers on your cake, feel free to bring them in and we’ll place them on the cake for you.
The following cakes are hard to add a design to: any cake frosted with whipped cream (strawberry shortcake, cassata cake) or a glaze (glazed lemon cake), chocolate ganache (flourless chocolate cake, Boston cream cake) or vanilla vegan frosting (frosting is finicky and designs tend to sink into the frosting and spread).
Cookies and cream cakes: if you’d like a design, we usually use cookies and cream frosting (which is grey and speckled) between the layers but plain cream cheese frosting (the base for our cookies and cream frosting) on the outside so the design will show up better.
Italian cream cakes: if you’d like a design, we usually use Italian cream frosting (which has toasted pecans stirred in) between the layers but plain cream cheese frosting (the base for our Italian cream frosting) on the outside so the design will show up better. We can always add a border of toasted pecans around the bottom of the cake though.

How much will my cake cost?

When you click on a particular size in one of the flavor categories, the base price for the cake will appear at the bottom of the page. The base price includes pretty borders and a message.

A few things will increase the price of your cake:

Ordering chocolate ganache filling, or raspberry buttercream or salted caramel filling/frosting on a yellow or chocolate cake ($5 additional charge for a 6”, 9” and ¼ sheet, or a $10 additional charge for a 12” or ½ sheet)
Adding a design to your cake. Min. decorating fee for 6” round is $8, min. decorating fee for a 9” round or ¼ sheet is $10, min. decorating fee for a 12” or ½ sheet is $15.

Jenny will decide on the decorating fee after she knows the size of the cake and the decorating requested. Sometime during the week your order is due, she will email you with the price for your cake, inclusive of the decorating, to be sure you are OK with the price. But if you’d like to know the full price further in advance, feel free to email Jenny directly.

Why is price on confirmation different from price Jenny quoted me?

The price shown on the confirmation is just the base price and does not include any special pricing for decorating, fillings, assembly of tiered cakes, etc.

Do you make first birthday cakes or smash cakes?

Yes! Usually people order a larger cake with a design theme on it and then a 4” yellow or chocolate cake (under All Classic Yellow or Chocolate) as the smash cake. To see Photos of big and small first birthday cakes, go to Photos, then to the category called All Things Baby. Since the smash cake is so tiny, we usually add borders/decorative accents in colors matching the bigger cake and then put a “1” on top.

Do you make gender reveal cakes and/or cupcakes?

Yes! Usually our customers order a cake under All Classic Yellow or Chocolate and we color the buttercream in between the layers pink or blue. Since we make a yellow cake instead of a white cake, it is hard to color the cake itself. There are some gender reveal designs under the Photos tab. To see them, search “gender reveal.” We are also happy to do gender reveal cupcakes by adding pink or blue filling to the cupcake. We usually charge an extra $7 to do this.

Can I order a third layer for my cake?

Yes! Most of our cakes, including the sheet cakes, have 2 layers. But we are happy to add a third layer. Price for a third layer for our basic flavors is $8 for a 6”, $11 for a 9” and $20 for a 12”. Price for a third layer for our specialty flavors is $10 for a 6”, $14 for a 9” and $24 for a 12”.

Can I order tiered cakes?

Yes! We can do tiered cakes up to 4 tiers. The available sizes are 4” round (serves 2-3), 6” round (serves up to 10), 9” round (serves up to 22) and 12” round (serves up to 50). To order the cake through the website, order each tier as a separate cake but mention under Special Instructions that it’s part of a tiered cake.

The price for tiered cakes is the base price for each of the tiers/cakes, plus $25 for assembly of a 2-tier, $35 for assembly of a 3-tier or $40 for assembly of a 4-tier, plus any decorating charges.

Can I add an edible image to my cake?

Yes! Because we do not have an edible image machine, we usually refer people to the Little Bitts Shop in Wheaton (phone number is 301-807-6368 and address is 11244 Triangle Lane, Wheaton, Md 20902).

Place your order through the website but mention that you’ll be getting an edible image. Once you pick up your edible image you can drop it off at the bakery a couple days before your order is due or bring it with you when you pick up your cake. Just be sure to tell the folks at Little Bitts the size of the cake you’re ordering.

Do you make vegan cakes?

Yes! After clicking on Cakes, scroll alphabetically down to “Just Vegan Cake/Cupcake” and choose from the dropdowns.

Do you make gluten-free cakes?

Yes! After clicking on Cakes, select the first category called “All Classic Yellow or Chocolate (Includes Gluten Free Option)” and select from the dropdowns. Be sure to pick “Gluten Free” under “Type”.

Do you make cakes that are BOTH vegan and gluten-free?

Yes! After clicking on Cakes, scroll alphabetically down to the bottom of the page to the category called “Vegan and Gluten Free Cake/Cupcake” and select from the dropdowns.

Do you make sugar-free cakes?

No, we unfortunately do not carry sugar-free cakes at this point.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ORDERING WEDDING CAKES

Below is some general information about ordering wedding cakes from us. We are pretty informal and do not do formal tastings. Usually, people roughly follow this process for ordering a wedding cake.

Cake and Frosting Flavors

You can find cake and frosting flavors we offer if you go to jennycakesbakery.net, click on Menu and Order tab, then click on Cakes. Most people order under the first category called All-Classic Yellow or Chocolate Cakes. Be sure to check out that category because there are things like chocolate chip cookie dough filling buried in there! But don’t forget to scroll down through the rest of the flavors like Red Velvet, Cookies and Cream, Just Vegan, Vegan and Gluten-Free, and more.

For tiered cakes, keep in mind that you can do different flavors for different tiers. For example, you can do

a 6” yellow with lemon zest cake with strawberry buttercream in the middle on top of a
9” chocolate cake (feeds up to 22) with mocha buttercream in the middle on top of a
12” yellow cake (feeds up to 50) with chocolate buttercream in the middle
all frosted on the outside with white buttercream so the cake looks uniform.

Once you’ve glanced at the flavors, you might want to come into the bakery and buy a few cupcakes in the flavors you want to try to make sure you like how they taste.

Size

For tiered cakes, we offer four sizes:

4” round (feeds up to 3)
6” round (serves up to 10)
9” round (serves up to 22)
12” round (serves up to 50)

You can do whatever combination of these you would like, but we don’t recommend doing two sizes that are very different from each other, like a 4” on a 9”, or a 6” on a 12” because they tend to look weird. Our biggest cake (4” on 6” on 9” on 12”) serves up to 85 people. If you are serving more than 85 people, then you can always supplement with ¼ sheets (each serves up to 22) or ½ sheets (each serves up to 50).

Decorating

To see wedding cakes we have prepared in the past, go to the website, click on the Photos tab, then click on the category at the top of the page called Wedding and Shower Cakes.

If you don’t see a wedding cake design on our website that you like, feel free to send a design you’ve found on the internet to me at jenny@jennycakesbakery.net and I’ll let you know if it’s something we can do. Just keep in mind that we decorate only with buttercream (made with real butter), so we can only do flat designs that don’t involve such detailed work that it can’t be captured with buttercream.

Usually the discussion about the decorating and flavors is done with me by email. Because things get hectic at the bakery, I find email works best for figuring out a wedding cake. But if you do come in, we’d be happy to talk to you. Any of my staff should be able to answer most questions about a wedding cake.

Pricing

The price for the cake will be the base price of the cake (and remember each tier is considered a separate cake), plus the price for assembling a tiered cake ($25 for a 2-tier, $35 for a 3-tier, and $40 for a 4-tier), plus the price for decorating. For example, the price for a 3-tier with the D20 piping design on it would be

$25 (base price for basic flavors) for the 6” tier
$35 (base price for basic flavors) for the 9” tier
$60 (base price for basic flavors) for the 12” tier
$35 for assembly as a 3-tier
$50 for decorating, the piping work on the outside
Total: $205

How to Order

Once the flavors and design have been decided, the customer places the cake order through the website so that I have all of your information in one place and in your words and we can be sure to prepare the cake exactly the way you want it. Below are some basic instructions for ordering through the website. If you plan to order a tiered cake, just order each tier as a separate cake but under Special Instructions mention that it’s part of a tiered cake.

Go to jennycakesbakery.net.
Click on Menu and Order
Click on Cakes
Click on the cake flavor you would like.
Select from the various dropdowns, such as size (which includes info on how many people each size serves).
Scroll down a bit further and add any Special Instructions about decorating, that it’s a tiered cake and anything else.
Click on Add to Cart. Cart will appear on right-hand side of your screen.
Click on Place Order.
Add your contact information.
Scroll down a bit further and click on the date and time you would like to pick up your order.
Click on Place Order one last time. You will receive an emailed confirmation. If you don’t see it right away, be sure to check your spam folder. The price on the confirmation will reflect just the base price and will not reflect the extra charges for decorating or special fillings (salted caramel and ganache) or tiered cakes.

A Few Last Things to Keep in Mind

We don’t have an arrangement with a florist so usually people bring the flowers to us and we put them on the cake or someone puts them on at the venue. We don’t generally carry cake toppers. We generally don’t deliver but if the reception is fairly close we can usually find a way to deliver the cake to you.