Between birthdays, graduations, and holidays, there are quite a few special occasions throughout the year that call for a custom cake. While you can find a local bakery or pastry chef for all your dessert needs, you don’t want to miss out on the affordable yet totally customizable cakes available at your local Kroger. In fact, Kroger cakes aren’t a hidden gem anymore. They’re pretty popular for their low prices, high level of customization, and fairly fast turnaround time. If you have a celebration coming up, here are some Kroger cake tips to keep in mind when you place your order.
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Order in Advance for Maximum Customization
Kroger doesn’t take long to get custom cakes in the pipeline, but they do ask for at least 48 hours notice. You can place your order in person at any Kroger bakery, but it’s more convenient to order online. Head to the Kroger website, choose your store, and find the bakery section. There, you can view all of the possible options and customizations. This is a huge advantage compared to Costco cakes, which are only available to order in person. Kroger’s bakery will contact you after a couple of days, when it’s time to pick up your custom cake.
Customize Your Cake and Icing Flavors
When you use the online order form, you’ll notice that custom cakes come in four flavors: white, chocolate, yellow, and marble. Then you can choose from five different types of frosting: buttercream, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and cookies n’ cream. The baker will spread a generous layer of frosting on top of the cake, and pipe some ribbons along the top and bottom borders—in colors of your choosing.
Choose From Different Shapes and Sizes
When you order a custom cake, you can choose from two shapes—round and rectangular. The round cake comes in one size. It’s 8 inches, has two layers of cake, and feeds up to 12 people. The rectangular cakes come in half sheet and full sheet sizes, which feed up to 30 and 60 people, respectively. The smaller round cake is the cheapest overall, but the larger sheet cake is the cheapest per serving.
Try Fun Themes
Some custom cakes are pretty plain. A white cake with “Happy Birthday” written in red icing gets the job done, but Kroger cakes can be more exciting than that. Ask to see the “Celebrations” cakes (or look at them online), and prepare to have your mind blown. The catalog includes more than 100 options, including cartoon characters, sports, mermaids, animals, and more. Many of the choices are intended for children, but Kroger has options for all ages.
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Opt for a Cupcake Cake
Can’t decide between cake and cupcakes? Do both! Kroger’s bakery can whip up a batch of cupcakes—your choice of flavor and theme, of course—and arrange them in a way that resembles a cake. The cupcakes are usually arranged in the shape of your choosing, such as a number or letter, before they’re frosted. Once the baker adds frosting, the cupcakes give the illusion of one large cake. The best part is that you’ll still get the convenience of cupcakes with a unique design. This is a popular choice for monument birthdays, such as a baby’s first birthday.
Purchase Premade Cakes If You’re in a Time Crunch
Need a last minute cake? It won’t be custom, but you can get a Kroger cake even if you don’t have 48 hours to plan ahead. The bakery displays an assortment of available cakes each day, so you should have at least a few to choose from. And if you ask nicely, the baker will probably add some custom writing or simple decorations, so the cake will look custom even if it isn’t.
Add Ice Cream to the Mix
The only thing better than cake is ice cream cake—if you’re an ice cream lover, that is. Kroger sells Carvel ice cream cakes in multiple sizes. Since they’re not custom made, you may be able to score one last minute at your local Kroger, though they’re also available to pre-order online. Carvel ice cream cakes have a mostly clean white canvas, so you can ask the baker to add writing or something simple, like some balloons or roses.
Buy a Graduation Cake
Graduation cakes are so common that they get their own category at Kroger’s bakery. There are more than 40 graduation cake designs to choose from, including kindergarten graduation, college graduation, army graduation, and more. Each one has a unique theme and many have special elements like toppers, which is sure to make your grad feel celebrated.
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Pick a Dessert Cake
If you’re looking for something a bit more sophisticated than a simple vanilla sheet cake, Kroger’s bakery has a collection of dessert cakes. These are great for parties that don’t have just one guest of honor, such as an office party or holiday party. This collection has flavors that aren’t available on the Create Your Own Cake order form. Chantilly cakes, cookie cakes, or raspberry-filled cakes with cream cheese frosting are just a few gems offered in this section.
