Have a question for The Cakery? Before picking up the phone or dropping us an email, please browse the most commonly asked items below. If you can't find your answer below, please click here to contact us.

Basics

  1. What is the difference between tiers and layers?
    Tiers are different sizes or shapes of cakes stacked upon each other like a traditional wedding cake. Layers are pieces of cake stacked upon each other with a filling between like in a birthday cake. Wedding cakes are usually 3 layers each and then stacked in tiers upon each other.

  2. Do you ever make mistakes and what do you do about it?
    Of course we make mistakes, but, we try to correct them before you get your cake. Sometimes something is not right when you pick up your cake so we usually can fix it right at that time. Once the cake is taken home, there are issues as to how the cake got its problem and how to resolve it. We will fix any cake we make when we discover the problem. In some cases, we will have to redo the entire cake, but that doesn't happen very often. Usually the problems are small and can be fixed immediately. Remember to give yourself a little extra time when you pick up in case of an issue. We have nothing to gain by not having a happy customer.

  3. Why do you now ask for deposits on some cakes?
    In the past and even today, we have people order cakes and never show up for them. We were having more than one a week where this was happening and it costs us money. In most cases, the cakes were highly specialized and could not be sold through our store. We lost on the product, the labor and in some cases took that order and could not do someone else's order.

  4. I can get a cake cheaper at a major branded grocery store. Why?
    The major league stores have a lot more buying power than we do so they can buy their products cheaper than we can. They also do not necessarily need to make a profit in that department but they do need to have the bakery department to be full line. You want to buy where you feel comfortable and with what you can afford. Also, judge the quality of the product.

  5. What forms of payment do you accept?
    While Cash is always welcomed, we also accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and Checks with Drivers License. Unfortunately we do not accept American Express or Food Stamps at this time.

Custom Cakes

  1. How do I know that I will get what I want?
    We make every effort to give you what you want in the look of a cake. However, we, like all cake shops, can only do what we perceive you want by what you tell us. Also, decorating has limits and it is price sensitive. The more you want, the more it costs. Over half the cake price is usually labor cost to make and decorate the cake. If you want specifics, please give us specifics. If you say it is decorator's choice and we do something and then you don't like it we lose money and you don't like the cake, so please give us as much information as you can. If color is critical, we require that you bring a color swatch for us to match. We gain nothing by not giving you the cake you want.

  2. Why can't you make a cake with Mickey Mouse or some other TV character made out of icing or drawn on?
    Items like this are copyright protected and it is illegal for us to draw those items on a cake without permission of the owner. For instance, Mickey Mouse is owned by Walt Disney Company and cannot be used without their permission by a business where it would gain from the owner's work.

  3. How do I get something with copy written artwork on it?
    We use an edible image which is an edible paper that is ink jetted with the picture in food color. We purchase the rights to use these pictures from a licensor and cannot change the pictures that we use. We have a book that shows the artwork available. In some cases there are toys available, too.

  4. I watch Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes. Can you make cakes like they make?
    Yes and no. They are operating out of large workshops and we are a small shop. Ace of Cakes is Charm City Cakes in Baltimore and they only have a workshop, not a retail store. When we tell a person a cake will cost over $75.00, they get all excited. Cakes coming out of the workshops on TV start at over $1000.00 in many cases. We can do the work in a lot of the cases, but people do not want to pay what it costs. In a nutshell, it is a function of time and money. Our decorators have the talent and have won awards in the past, so most of the custom pieces we create are on a smaller scale.

  5. The people on TV use fondant. Does The Cakery use fondant and what is it?
    We do use fondant, but only when needed. It is a sugar product that can come in several forms. What you see on TV is usually rolled fondant which is like a sheet of play dough. Some people say it tastes good, but most don't. It tastes OK, but is not as good as our buttercream. It photographs well on TV, cuts clean, can be shaped and takes a lot of time to work with so it can be pricy. For the overall look, stay with the buttercream.

Weddings

  1. How early can we order a wedding cake and will you deliver to my location?
    We are booking weddings 2 years in advance. June is still the most popular along with times all the way up through October. Colleges usually graduate at least one time per year and it is around Memorial Day weekend. When college grads get out, they spend a week returning from school, a week to get ready for a wedding and then get married. Therefore, our busiest and earliest filled weekend usually is around the second or third weekend in June. This is also the busiest time for graduations from grade school through college and time and space is limited, so the best thing to do is to plan early.

    As far as location that we can deliver, it depends upon when the event is being held. Saturdays are the busiest. We have delivered to Columbus, northern Kentucky, Oxford around Miami University and Delphos northwest of Lima. As you can see, we have a wide delivery area, but it can only be done when the time is available. If we book a wedding that is far away (or other cake delivery), we restrict the total number of cakes and weddings we take on so that we can give those people we contracted with the service they want and deserve. Quality comes before quantity for us.

  2. We found a baker to do our wedding cake and she works out of her house. She is cheaper. Why?
    There are a lot of people who work from their home and do not have the overhead we have as a store. Many do a really fine job with their product. One of the things we offer that they can't is a fallback position. If there is a problem with the cake, or if the person gets sick or injured, your cake may not show up when you want it to. We have multiple skilled decorators and extra cake available if needed, so we can recover in case of an issue.

Locations & Staff

  1. When will you open a store in my town?
    It can be very expensive to open a new store. If we pick an area within our current marketing area, we are robbing from ourselves as we add expense and trade sales. We need to be in an area which will allow us to grow and recoup our outlay fairly quickly. It also takes a ton of time to put a business together and sometimes the energy is just not there.

  2. I saw a Cakery in Michigan. Are you one in the same?
    No. There is a Cakery in almost every state. We own the name in Ohio, only and, we are located in Dayton.

  3. What kind of traits do you look for when hiring a decorator?
    We look for several attributes. First they must be able to decorate reasonably well, so we ask the candidates to bring in or send us pictures of their work. Next, if the work looks pretty good, we ask them how long it took them to do the piece. If it is an extra long time to do the work, we may or may not want their talent since time is money and in this case the least amount of time to do the piece is better. In many cases a candidate will say it took them 2 hours to do a piece and we will say that is nice, but it needs to be done in 20 minutes to be viable.

    Since most decorators come out of culinary schools or learn at home, they don't usually consider time when doing a piece. In the retail world, they need to be good and fast. Finally, we look at personality as our decorators speak with our customers, brides and our other associates. Chemistry is highly important. A candidate can have all the talent in the world and may not be a viable candidate if they alienate everyone around them.