Official DISNEY Cake Chatter Thread - Part II

[natter]

I'm trying to put together a couple of cake ideas, we will be celebrating 2 birthdays and our FIRST visit. We would love to try something with the bavarian cream w/ strawberries filling but unsure what cake flavor would pair nicely. I have a couple favorite flavors in mind vanilla, chocolate, or red velvet. There are so many combos but could you give me your ideas or experiences with any of these.

TIA

 

[shmoooey]

Price: $40 (around $56 with taxes and delivery charges)
Date Received: 3-29-2012
Location: Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village
Cake info - Zebra Cake
Anything else special about that particular cake: Extreme level of deliciousness

I had to share the picture, since I couldn't find any of this cake and decided to get one anyway. The outside was covered with white chocolate ganache, just like the outside of the zebra dome. The inside had some delicious mousse filling and the cake was moist and delicious. There were great big chocolate curls around the bottom of the cake, and the writing was done in chocolate, not icing.

 

[lurkyloo]

I am trying to get a cake for my 2 DD's bdays Sept 16 at CRT, I did get one email from them but then I emailed back another question and no response.
I am tring to decide what cake to ge

You still have plenty of time yet. I'd try getting in touch with them closer to your trip. Which cakes are you deciding between?

I'm trying to put together a couple of cake ideas, we will be celebrating 2 birthdays and our FIRST visit. We would love to try something with the bavarian cream w/ strawberries filling but unsure what cake flavor would pair nicely. I have a couple favorite flavors in mind vanilla, chocolate, or red velvet. There are so many combos but could you give me your ideas or experiences with any of these.

TIA

People seem to like the bavarian cream + strawberries combo with vanilla cake. To me, red velvet really only works with cream cheese frosting—otherwise it's just a really weak chocolate cake. And I've never been that knocked out by Disney' chocolate cake in any flavor combo.

I had to share the picture, since I couldn't find any of this cake and decided to get one anyway.

Adorable!

 

[BearcatsFan]

Someone earlier had wanted me to post about my inquiry on the sugar-free/no-sugar-added anniversary cake and what I was able to get.

I spoke with Erin today at POR. She said it took a while for them to get back to me because they weren't sure which manufacturer BW bakery was going to be using for the SF/NSA cake mixes. Now that the decision has been made, here's what my options were:

Cake Flavor: Vanilla or Chocolate
Cake Size: 10"
Icing: Buttercream
Price: $54 (includes inscription)

They can't put a chocolate decoration on it because those are sugar-based, but they could put plastic decorations on it for an additional $10 (which I declined).

Hope this helps someone else diabetic or someone looking for a SF/NSA option for themselves. I will post pictures after our trip.

 

[twinkles]

I was wondering if 2 weeks notice is enough to do a pirates of the Caribbean theme fondant cake that's featured in the cake gallery?

 

[ramsfootball92]

OK- clearly I have some time before our next trip, but I'm trying to drum up some cake design inspiration. I had a cake made for DD5's bday (I think it's on pg 197 of the thread) and I need to come up with something equally awesome for DD3's 4th bday. I can handle the design part, since I do cakes on the side and love that aspect, but I'm leaning towards a Minnie theme since they don't offer white chocolate toppers in any of her fave princesses (i.e. no Ariel or Jasmine ). When we did Belle for my older one's cake, I just had her edged in gold, but Minnie is more whimsical so I'm debating about having her painted. Any thoughts on this? Anyone regret getting or not getting the white chocolate figures painted?

Also, I'm big into less common flavors. Obviously, I can only work with the options on the list, but has anyone had any flavors they wished they didn't order? We tried red velvet with passion fruit mousse over the summer and really enjoyed it (even if they weren't the best combo). We can't do anything with nuts (i.e. no carrot cake or almond cake, and nothing peanut butter), but anyone have any bad experiences with any of the other flavors out there. The blackberry mousse, amaretto mousse, Bailey's mousse are all things that really have me curious. In any event, any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I ordered a 10 inch strawberry cake with buttercream icing from Animal Kingdom Lodge to be delivered at Sanaa 3/2. A few fellow dis gurus cautioned against it but I was so excited to be celebrating my daughter's 13 birthday...NEVER AGAIN!!!

The taste was wet cardboard. A very odd texture, middle of the layers were dry but around the icing, a watery substance would ooze out. Bleh! I will try to post a pic in the next few days.

 

[ramsfootball92]

I actually had a chance to upload the pics sooner rather than later I will start by saying that the sous chef that I spoke with at Animal Kingdom Lodge was extremely nice. She would do the decorating but someone else would actually bake the cake. I sent about 10 different examples of what I wanted and she seemed really excited. Since they were not able to create a 3D version on Jack, I opted to buy a figurine and have it shipped to them. Below is my breakdown as quoted for a 10 inch cake which was our only option as they do not offer 8 inch:

• 
  cake $45
  fondant $65
  decoration (not including my figurine which was an additional $35) $30
  cake flavor $15

I talked it over with my hubby and we justified it by saying that we would snack on the cake for our entire trip. This was a very special girl's only trip with her best friend and horseback riding instructor joining us to celebrate. I was so excited and had worked for over a month to ensure it would take place without a hitch.

Let me say that for the price I was very disappointed with the decorations. Perhaps I have been spoiled by CakeMan Bri Lesson learned, I should have instructed as to exactly what I wanted and not left it up to chance. Really the examples were pretty elaborate. Again, for $155 I would expect elaborate. Below is what we received (keep in mind that I supplied Jack and Zero).

As you can see, my daughter was thrilled so I'm thinking, not that big of a deal. I rolled with it...

Then we cut is and passed out pieces for the 6 of us at the table.

My initial thought was, this is really bad but I didn't want to put a damper on the evening. The picture doesn't really show the major issue, texture. Seriously, there wasn't a hint of strawberry and it was how one could imagine wet cardboard would taste. When we were getting up to leave I notice that no one touched the cake after eating a bite or two. My 7 year old neice said in a whisper, "Mimi, the cake really isn't very good and I love cake".

It took a few phone calls but we were offered a refund. I told the manager that if she could find someone that could eat one piece, I would gladly pay for it. Really, it was that bad. They took the cake to 'dissect it' (her words not mine) and look at it as learning opportunity. We were provided a zebra cake as a consolation which was very nice gesture.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Let me say that for the price I was very disappointed with the decorations. Perhaps I have been spoiled by CakeMan Bri Lesson learned, I should have instructed as to exactly what I wanted and not left it up to chance. Really the examples were pretty elaborate. Again, for $155 I would expect elaborate. Below is what we received (keep in mind that I supplied Jack and Zero).

As you can see, my daughter was thrilled so I'm thinking, not that big of a deal. I rolled with it...

Then we cut is and passed out pieces for the 6 of us at the table.

My initial thought was, this is really bad but I didn't want to put a damper on the evening. The picture doesn't really show the major issue, texture. Seriously, there wasn't a hint of strawberry and it was how one could imagine wet cardboard would taste. When we were getting up to leave I notice that no one touched the cake after eating a bite or two. My 7 year old neice said in a whisper, "Mimi, the cake really isn't very good and I love cake".

It took a few phone calls but we were offered a refund. I told the manager that if she could find someone that could eat one piece, I would gladly pay for it. Really, it was that bad. They took the cake to 'dissect it' (her words not mine) and look at it as learning opportunity. We were provided a zebra cake as a consolation which was very nice gesture.

No matter what kind of cake design they gave you- getting a cake that tastes bad is the cardinal sin of cakes. I mean- I've had some average bakery cakes, but bad is - well - bad. I mean, of course I like my own homemade cakes better than the Disney cake I've eaten, but I have yet to eat anything that I'd turn down. Thank you for the heads up on your bad experience as we will definitely stay clear of those flavor combos and that bakery. I had good luck with Chef Brian at the Contemporary and I'm pretty sure that's the route we'll go in November.

As for the cost- If you told me they sculpted Jack and Zero out of gumpaste or fondant- I could see paying $155 or more, especially since I've done my own Nightmare Before Christmas cake and did the edible images/figures (see pic below...sorry Zero's body is a bit cut off ), but if you're supplying the major decoration components I have a serious problem paying over $100 for the cake. I mean- even though I can't take credit for producing the candy pumpkins on my cake below- I at least hand painted the faces w/food coloring, and everything else decor wise was created from scratch w/my own two hands. If this were a single tier cake and someone supplied me with Zero, Jack, etc.- I couldn't see charging more than $85, but I guess that's just me.

EDIT- Don't get me wrong- I don't hate the cake they made, I just think it should have cost less and tasted significantly better.

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[wallawallakids]

No matter what kind of cake design they gave you- getting a cake that tastes bad is the cardinal sin of cakes. I mean- I've had some average bakery cakes, but bad is - well - bad. I mean, of course I like my own homemade cakes better than the Disney cake I've eaten, but I have yet to eat anything that I'd turn down. Thank you for the heads up on your bad experience as we will definitely stay clear of those flavor combos and that bakery. I had good luck with Chef Brian at the Contemporary and I'm pretty sure that's the route we'll go in November.

As for the cost- If you told me they sculpted Jack and Zero out of gumpaste or fondant- I could see paying $155 or more, especially since I've done my own Nightmare Before Christmas cake and did the edible images/figures (see pic below...sorry Zero's body is a bit cut off ), but if you're supplying the major decoration components I have a serious problem paying over $100 for the cake. I mean- even though I can't take credit for producing the candy pumpkins on my cake below- I at least hand painted the faces w/food coloring, and everything else decor wise was created from scratch w/my own two hands. If this were a single tier cake and someone supplied me with Zero, Jack, etc.- I couldn't see charging more than $85, but I guess that's just me.

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WOW! You are very talented. Just wanted to say I love your cake. Very nice.
Ramsfootball92, I am sorry to hear of your bad experience. I hope they gave you a refund. That is just sad.

 

[burberryplaid]

Just wanted to thank you all for the info in this thread...

DH's birthday is in 3 weeks which is when we'll be arriving at BCV for vacation so I called Yacht & Beach Club Private Dining to talk about having a cake sent to the room. The woman I spoke to was lovely! She took my e-mail and said someone would e-mail me (most likely tomorrow) to discuss my options.

I don't want anything too fancy...my main thing is getting marble cake with chocolate buttercream filling and some sort of Donald theme since he's DH's favorite character..

I'll be sure to let everyone know how our experience turns out and will definitely post pics of the final product.

Thanks so much to all who've added to this thread!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

WOW! You are very talented. Just wanted to say I love your cake. Very nice.

Thank you!

 

[Pmctn]

Ok this has been very informative. We will be at POFQ in May. I want to get a simple chocolate cake with the "smooth" icing I've seen on some of the cakes above. Is that buttercream icing?Basically I want it to look like the opening credits of star wars. Dark icing with white dots and written in yellow "May the 4th be with you" (Corny joke with my kids) DO I need to call BC bakery before we go down or can I order it a couple of days before when we get there?

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Ok this has been very informative. We will be at POFQ in May. I want to get a simple chocolate cake with the "smooth" icing I've seen on some of the cakes above. Is that buttercream icing?Basically I want it to look like the opening credits of star wars. Dark icing with white dots and written in yellow "May the 4th be with you" (Corny joke with my kids) DO I need to call BC bakery before we go down or can I order it a couple of days before when we get there?

The bulk of the really smooth cakes you've seen are covered in fondant icing... which is a sugar paste with sort of the consistency of playdoh when you're rolling it out. Thankfully, the fondant we had on our Disney made cake was the nice sweet kind (i.e. not all fondants are created equally). If fondant is not your thing- you could opt for buttercream. There are plenty of buttercream recipes and techniques that allow you to get a very smooth surface, but the execution of this from the various WDW bakeries varies.

 

[lurkyloo]

Ok this has been very informative. We will be at POFQ in May. I want to get a simple chocolate cake with the "smooth" icing I've seen on some of the cakes above. Is that buttercream icing?Basically I want it to look like the opening credits of star wars. Dark icing with white dots and written in yellow "May the 4th be with you" (Corny joke with my kids) DO I need to call BC bakery before we go down or can I order it a couple of days before when we get there?

The bulk of the really smooth cakes you've seen are covered in fondant icing... which is a sugar paste with sort of the consistency of playdoh when you're rolling it out. Thankfully, the fondant we had on our Disney made cake was the nice sweet kind (i.e. not all fondants are created equally). If fondant is not your thing- you could opt for buttercream. There are plenty of buttercream recipes and techniques that allow you to get a very smooth surface, but the execution of this from the various WDW bakeries varies.

The fondant has buttercream under it to stick it to the cake, so you get the best of both worlds.

OP, for something as customized as your Star Wars idea, I'd call a couple of weeks in advance. You might also want to mock it up somehow, or even just get a pic of the credit sequence, so they know exactly what you're thinking.

 

[xxliz28xx]

I know it's not the opening credits but don't let them tell you they can't do much with Star Wars! This is from the GF bakery that I posted awhile back.

 

[bethnkatesmom]

How do I upload a picture?
My husband ordered my a wonderful birthday cake from GF last week and I wanted to share a picture.

 

[ramsfootball92]

No matter what kind of cake design they gave you- getting a cake that tastes bad is the cardinal sin of cakes. I mean- I've had some average bakery cakes, but bad is - well - bad. I mean, of course I like my own homemade cakes better than the Disney cake I've eaten, but I have yet to eat anything that I'd turn down. Thank you for the heads up on your bad experience as we will definitely stay clear of those flavor combos and that bakery. I had good luck with Chef Brian at the Contemporary and I'm pretty sure that's the route we'll go in November.

As for the cost- If you told me they sculpted Jack and Zero out of gumpaste or fondant- I could see paying $155 or more, especially since I've done my own Nightmare Before Christmas cake and did the edible images/figures (see pic below...sorry Zero's body is a bit cut off ), but if you're supplying the major decoration components I have a serious problem paying over $100 for the cake. I mean- even though I can't take credit for producing the candy pumpkins on my cake below- I at least hand painted the faces w/food coloring, and everything else decor wise was created from scratch w/my own two hands. If this were a single tier cake and someone supplied me with Zero, Jack, etc.- I couldn't see charging more than $85, but I guess that's just me.

EDIT- Don't get me wrong- I don't hate the cake they made, I just think it should have cost less and tasted significantly better.

[/url][/IMG]

Goodness, your cake is gorgeous!!! Perhaps I should coordinate with you the next time that I consider a fancy cake I only wish that I were that talented!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

The fondant has buttercream under it to stick it to the cake, so you get the best of both worlds.

Very true! They definitely do more buttercream than a crumb coating.

Goodness, your cake is gorgeous!!! Perhaps I should coordinate with you the next time that I consider a fancy cake I only wish that I were that talented!

Thanks! It's a blessing and curse. Feel free to PM me if you ever need any design thoughts. I know the WDW bakeries seem to be more limited in what they'll do on a fancy non-wedding cake (i.e. over an outside bakery), but it's definitely fun to come up with ideas. Now if I could figure out a way to make the design for DD3's 4th bday cake more special. I guess at least I know the theme is Minnie, the color scheme should involve light pink w/white polka dots, and I have months before I need to contact Chef Brian.

 

[burberryplaid]

Oh dear! So I heard from Yvette from Private Dining at the Yacht & Beach Club and she sent me some examples of cakes they've done and I've fallen in love with the painted white chocolate Donald! It will cost $100 but I love it...please tell me I won't regret it!

This is the example she sent me..thinking of this without flowers...marble cake and chocolate buttercream...

 

[natter]

Trying to put together some ideas for a birthday cake but not sure about the sizes (party of 5). How many people do the 6" and 8" cakes serve? Are they normaly 2 layers or more?