Everything To Know About Purchasing A Costco Custom Cake

Cake is central to some of the most important moments in our lives. It's your birthday? Celebrate it with a special cake. Getting married? Ditto. Bat or bar mitzvah? New job? Just moved house? Cake, cake, and more cake. It's the go-to food for almost every event, and comes in every flavor, shape, and style we can think of. For millions of people, the only one to mark any celebrate with is a Costco custom cake.

It feels as if they have been around forever — but members got a sharp reminder of what life was like before they existed in March 2020. Costco wanted to avoid large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic and withdrew the half sheet cakes, causing an uproar in the process. By 2023, things had settled down and the cakes were back, and we could all celebrate with massive forkfuls. If you've never had that particular pleasure and want to get your hands on a Costco custom cake, here's everything you need to know.

Sweet-toothed shoppers love Costco's bakery section, where they can drool over delights such as the tasty tuxedo chocolate mousse cake or the sumptuous maple butter pecan cake. Although the pre-made range of fresh cakes does have lots of shapes and sizes, when it comes to Costco's custom cakes, you're offered a choice of only two: a 10-inch round or a rectangular half-sheet cake.

The range may be limited but there's a good reason behind it: Costco outlets get lots of orders for the custom cakes, so streamlining what's on offer makes for common sense, especially for the people making them. According to one Redditor who was a former decorator in a Costco bakery, they and three and four other people had to "split, fill and decorate 25 to 50 cakes a day depending on the length of the shift." They revealed everything was done in the same way as an artisanal bakery, including using fresh-baked cakes, fillings, and frostings, but it was all done on a much bigger scale.

When you've chosen your shape, next comes flavors and fillings — and you're not going to have your work cut out deciding from a long list. For customers in the United States, there are just two variations: a white cake, which has a vanilla cheesecake mousse filling and comes with white icing, or a chocolate cake that has — you guessed it — chocolate icing and a chocolate mousse filling.

Former customers have said on social media that these combinations can be mixed up if you ask at your local Costco bakery, and devotees are equally delighted by the taste of both the vanilla and chocolate types. One thing that often comes up is people wishing Costco would bring back the strawberry filling, which was available years ago.

If you happen to be in Canada, the United Kingdom or Australia and are near a branch of Costco, those custom cake fillings are a little different. Canadian shoppers can get Bavarian cream, while in the U.K., raspberry jam is a standalone option, and it can be combined with chocolate and/or vanilla. Down Under, the filling choices are raspberry or chocolate, and you can have white or chocolate whipping cream icing.

Once you have your cake flavor and filling sorted out, it's time to get into the nitty gritty of a Costco custom cake: the decoration. Compared to the U.K., where shoppers can choose from 18 designs (though they can only have a half sheet cake) in the United States, there are 10 styles of decoration, with very slight variations between the round and rectangular cakes.

It's worth knowing that designs can vary between stores, and there may be seasonal additions. The 2025 decoration options are white or colored roses, balloons, candles, rainbows, baby shower, Costco bear, graduation, cross, American flag, and Easter. You can put your own spin on the designs by changing the color of the icing or adding a personalized message, with no charge for the writing. Be aware when choosing your custom cake that many people have said the red, pink and purple frostings can have a bitter taste.

In some cases, you can mix and match the designs but it's wise to ask a baker at your local Costco to avoid disappointment. One Redditor said theirs did not offer special requests for custom cake decoration, whereas another poster was able to have 'Happy Birthday' written in Korean and Indonesian. In the same thread, a former baker recounted how they were asked to do the same thing in Arabic: "I was terrified I was going to mess up but when I showed them their cake they were thrilled!"

Although the flavors and fillings are restricted, and the range of topping designs isn't huge, they're enough to satisfy most buyers. However, there is one thing a Costco bakery will not do for any custom cake ever: picture cakes. Also known as photo cakes, these are a huge trend in the cake decorating business and are relatively simple to make.

The chosen image is scanned and printed using edible inks onto edible icing or rice paper and placed on the cake. While social media users said other supermarkets do offer photo cakes, many advise people to make their own and put it on the cake themselves.

One thing you can get with Costco custom cake is scoring. These are lines that are drawn in the frosting by the baker before a tiny flower is piped into each segment. It makes cutting the whole thing neatly a piece of, ahem, cake. If you have any leftovers that you want to keep in the fridge or freezer, you can cut your cake then slip a piece of parchment paper between each piece with a knife. When you want some later, you can lift out individual slices to thaw and eat.

Costco's custom cakes are flexible enough to be used for a wide range of celebration events. They are perfect baptisms and millions of people use them for birthdays of all ages, and every reason to kick our heels up in between, but they're also used at alternative occasions, such as divorce, retirement, a celebration of someone's life event, and even funerals.

On Reddit, Costco sheet cakes were suggested as part of a potluck offering for a funeral reception, while in a separate thread, a poster explained that most of the orders for their Costco were from a nearby funeral home. They said the scored cake was the most popular as it was understated and easy to cut, but the cross design and roses were also commonly ordered.

Arguably the most important thing to know about ordering your Costco custom cake is you cannot do it online, it's a members-only, in-person process. This is despite articles about the process being stuck in the 19th century and grumbles on social media from users who live miles from their nearest store wishing there was an app for it. 

Some online commenters think it's to prevent the bakery from being overwhelmed with orders, while others have suggested it's a way to make customers spend more. All that said, a few members have been able to phone in an order and have it completed, but it seems to be a rare occurrence. It's worth checking at your local store to be 100% certain.

To order your Costco custom cake, go to your nearest store and find the cake order kiosk — remember to bring a pen, just in case. It should have a large photo display of all the cakes, sizes and designs available, as well as paper order forms. When you've filled one in, simply mail it in the box and someone in the bakery will get to work.

The order form itself is pretty simple. You put an X or checkmark next to the size and flavor of the custom cake you want. Next, you're asked to pick a cake design from those listed, such as the Costco bear or flag. If you want a rose cake, remember to indicate what color you want if not white. In the box below that, you need to write your personal message, including the color of icing you want the baker to use.

At this point double check that names are spelled correctly and that you have detailed exactly what you want the baker to do with your custom cake. Stephen Walker thought he'd done that, crossing out the design and message boxes, and asking the person who read it to follow his instructions on the back of the form. The results made national headlines and sparked a hilarious Reddit thread of similar cake catastrophes.

There are lots of instances where Costco custom cakes have turned out exactly as customers requested. One Redditor wanted a tropical theme for their cake and got one, while another asked for a cake with nothing but the "frilly boarder [sic] thingy you do around the bottom edge." The trick, according to a third commenter, is to "wait around the bakery with a pathetic look on your face until someone asks if you need help," then ask them face-to-face for what you want.

Costco custom cakes are great for anyone who makes mistakes when baking or whose decorating skills would earn them a place on "Nailed It!" But that doesn't mean you have to accept the designs on offer. If you have something specific in mind — a photo cake, for example — you can buy a plain white custom cake and DIY or decorate it yourself.

From covering your kid's birthday cake in more sprinkles than they can swallow, to buying edible decorations for a truly personalized decoration, the possibilities offered by Costco custom cakes are almost endless. It's led to amateurs and professionals showing off their cake transforming skills on social media.

Costco custom cakes are also great for anyone getting married on a budget. Many people buy several plain white cakes and cut them to create a tiered treat, before decorating it themselves. One bakery employee suggested the scored cake in a Reddit thread, as it was easy to cut and could be customized to match the wedding colors. They said: "One bride did teal and white rosebuds and it was /gorgeous/!"

If you need a cake for any kind of wedding, birthday or other sort of celebratory get-together, remember that a Costco custom cake can feed a lot of hungry guests. A round cake contains up to 16 servings, while the half sheet cakes can have up to 48 slices. That said, if you don't get a scored cake you might not get as much out of them.

The opposite seems to be true on social media, where buyers often underestimated how big their cake would be. One Redditor catering for almost 50 people wrote: "Glad I wound up ordering the Costco half-sheet since I thought it would be too much, but only had a few slices left." Remember to grab a cart when you pick up your custom cake from Costco: Something that can feed that many folks isn't going to be easy to carry.

Ordering a custom cake for a fixed date, like a birthday or anniversary is easy peasy with Costco's paper system. The order form has a box for the pickup date, and the minimum notice time required is 24 to 48 hours, depending on the cake size. However, keep in mind some periods during the year are much busier than others. Costco is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's days, as well as Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.

If your special event lands on or around those particular days, you may have to place the order earlier than expected — and you probably won't be the only customer doing so. Give at least 48 hours of notice to the bakery and, if need be, you can keep your custom cake in the fridge at home until the big day. If you need a celebration cake in a hurry, don't forget Costco also sells pre-prepared ones that you can gussy up at home.

Being on a budget shouldn't prevent anyone from having a good time, and when it comes to custom cakes, Costco's appear to serve up good value for money. Prices vary from store to store so check to be sure, but a 10-inch round cake costs around $15.99, and the half-sheet will set you back about $24.99. That works out to a per-slice cost of roughly $0.10 for the round cake, and $0.52 for the half-sheet.

The latter at Sam's Club costs around $20 ,and while some think Sam's Club's sheet cake beats Costco's, it doesn't have a filling. Walmart's half sheet custom cakes vary in price from $15.98 to $68.76, depending on the size. One that feeds 48 people costs $42.96 — that works out to almost $0.90 per slice. Publix also offers custom cakes, with a full sheet costing $86.99.

You can order a custom cake from Costco if you're not a member but you know someone who is and ask them to fill in the form on your behalf. Some sources on the internet suggest anyone can place an order, but the paper form clearly requests member identification. Likewise with pick-up, only a member can tackle delivery of your custom cake in person.

Whoever it is, they must have their membership card with them when they come to pay. If the card doesn't have a photo of the holder, the person at the checkout may ask for proof of identity that does. If you don't have any of this, it's possible you won't be allowed to buy the custom cake you've ordered. Another thing to bear in mind when picking up your cake — they weigh around 9 pounds. If you don't want any cake-tastrophes, either take a friend to help load it in the car or ask an assistant for help.

Costco's custom cakes are not currently suitable for vegans or anyone with intolerances or sensitivities such as gluten or other allergens. You can either try to speak to a baker at your local store or give them a call to confirm whether they can accommodate any special dietary needs but be prepared to look elsewhere, especially if you're short on time.

As for nutritional benefits, well there aren't many, but then we are talking about sugar and fat-covered sponge cakes. A 3-ounce serving of vanilla and chocolate sheet cake contains between 340 and 330 calories, respectively, rising to 430 and 390 for the round versions. The calorie count is around 270 per slice, alongside 32 grams of carbs and 15 grams of fat. If you're watching your salt intake, it's best to stick to one slice of Costco's custom cakes, as they can contain between 240 and 370 milligrams of sodium.

Members know Costco has a solid returns policy when it comes to purchases that don't come up to scratch — but it does not apply to their custom cakes. That's because they fall under the store's Special Order Kiosk category and, as the return policy states: "Product(s) manufactured to our member's personal and unique specifications cannot be returned or refunded, except for warranty repair/replacement due to failure to meet specifications." It does suggest you may be able to get a replacement cake, so take a quick snap of your order form on your phone before posting it to make sure you get the design or colors you want.

When you get your cake home, if it's not going to be needed in the coming hours, you can keep it for up to two months with careful freezing. Leave it in your freezer for an hour so the frosting and decorations harden, then wrap it in two layers of plastic, followed by a final layer of tinfoil. When it's time to bring out your Costco custom cake, carefully unwrap it, let it defrost at room temperature, then cut it and devour.