What to tell us when you order a custom cake

Most of the time, the gap between the cake somebody imagined and the cake they received is just a detail that never got mentioned. Here is what helps us most.

1. The occasion

It sounds obvious, but it shapes everything. A first birthday, a debut, a retirement and an anniversary all call for different colours, different lettering and a different feeling. Tell us what we are celebrating and half the decisions make themselves.

2. Your colours, as specifically as you can

Pink is a wide word. Dusty rose, bubblegum and blush are three different cakes. The easiest thing is to send a photo of the party theme, the invitation, or even the dress. We will match from that.

One honest note about colour: deep reds, blacks and bright royal blues need a lot of colouring to reach, and a lot of colouring changes how buttercream tastes. We will usually suggest a softer version, or keeping the strong colour for a small accent.

3. The exact wording

Write it out exactly as you want it to appear, including the spelling of names. We pipe what you send us. It is worth reading it twice before you press send, because we have piped a few names that turned out to be typos and it is a sad thing to discover on a cake.

4. Any allergies, early

Tell us before you book rather than after. Our kitchen is small and we use nuts and dairy, so there are some requests we cannot safely promise. We would much rather be straight with you at the start than have you worrying at the party.

The most useful message we ever receive is a photo, a colour, a date, and the exact words. That is a whole order in four lines.

5. When and where you need it

The date and the time window, and whether you are collecting it or you would like us to bring it to you. The cake care page walks through the options, and the order form asks for all of it in the right order so nothing is forgotten.

And if you are not sure yet

That is fine too. Send us the occasion and the date and we will ask you the rest. Half of what we make starts as somebody saying they do not really know what they want, only that it should be pretty.