I remember reading on here a few weeks back about how Walmart is offering new and different cakes. I was at Taste of Home cooking school last night in Wisconsin and Walmart bakery had a booth set up. They had all kinds of neat and creative cakes there. I heard women saying wow I didn't know Walmart did those kinds of cakes. They had a pamphlet with different cakes and prices listed. Maybe those of you who are really good at this are giving them a run for their money.
I think this day and age people are less impressed with the more traditional and simple cakes with a couple roses plopped in the corner (some of which I still think ar e pretty LOL) but I think you're right.......I think there are so many people doing custom cakes now that Wal-Mart is having to rise to the occasion.......although their stuff is still mass produced!! so it's still not as good as you would get from a privately owned baker!
As if Walmart doesn't have enough money....
I still can't believe Wal-mart has bakeries. Who wants to buy cake from Wally world?? I've never heard of it, let alone actually seen one. Maybe it's a USA thing that Wal-mart in Canada hasn't done yet???
Not all walmarts, lol. Just the Super Walmarts. They also have a large grocery section, too.
Yeah, we have groceries in our, just no bakery...
Well, trust me, you're not missing much, lol!
mmdd,
I take offense to your ccomment about not missing much at the walmart bakeries. I am a cake decorator at walmart. Although we do have to mass produce cakes, I stand behind my work. If a person takes the time to order a cake, I give them the same time and love I would by them ordering a cake from my home. I understand that some of the posters here dont like the cake toppers that Walmart has to offer, but many people do. My niece being one of them. She saves all of the toppers from year to year for her child. I have been a decorator for 6 years, and I am proud to say that I decorate at walmart!!
Although I have never bought cakes at Walmart, since the one by my house is not a superstore, I would say , if some people like Walmart cakes, then let them buy and enjoy it. Consumers are at different levels.
Some like the pricey ones, and some don't . I myself buy things from different stores. Sometimes I go to Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth, and sometimes I go to Walmart.. Depends what I want. I love Walmart. They have everything under one roof, and to me that's convenience. I am not in the cake business, so as for myself, I don't feel any competition in the cake business. If we take pride in our work because we do it well, then more power to us. Just my thoughts. 
Yeah, we have groceries in our, just no bakery...
Well, trust me, you're not missing much, lol!
mmdd,
I take offense to your ccomment about not missing much at the walmart bakeries. I am a cake decorator at walmart. Although we do have to mass produce cakes, I stand behind my work. If a person takes the time to order a cake, I give them the same time and love I would by them ordering a cake from my home. I understand that some of the posters here dont like the cake toppers that Walmart has to offer, but many people do. My niece being one of them. She saves all of the toppers from year to year for her child. I have been a decorator for 6 years, and I am proud to say that I decorate at walmart!!
So, do you eat the cake? LOL!
I wasn't saying anything about toppers or decorations, although I've seen many thrown together so fast they looked very messy. I live very close to 4 or 5 walmarts and I've been to them all. The farthest one away from me is an hour drive. I've walked down the bakery many times looking for a new idea. You can take offense if you want, but it wasn't meant that way. It's just my opinion and my experience.
I was surprised to learn that their are walmarts that have groceries, but no bakery.
Let's keep this nice, huh?
Not to stir the pot, but there are people who work at Wally world and do care for their customers and take pride in their work. I do not work there but used to long ago right out of high school. Most of the work I have seen in my neck of the woods is thrown together and look sad. At one time the case was full of cakes with color spray all over them until it became a grey/brown mess with plastic sunglasses shoved in. I was at another web site and a Walmart cake decorator raved at how it was great because you could hurry and decorate a cake on someone else's dime and it didn't really matter. After what I saw at our "super center" I wondered if that person works there!
That does seem a little pricey wgoat5, I worked in a commercial bakery at a grocery store (co-op, I don't think you have them in the states...like safeway though) and they charged 25.99$ for a "kit cake" So you got a 1/4 slab cake with a toy kit (cinderella or dora or thomas the train for example) and airbrushed. Plus our dollar is worth a little less than yours (around 86 cents). So seeing as Wal-mart is supposed to be cheaper, it sounds at least the same price or more... huuummmm strange...
I don't work for Wal-Mart, but for a grocery chain. Maybe I'm too sensitive, but I've kinda been offended, or maybe just had my feelings hurt over comments made about "grocery store" cakes. Even though our "buttercream" may come out of a tub, I still work hard to please my customers. I've also noticed after looking through their pictures that a few of the comments are made by people that would never be hired where I work. 
I love cake.....and I love grocery store cakes and wal-mart cakes (Well I have only ordered cakes from Sams but I assume we are talking about the same thing).......they (sams) certainly came to my rescue when I had to throw a baby shower or bridal shower and couldnt afford to spend a TON of money on gifts, food AND Cake....in fact the ONLY reason I took up cake decorating is because I thought $25-$30 for a sheet cake was just too much money (yeah I know I am CHEAP).....of course having picked up this hobby I realize in what i have spent in supplies and classes it will take me 10 years to come out ahead on my kiddo's b-day cakes....but now I am addicted (anyway I am straying from my original point)....
never in all of the years that I served (and was served) grocery store/wal-mart cakes have I ever heard anyone say they didnt like it....and if NOT for these mass-produced cakes that keep prices low....many of us would never have been able to give our child/children a 'decorated' cake.
Yeah, we have groceries in our, just no bakery...
Well, trust me, you're not missing much, lol!
mmdd,
I take offense to your ccomment about not missing much at the walmart bakeries. I am a cake decorator at walmart. Although we do have to mass produce cakes, I stand behind my work. If a person takes the time to order a cake, I give them the same time and love I would by them ordering a cake from my home. I understand that some of the posters here dont like the cake toppers that Walmart has to offer, but many people do. My niece being one of them. She saves all of the toppers from year to year for her child. I have been a decorator for 6 years, and I am proud to say that I decorate at walmart!!
No offense should be taken. I too worked as a cake decorator at Wal-Mart. No one is ragging on the actual decorating part, just the part where then come in frozen and PRE Iced. Some people don't mind that, some do. And those that do should not expect to pay what they a WM for a fresh baked cake.
wow... people are sure touchy! while my cakes might not be great and I may "never be hired" at a commercial bakery, i work my butt off to produce something at least edible for people that i love.
walmart and other grocery chains obviously have a market for their product, whether or not any of us personally enjoys it, otherwise they would not continue to make cakes.
granted, the people at walmart likely take pride in their work, but the aim of the store in general is the bottom line. profit. we all need to ask ourselves what our bottom line is... do you, as a home baker, want to produce only cakes that get your creative juices running? or is profit your main goal? judging by the number of posts i've seen on here regarding pricing and price per portion, most decorators prefer to get creative and are not totally profit driven.
that being said, let the people who want to buy a $26 sheet cake from walmart have their cake and eat it too! it's probably not an order that many people on here would look forward to doing (as i have also seen numerous rants about sheet cake!).
sorry so long... just my $0.02
The one reason I started making cakes (decorated ones) were so I didn't have to drive 50 miles to the nearest Wally World that makes the cakes. I hope that I haven't said anything to offend anybody, but let me remind people...this is a forum where we try to help each other and I really don't think people are making fun of the chain cakes I think they would much rather make their own. I have bought MANY in my time! Many good and some very VERY bad...I have also bought from private bakeries and home bakers and had one very very very bad experience...so let's just remember everybody has their very own opinion and I really don't think any of them are aimed at one person..just the chain in general. 
Well I grew up with 10 sis and bros in the 50,60 and 70's and the only cake my mom ever made was from a box with some really really sweet icing (no crisco) and always choc, vanilla or marble lol I never even heard of bc icing till about 20 yrs ago when I got interested in decorating so to me when I had that first bite of a store bought cake I thought I had died and gone to cake heaven. I still love the taste. But now I like to decorate because it is a challenge and there are so many different combos you can make and enjoy. So if it wasnt for store bought cakes I might never have been bothered to try this myself because I wouldnt know that all these beautiful things could be done. And with all the help I find on this site from all you wonderful people well the possibilites are endless.
1/4 sheet walmart cake decorated pretty much any way you want it is $15.77 here!!! I've had some people ask me what I charge for that size cake and I tell them and they're like, uhh I'll go with Walmart. I understand, if I couldn't decorate a cake myself, I'd be at the walmart bakery too.
I know more than many that cakes from stores are a God send to a lot of people, I have had LITTLE experience, I know they wouldn't hire me to decorate. And I agree...When I first tried a store cake I could of swam in it. I loved it..and for the most part still do...but I like the sense of accomplishment that I get from baking and decorating regardless if someone thinks I am good or not. I look here for tips and lots and lots of encouragement. Not to downplay Wal-Marts bakery
I find that grocery store cakes vary widely in terms of decorating skills. Just the other day I was looking at cakes in Kroger and commented that they must have a new decorater because the cakes looked much better than usual. And some grocery store cakes taste better than others. When I lived in Houston there was one Sam's that had killer chocolate cake. I swear it was only the one Sam's. I thought stuff like that was pretty standard throughout the chain, but you just couldn't beat the taste/price combination they had. Here in Indy, the local grocery store cakes aren't that great in taste and the decorating is anywhere from good to looked like a 4 year old did it.
I certainly don't knock anyone that works there. Heck even if I myself worked there, I personally wouldn't buy one.
Just noticed all the replies to my topic here. I sure didn't mean to offend anyone. I was just stating that it looked like Walmart was trying to make better looking cakes. As a mother of seven I know that price is something to be looked at. However I am thankful that I have the time and hopefully some day the skills to make great cakes for my family. I am sure those of you who work for Walmart and other chains give your customers the best that your job allows just like those of you do for your own businesses and families. It is like anything else everyone has to decide for themselves how much they want to spend and where they want to spend it.
Wow seven kids!! You are a very busy person! LOL anyways...being a mother of three with 3 birthdays in Nov. I found it very expensive to keep ordering cakes...Kids especially love the thought that their parent made their cake! My little girl wanted me to order hers from somewhere till she watched me do 2 cakes..now it's different...I think sometimes its all about the thought anyways
I don't think anyone has to worry about Wal-Mart or the grocery stores and them trying to make better cake designsThese guys are in it for the volume and the money. They may have seen a need to upgrade because of the negative feedback on their cakes. However, after working in one of the grocery stores as a Bakery Manager years ago, I know first hand that you need to be able to produce alot of cakes. Wal-Mart or others will never get into the complicated and time consuming techniques and venues, that alot of us do. They will not pay a person to be that specialized. They do not want you to spend alot of time on any one cake.There may be some of you out there that care about your work, but for the most part you can walk into most of the store bakeries and see that there is very little pride in their work, they are sloppy, big borders, faded air spraying, borders sagging or uneven, cake showing through on the icing, no creativity, and ugly standard kits that anyone can do. It is unfortunate that someone that is talented is restricted from doing a really well decorated product. Those of you that work at these places, I mean no disrespect, but lets face it, you are limited, but if you are happy with what you are doing then I think its great.
I don't think it was meant as an insult to the Wal-Mart decorators but rather the product..... sometimes grocery store cakes are pre-baked and frozen so they don't take great and are dry....the icing at my local Save-Mart tastes terrible and the cake is like layers of toast.
The decorators, on the other hand, do a lovely job. So it is nothing against them..... and I, for one, LOVE Costco cakes and almost everyone else here says its nasty so don't feel bad 
..... we all have our preferences.
And I really don't think they were talking about the workmanship of the cakes - just the taste. I also agree that as an employee, there are time constraints, production expectation and other limits imposed that the home or self-employed baker may not have....
I myself usually have a 5 year old on my shoulders and a 2 year old trying to finger paint with my frosting..... 
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