Omg I Offered To Decorate A Costco Cake!
Decorating By ceshell Updated 1 Jan 2009 , 6:02pm by mom2owen1
Seriously! A friend wants a cake to feed 40, for Friday. I'm caked out right now and don't have the time to make it, and they aren't in the budgetary position to pay me what it's worth anyway 
so I suggested they get a supermarket cake (SHUDDER) and I'll make some fondant doodads to decorate it. She's out of area so asked if I would mind ordering the cake and picking it up. I need to order 1/2 sheet, probably Costco cuz it's the cheapest. Any suggestions about best (least offensive haha) flavor combos for Costco cakes?? The party is at night at a bar and nobody ever eats cake when they're drinking anyway, which is another reason I don't want to waste energies and ingredients on a cake that will probably barely get eaten.
Anyway, also it's an Elvis theme. I was thinking of having Costco just leave it completely blank unless you all think I should let them do SOME decor like a border or something...any suggestions?
Don't look at it like you're gonna get the plague! lol I think it's gonna be an adventure! Let's see, a plain half sheet. I vote having them leave it blank. Do maybe some keys along the sides or BC music notes. Then perhaps a FBCT of Elvis and happy birthday and you're good to go. Easy, elegant and fast!
That's too funny. My sister's birthday is this weekend and I'm feeling a little under the weather. I was just driving back from Wal-Mart and I said to myself "maybe I should just get a small plain cake from WM and decorate it for her." She's not crazy about cake anyway. Then I read your comments. I know exactly how you feel about not being in the mood. I'd probably stick with a plain white on white. They all taste the same anyway, don't they?
BTW, I don't have a Costco near me so I don't know what their cakes taste like. I'm just going off of WM's.
so many decorators on this site.... have said , that they hate to admit it... but they was at a party... and ate cosco cakes.. and how much they love it... their icing is to die for... pastry pride... my daughter had me to make my grandson his last birthday cake... like the ones at cosco... i had bettercream and not pastry pride.. she said it was delicious... i had to make her one also... the ones from sam's and walmart.... they are also very good... their icing is the bettercream most of the time.. hope yours goes well....
so many decorators on this site.... have said , that they hate to admit it... but they was at a party... and ate cosco cakes.. and how much they love it... their icing is to die for... pastry pride... my daughter had me to make my grandson his last birthday cake... like the ones at cosco... i had bettercream and not pastry pride.. she said it was delicious... i had to make her one also... the ones from sam's and walmart.... they are also very good... their icing is the bettercream most of the time.. hope yours goes well....
See if they will just let you buy the cake un iced.. they just might. 
Seriously! A friend wants a cake to feed 40, for Friday. I'm caked out right now and don't have the time to make it, and they aren't in the budgetary position to pay me what it's worth anyway
so I suggested they get a supermarket cake (SHUDDER) and I'll make some fondant doodads to decorate it. She's out of area so asked if I would mind ordering the cake and picking it up. I need to order 1/2 sheet, probably Costco cuz it's the cheapest. Any suggestions about best (least offensive haha) flavor combos for Costco cakes?? The party is at night at a bar and nobody ever eats cake when they're drinking anyway, which is another reason I don't want to waste energies and ingredients on a cake that will probably barely get eaten.Anyway, also it's an Elvis theme. I was thinking of having Costco just leave it completely blank unless you all think I should let them do SOME decor like a border or something...any suggestions?
I like Costco chocolate cake. I've actually had friends buy me cake from there for my Birthday. We actually did the same thing. Took it to the bar and had a blast.
Jeanne, are you kidding me? Having it pre-iced is the majority of the benefit! I actually don't mind baking as much as I mind icing, I have such a battle with my beloved IMBC (worse with SMBC which I scrambled AGAIN last time, even with all of your tips) and getting it smooth. Two and a half years later, and I still swear by the stuff but have to allocate heaps of time to icing with it. My last two cakes (not uploaded yet) gave me so much grief you'd have thought I was a first timer. Anyway everyone will be drinking, they won't give a you-know-what about the fine quality of my IMBC with Neilson-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla LOL. So screw 'em, let 'em eat Crisco!!
Diana your suggestions are great but I forgot to warn everyone: I cannot pipe my way out of a paper bag!! Well, grass...I can do grass, but I don't think a big green lawn would work on an Elvis cake. OK MAYBE I can pull off some music notes...but I think I'd have better success making them out of fondant. Do I need to make sure they DON'T use bettercreme, if I want to add fondant accents...I've never read anything good here on CC about fondant+bettercreme.
Thanks for the recommendation on their cake flavors, I think I'll just get chocolate, everyone likes chocolate. 
But I do know what you all mean. I have to admit, I tried their carrot cake and it WAS really good. I wanted to hate it but I just couldn't. BTW did you know: $15.99 for a half sheet cake ($17.99 for carrot). Sheesh.
Sure you can! Take a paint brush, sketch out the designs along the sides and there ya go! Trace over those!
LMAO.. is it the air bubbles that give you the most grief?? I'm telling you.. melt it down until it's too soupy, but not liquid.. mix it on super low and then leave it for at least a few hours.. it will be silky smooth with no air bubbles.
You have to admit.. sometimes a costco/sam's/walmart cake fits the bill. I'd just grab one and have them write happy b-day on it and call it a day. 
Dammit where were you two weeks ago when I got air bubbles??!! I had no idea I could melt it down. Usually I don't have air bubbles, it's just a PITA to smooth when I have added color. I tried using the oil based colors and it doesn't help much. Although to be fair, the last cake I made I did not make enough IMBC so it was impossible to smooth since it was applied so thin. I gave up and covered it with fondant lol.
And I AM considering just letting Costco write HB and be done with it, I don't really think the hostess particularly cares, she already just asked if I could decorate it "something simple, no big deal" unless that was her way of SAYING 'something simple' and hoping I'd get carried away haha (she's a friend so I'm just kidding). I might make a couple of gumpaste Elvises just for fun. I can support them on skewers if the cake is iced in bettercreme.
Yeah.. melt it down so it's loose, but not liquidy.. put the mixer on super low and let it mix for a bit and then just leave it.. it'll firm up and be wonderous. I do it everytime I make a batch.
Just cut out some paper Elvises (or is it Elvi?? ) and call it a day..
Love the paper Elvi suggestion. Haha Too late though, I've already made one figure 
...the party's for two guys so I still need to make another one, silly me! I WAS going to then just punch out a bunch of fondant stars with a cookie cutter and slap em all over the sides, ironically that would be easier than paper, isn't that funny??!...Costco message and ta-da, a perfect cake. Right??!
This may sound stupid but what do you mean by melt it down. Sorry but I'm a newbie and need to ice a cake tomorrow. Help and thanks.
I recently had a client call and ask if i could ice and decorate a pre-cooked cake. I didn't think anything of it until they brought it to me and it was a restaurant cake! You know the kind: pre-silced with the paper in betwee each slice.
Yeah, it wasn't as bad as I thought icing the pre-sliced cake. It was semi-frozen when I got it, and i made the BC thin enough that it didn't slide around. I did have to arrange it on my own cake board since it was frozen and the cake board they use at the factory was starting to warp from the moisture.
I don't have any problem taking the odd jobs. Have fun with it!
With SMBC (swiss meringue buttercream) if you get it warm it will get really soupy.. go too far and it'll be liquid (but it will whip back up if you cool it off). It is made from egg whites, granulated sugar, unsalted butter, and vanilla (or whatever flavoring you want). It's very different from buttercream made with powdered sugar.. silky smooth with no gritty or greasy mouthfeel.
I posted a how-to on it and you can see it here:
Good luck with your cake!
I did this with my first ever cake that I decorated. It is the barnyard one in my gallery. It was a Safeway cake. It was so soft though that my barn m ade of rkt started sinking into the cake. I knew nothing about stacking or anything. I was totally wet behind the ears and it was quite a nightmare. Mine are so much easier to decorate since they are firmer.
Funny story good luck, but by the way I love cake and I think Costco has a better cake than all supermarket bakeries or maybe it ties with Safeway, but still it's pretty darn good.
Safeway is my first choice if I have to buy a cake for someone else. Costco I love too. I'm rarely tempted to eat my own cakes at work, or scraps. But if there's a Costco cake at work, I am right on it!
I think I have an unrefined palatte
By the way, I went into Costco today to order the cake. Holy #*%$ are those cakes ugly!! All that worrying I do about smoothing my icing, and every single caked looked like it was iced by...uh...ME circa 2005 (LOL if you ever saw my cake in the Worst Cake Ever thread you'd know what I mean here) with zero regard to smoothness or spatula marks. Their "stock designs" of heavily piped buttercream decor and the only, I repeat ONLY customization being the words you want on it....well let's just say NOW I understand why they can get away with charging only $16 for a 1/2 sheet cake. You couldn't even choose WHERE to put the words, nor, perhaps, to get design #12 but "without the flowers". It's just "Check which box you want" and "Write in what words we should put on it." I was going to order it blank with just the writing but I had no idea where, nor how big, the names would come out so I nixed that plan.
Anyway it was an amusing experience; I've only ever done supermarket cakes, where now I understand that that $10 upcharge actually buys you a conversation with a human being, and perhaps, a few options. It was comical. I was actually kind of speechless for a while, and then I filled out my form "No decorations--leave cake blank--no writing" and hoped for the best. If I get a cake tomorrow upon which "No decorations--leave cake blank--no writing" is written I am going to laugh my butt off!
cehsell, I almost hope you do! If only so you can get a pic and submit to Cake Wrecks! That would be terrible huh? I had almost forgotten that your cake is due this weekend, can't wait to see it!
LMAO.. and people balk when we charge a good price for a cake.. a cake that you get completely custom AND with a person attached to it who gives a rat's ass about what you want and who will tend to all of your questions. 
I hope they write that on it too.. not only will it be a hysterical story.. but CakeWrecks was the first thing that popped into my head too.. LOL.
I'll post the pic when I upload it. The cake came out cute! And doing a Costco cake was totally the right move; they didn't cut it till about 10pm, by which time we were all so inebriated that it could have been 2-week old cake and none of us would have noticed. From what I vaguely remember of the party (LOL!!) the cake tasted pretty blah though, I must say.
Oh and no CakeWrecks story for me 
. The cake came as I asked, plain w/no decorations nor writing. However it also came with a delightful assortment of crumbs in the icing too 
. I thought they had machines do these cakes?? But I guess not the Costco ones.
p.s. Jeanne, I have to mention, I just finished a cake for tomorrow and FINALLY!! The clouds parted, the angels sang, it was a SNAP to smooth my IMBC! I don't know what happened but it WORKED. I followed Antonia74's instructions to a "T" and it was so gorgeous I could have cried. The ultimate irony: I then had to proceed to rough up the top of my perfectly smooth IMBC cake cuz the top is the "ocean" and I needed to make waves. Waaaaahhhhhh!
Thank you all again so much for your help and encouragement! I finally posted the cake http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1295470
Thankyouverymuch babymamamamababy!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%
