We love to throw a great party, but all of that planning — the decorations, the invites, the drinks — doesn’t always leave us as much time as we’d like for making amazing party food. Especially when we’re doing something really special and need a cake. After all, who really has time to bake a multi-layer cake, frost and decorate it, and deal with everything else that comes with hosting a party? Ina Garten, maybe, but the rest of us, not so much.
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Store-bought cakes can be a total life-saver if you find yourself in a party bind. But you don’t have to settle for the bland, dry grocery store bakery cakes of yesteryear. These days you can find cakes of all flavors and designs that are more than worthy of the spotlight on your buffet table, both in stores and available to order online. Even your most judgey relatives won’t complain about the store-bought cake after they take their first bite.
Whether you prefer classic, cheese, or ice cream, these desserts take the…cake. And no, we will not apologize for the very-much-intended pun!
A version of this article was originally published in October 2019.
Milk Bar Birthday Cake
Pastry Chef Christina Tosi’s cakes are legendary, and for good reason. Order up a gourmet Milk Bar Birthday Cake and you’ll wonder how you dealt with the boxed mix stuff for so long.
Walmart Marketside Unicorn Ice Cream Cake
This frozen unicorn ice cream cake is made with confetti cake, cake batter ice cream, and is covered with purple frosting and lots of sprinkles.
The Red, White & Blueberry PieCaken
If you want something that goes above and beyond a standard dessert, try a PieCaken, which is the sweet version of a turducken. This one is a summery mash-up of wild Maine blueberry pie, New York cheesecake, and Southern red velvet cake, layered with lemon frosting.
Costco David’s Cookies Mile High Peanut Butter Cake
This nearly 7-pound cake features layers and layers of chocolate cake, fudge brownies, and peanut butter mousse, dotted with peanut butter chips, brownie chunks, and topped with a fudge drizzle. Get a Costco membership and stock up on this beauty before your next celebration.
Harry & David Birthday Petit Fours
Petit fours seem so special and fancy, but we never have time to make them. Luckily, we don’t have to, thanks to these birthday petit fours from Harry & David.
TORTUGA Provenance Rum Cake Variety Pack
Rum cakes are something we never make for ourselves, but we love getting them as gifts. This pack of six rum cakes is perfect because you can keep one (or many!) for yourself, and give some to those you love.
Reese’s Ice Cream Cake
Peanut butter lovers, ice cream freaks, and basically anyone with a pulse will lose it when you serve up this Reese’s ice cream cake at your next celebration.
We Take the Cake Gluten-Free Happy Birthday Cake
Sure, this Williams-Sonoma birthday cake is on the pricier side, but not having to deal with gluten-free baking is basically priceless. It features layers of white vanilla cake, classic buttercream frosting, and plenty of sprinkles.
Coldstone Cookie Dough Delirium™
Get your cake and ice cream all in one go, along with globs of cookie dough the family will fight over, with Coldstone’s Cookie Dough Delerium cake.
Wegmans Square Fruit Tart
For events so elegant a simple cake won’t do, try this colorful fruit tart instead.
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