Celebration Cake FAQ

We are proud to say that all the cakes shown on our website are the work of our talented team of decorators. We do not use stock photos or seek to enhance our portfolio by showing photos of the work of other cake decorators even for 'ideas' or 'inspiration'.

Apart from a few basic cake styles (shown on our birthday cake pages) we have no set designs, we tailor make everything to your specific requirements and all cakes can be made in a variety of sizes and flavours and with personalised decoration. Therefore, there are too many variables which affect the price to be able to publish full price details.

There is a guide to starting prices on the Prices and Delivery page which will give you an idea of where we start for a basic cake. Obviously, the larger the cake and/or the more complex the design, the higher the price will be. Please either call on 0118 946 1112 or 01491 873332 or email with as much detail of your requirements as possible and we'll be able to give you a price for what you are looking for.

If you are interested in ordering a celebration cake please either telephone us or complete the enquiry form with your requirements and we will contact you to either discuss things over the phone or by return email.

We are available on 0118 946 1112 between 9am and 6pm Monday – Friday and 9am and 4pm Saturday. Our design studio in Moulsford is open from 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday and the number there is 01491 873 332. Staff on either number will be able to help you. We have an answer machine on both numbers so if we are not around or cannot get to the phone please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

We do not have a shop. We have a design studio where we make our cakes. For your convenience collection of celebration cakes can be at either our design studio in Moulsford OX10 9JT or our home address in Caversham RG4 6PS.

Unfortunately we do not offer consultations for celebration cakes. We have a team of friendly and helpful staff who will be able to discuss your design requirements over the phone or via email.

As everything is made to order we do not have any cakes available for viewing. However, every cake we make is photographed and we, therefore, have a huge portfolio of high quality photographs which can easily be emailed to you should you wish to see other examples of our work for ideas and inspiration.

In order to keep our prices competitive we are unable to provide samples for celebration cakes. However, we make hundreds of cakes a year and always have positive feedback on the taste of our cakes.

Our website shows only a small selection of cakes that we have made recently. It is intended only to give an indication of the work that we do and should not be treated as a full catalogue. Obviously, it includes those cakes which we feel might have a wide appeal to potential customers.

If you are looking for something particular as a theme, colour scheme, style or size please contact us with your thoughts and we'll be pleased to give you some ideas as to how we can incorporate your requirements. We are always full of inspiration and haven't been beaten by any strange or unique request yet – suffice to say our portfolio contains photographs of cakes representing lots of weird and wonderful themes!

All cake makers are proud of their own designs and cake decorating is a bit like handwriting in that each individual has their own style. However, we are happy to take a look at the design that inspire you and create our version of your favourite or come up with a unique design incorporating different aspects of several different cakes.

As all cakes and decorations are handmade we cannot guarantee that even copies of our own designs will be exactly the same as the original.

We are constantly updating our knowledge and training in the latest food safety and hygiene regulations. Our premises are inspected by local Environmental Health officers and our staff are regularly trained in basic food safety and handling. We will discuss with you any restrictions regarding the use of non-edible decorations such as fresh flowers, bought toppers, figurines, models and glitter and advise you on how we can incorporate these into the design of your cake so that you achieve the look you are hoping for without compromising the safety of your guests who will be eating it!

Most customers choose to collect their cakes from us – this can be arranged from either of our addresses. We can arrange delivery if you prefer. This would be a personal door to door delivery, by our own drivers or a specific local direct delivery courier. We do not use postal or standard courier services as we cannot guarantee your cake will arrive undamaged. The charge for delivery is based on mileage – please contact us or include the postcode of the delivery address in your enquiry if you would like a quote for delivery.

Delivery charges are based on mileage (see Prices and Delivery page) and are calculated from our base in Caversham (Reading), Berkshire or our studio in Moulsford, South Oxon (depending on when delivery is required) and obviously the further you are away from us the more expensive delivery will be. We deliver regularly throughout Berkshire, Middlesex, west Surrey, north Hampshire, south Oxfordshire and parts of Buckinghamshire and into Central London. We do charge a surcharge for deliveries to addresses with London postal codes to cover the unpredictability of the traffic and additional time required. Delivery charges will also include any local delivery charges e.g. ULEZ, Congestion Charge etc and tolls.

Approximate delivery charges for other areas are: Bracknell £20-£30, Windsor £30-£35, Slough £35-£45, Oxford £30-40, Bristol £120, Southampton £80-100, Central London £80-£100 (plus charges), Birmingham £120+.

This does depend on the size and level of decoration you require and the date the cake is required. We would recommend giving us as much notice as possible especially during the Summer months as we get booked up in advance with wedding cakes – at least a month is ideal.

Early booking is recommended to avoid disappointment, however please give us a call even if your booking is at short notice – we may still be able to help!

Our availability depends on the type of cake required and other bookings already in the diary for the date required rather than how long it actually takes to make the cake.

For celebration cakes, if you are booking more than 2 weeks in advance we will require a deposit of £25 or 50% (whichever is the greatest) to confirm the booking and the balance can be paid on collection. If your cake is being delivered, we will require the balance to be paid before delivery - our delivery drivers do not collect payments. If booking within 2 weeks we will require full payment with the order.

We accept major credit and debit cards, BACS transfer, cash and Paypal. All payments must be cleared before collection/delivery.

For celebration cake bookings, if a cancellation is received more than 2 weeks before the collection/delivery date a refund will be made less an admin charge and the cost of any work already undertaken. If the order is cancelled within 2 weeks of the collection/delivery date all payments made are non-refundable. Cancellation must be notified by email.

Yes we are pleased to be able to offer cakes which are vegan, egg free, dairy free, or wheat/gluten free and sometimes a combination of these! However, we do require more notice for this type of cake so please give as much notice as possible. Vegan and 'free from' cakes will be made with ingredients which are suitable for these requirements, however, all allergens are in use in our kitchen.

Sugar free cakes are not really an option!

Although, our sponge cakes do not contain nuts or nut products and we do all possible to avoid any cross-contamination, we are unable to offer a 100% guarantee that they are free from all traces of nuts as we only have one work area where nuts are used and also our suppliers do not guarantee all ingredients are free from traces of nuts.

Yes, so long as it's a fruit cake that has been kept / baked we are happy to cover and decorate a fruit cake base that you provide.

Pricing is based on the price of the cake if we were to make the whole thing, less the cost of the fruit cake(s) you provide so will depend on the size and decoration required. Please telephone us for advice and a price quote. You will be asked to sign a disclaimer confirming the fruit cake base was not made by us.

Sorry, we do not decorate ready made cakes.

Sorry, we are frequently asked for details on how to make our cakes and for advice on baking at home; unfortunately, we are simply too busy responding to booking enquiries and making cakes to be able to do this. However, why not check out our cake decorating & sugarcraft courses which cover a wide variety of effects and techniques that we use for our designs?