Every single cake you see here is an ACME cake, and not a single one of them cost more than $50. You read that right, $50. The very first ACME cake was for my oldest daughter's third birthday. She was absolutely obsessed with Finding Dory. I found a set of figurines online and called around to see who could put them on the cake. ACME told me that they (at the time) had licensed Dory characters, so they felt they would be able to afix mine to the cake. The offered for me to do it myself, but I was fairly sure I would somehow destroy the cake trying to press them on.

I described my idea for the cake and the cake center asked where I wanted to pick it up. They had their drivers take it to the ACME on the way home from work for me, where I could just pop in and grab it at the agreed-upon time. When I saw the Dory cake, I was blown away. There wasn't fondant and none of them are tiered, but each one has its own character and flair.

The Lion King birthday cake was for a birthday at the Akron Zoo, and the farm first birthday cake for my son was a party held at Lake Metro Farm Park. The mermaid cake was a swim party and the spaghetti/chef cake was for a birthday at Cool Beans in Medina, where my daughter and her friends learned to make their own pizza and cupcakes wearing self-decorated aprons. Sonic and Tails throwing rings across the bowling alley was for a bowling party and Hazel's little tea set cake was for her tea party birthday.

Two of my favorite cakes have been created for my pandemic baby. When Zoey was tiny, she had a favorite movie: Enchanted. The Amy Adams character Giselle was her absolute favorite. Of course, because that movie is just old enough that any merch left from its original release is a pricey collector's item. I wanted to give her an Enchanted birthday, but a quick Google Search let me know there wouldn't be any cake toppers or figurines I could purchase. ACME does "Barbie cakes." Yep, if you're still riding the 2023 Barbie fan wave, you can get a very, very lovely cake built around a Barbie doll.

I went out and found a Barbie with reddish hair that could pass for Giselle and dropped it off to ACME. Then, I had to email them photos of the original film because they weren't familiar. The curtain dress is Giselle's most iconic and recognizable, so I selected that one. My goodness, ACME did NOT disappoint. The dress they formed out of teal-colored white whip frosting was absolutely epic. If you've seen the film, there's no way you didn't know what this cake was meant to be.

Unfortunately, we all got sick for Zoey's birthday and the extended family had to enjoy the cake via photos and Zoom, but it will go down in my memory as one of the most epic cakes of all time. The smile on her little one-year-old face when that cake was revealed made it all worth it. She had a pretty great reaction to her second birthday cake too, which was a duck pond. Again, I bought the little ducks and added them. ACME went out of their way to respond to my request with little chocolate rocks around the pond. Their decorators are dedicated and talented.

The Taste

What haven't I talked about yet? THE TASTE. Whenever I have a party with an ACME cake, first I get parents coming to ask where I had it made because it looks amazing. After we cut and sample the cake, the other parents come to ask where they can get such a great tasting cake.

ACME has lots of flavor and filling choices. 

Flavors: White, Yellow, Chocolate, Marble, Carrot, Banana and Velvet. They also do a "pink marble" and a "blue marble" for birthdays and baby showers. 

Fillings: For an extra charge, you can have the cake layered and have filling inside. Choose from Bavarian, Fudge, Lemon, Pineapple, Raspberry, Strawberry and Cream Cheese.

Icing:  Buttercream or Whipped Cream (White Whip or Chocolate Whip) are available at no cost; fondant is also available. ACME also has almond-flavored buttercream, which pairs incredibly with raspberry filling, and is my favorite. Over the years, the combo people like most at my house is chocolate cake, raspberry filling and white whip frosting, hands down. 

Tips

Sold? Ready to order? Here are my tips for having a great experience:

1. Call the Cake Center directly to order at least four days before you need the cake, and before 2 p.m. (call more than four days before if you are ordering something elaborate).

The more lead time you give the decorators, the better. If you are asking for a unique design, I would recommend a minimum of four business days. And, be sure to call before 2 p.m. The only snafu we ever had with ACME Cake Center was a time that we ordered cake from the evening shift.  Wires got crossed somewhere and there wasn't a cake the day we went to pick it up. After dozens of incredible cakes, it's pretty easy to forgive something like that. What I learned that time, though, is to talk to the decorators, who are generally there from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

2. Have a well-developed idea of what you want.

The Cake Center is fantastic with requests, but less so if you call and say "we are having a _______ party." The less detail you provide, the less custom your decoration will be. Sometimes being able to send images of what you're thinking can help. It's also important to find inspiration cakes in the icing style  you plan to order. Sending an image of a fondant creation when you're ordering buttercream or whip makes it less likely that you'll be happy with the outcome, because those icing styles behave very differently. If you will use figurines, take them in or send an image of the ones you're using so they can match them.

3. Consider using your own figurines or cake toppers.

ACME does have cake kits like most supermarkets, but honestly, their decorators have far better sensibilities. You don't want them following a corporate design. They also cannot make cakes with licensed characters for which they do not have the licenses. That said, if you need a Sonic cake, and they don't have one, ask for the general design you are looking for and add Sonic yourself. That's what we did! They made the bowling lanes and added some little golden rings, and we pressed Sonic and Tails into the icing at the party. 

4. Barbie can stand in for lots of characters.

If you have a female character you want to outfit, ACME has Barbies to utilize in the cakes on hand. They stock Barbies of different ethnicities and as you can see with Giselle, they can create incredible things. If you like Barbie, then by all means go with a pink, traditional outfit. But, the lovely lady can stand in as a host of other women your child might enjoy - and, you can bring your own Barbie if you're looking for a specific style.

Happy Birthday to your child, and happy cake shopping! All of the information to contact ACME Cake Center can be found at the top of this entry.