Frequently Asked Questions

Unfortunately, we do not offer sugar-free, dairy-free, or egg-free cakes at this time.

Yes; we currently offer gluten-free Rainbow Carrot as a flavor option for our Special Occasion and Custom cakes. A minimum order of $135 is required to accommodate gluten-free orders. We appreciate your understanding!

All of our signature cake flavors are nut-free, although please note that we use nuts (including peanuts, almonds, cashews, and pecans) in the kitchen. We occasionally offer almond cake as a seasonal flavor.

Our cakes contain gluten, dairy, and eggs. Our Chantilly cream (found in our Golden Vanilla cake) contains gelatin. We occasionally offer seasonal cake flavors which contain alcohol. 

Email us at shop@cakebloom.com for specific questions about allergens and dietary restrictions.

We strongly recommend enjoying your cake within three days of pick-up for best flavor, but cakes can be stored unsliced in the refrigerator for up to a week, or stored well-wrapped in the freezer for up to 6 months. Cake slices can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. For questions about the longevity of florals, see our Floral Styles page.

Cake should be stored in the refrigerator. Buttercream is best eaten at room temperature, so we recommend removing your cake from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before you plan on slicing and serving. Once sliced, leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To keep florals and buttercream looking fresh (and to ensure food safety!), we recommend leaving your cake out for no more than 6 hours at room temperature.

Ensure your cake is well chilled, then run a long knife under hot water and carefully slide it under the cake to separate it from its cardboard base. Using an offset spatula, gently slide the cake onto your display platter/stand.

For all cakes, we recommend slicing in a grid (rather than radially) to achieve more servings; we also recommend wiping down your knife between each cut for a cleaner presentation.

For pressed botanical cakes, simply slice and serve. For cakes with a floral crown, remove fresh blooms and set aside before slicing. For cakes with a floral posy, start slicing opposite of the posy and slice until you reach the plastic floral pick. If desired, remove the posy, trim the stems, and insert into a vase with fresh water.

Party Cakes and Slice & Small Bites must be pre-ordered a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 60 days in advance of your desired pick-up date, and Special Occasion Cakes must be pre-ordered a minimum of 7 days and a maximum of 60 days in advance of your desired pick-up date.

If you’d like to place an order more than 60 days in advance, please submit a Custom Inquiry. If you need a quicker turn-around, check out our Last-Minute Cake collection.

Our whole cakes are typically available by pre-order only. On the rare occasion we have a whole cake available for same-day purchase, we share that information on our Instagram.

We offer eight flavors of cake by the slice for walk-in customers while supplies last; to check current slice availability, please give us a call at (434) 328-8130.

Unfortunately, we do not offer cupcakes, novelty cakes, or cake pops.

For all your sampling needs, we recommend pre-ordering our 5-Slice Sampler box, which contains our five signature flavors that are available year-round.

Information about seasonal flavor release dates can be found in here.

Our online pricing reflects reduced workload for our kitchen and reduced administration time compared to custom orders; as such, any and all requests for modifications—including special flavors, design modifications, or custom florals—must be submitted as a Custom Inquiry. We appreciate your understanding! 

We require 48 hours notice if you need to make changes to your order; alterations with less than 48 hours notice are subject to baker's availability and cannot be guaranteed.

We require a minimum of 48 hours notice for cancellations or rescheduling. You can read our full refund policy here.

We do offer fully custom cakes for an additional charge, pending availability; you can fill out our Custom Inquiry form here. Please keep in mind that we can't alter our recipes and we do not offer novelty cakes, fondant, or gumpaste/frosting flowers.

We offer three signature floral decoration styles: fresh floral crowns, fresh floral posies, and pressed botanicals. You can read all about our floral styles here.

Yes! We exclusively use edible, non-toxic flowers, herbs, and edible greenery from our network of trusted growers. All of our botanicals are grown using organic practices, without the use of pesticides or chemicals.

However, botanicals are chosen for their safety rather than their flavor profile, so we recommend removing all fresh blooms before serving.

The botanicals we use vary depending on the season and what our growers have in stock. Botanicals may include any of the following:

Mint, basil, flowering thyme, fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, pansy, calendula, bachelor’s buttons, zinnia, dahlia, lavender, marigold, bee balm, feverfew, dianthus, chive blossom, rose geranium, chamomile, nasturtium, asparagus fronds, oregano, hops, amaranth, sunflowers, or other edible blooms.

For our signature Party Cakes, we unfortunately cannot accommodate requests for specific colors/color palettes.

For our Special Occasion Cakes, we offer three color palette options: bright, pastel, or neutral, all featuring a baker's choice selection of edible botanicals from our network of trusted growers.

For Custom Cakes, we’re happy to work with your custom color palette; keep in mind that we work with what’s in season and cannot guarantee exact color varieties and matches. Submit a Custom Cake inquiry here.

For our signature Party Cakes and Special Occasion Cakes, we unfortunately cannot accommodate requests for specific flowers.

For Custom Cakes, we’re happy to accommodate requests for specific flowers to the best of our ability. We can also utilize non-toxic flowers provided to us by you or your florist, pending baker approval. Submit a Custom Cake inquiry here.

Additional florals and bouquets are available for à la carte purchase through Liliharp Flowers.

705 West Main Street, Charlottesville, VA 22903.

We offer three pick-up windows Wednesday through Saturday (10am - 12pm, 12pm - 4pm, and 4pm - 6pm) and one pick-up window on Sunday (12pm - 3pm). Your cake will be ready at the start of your pick-up window. 

Please note: if you arrive for pick-up before 12pm, our doors will be locked. Please call us at (434) 328-8130 and we will bring your order to our front door.

We check IDs for all orders which include alcohol.

We do not have dedicated parking, but free two-hour parking is available along West Main Street, and paid parking is available in the Amtrak Station lot across the street from us.

Yes; please call us at (434) 328-8130 upon your arrival and we’ll bring your order to your car (provided that you are parked less than a block away). If it is open, you may briefly idle in the loading zone in front of our neighbors at Doma Korean Kitchen.

We offer two delivery windows Wednesday through Saturday (11am - 3pm and 3pm - 6pm) and one delivery window on Sunday (11am - 3pm).

Unfortunately, due to the volume of deliveries on our route each day, we cannot guarantee precise delivery times within these windows. We appreciate your understanding!

We deliver locally within 20 miles of our shop, including to UVA. A minimum order of $175 is required (not including delivery fee). For longer distances, please contact us at shop@cakebloom.com to check availability and rates.

For home delivery, we will make sure your order is handed to the recipient directly; if we are unable to hand off the order nor contact the recipient, then we will return the order to our store for safekeeping unless instructed otherwise.  

For business, hotel, or lobbied apartment delivery, we will leave your order at the front desk or concierge unless instructed otherwise.

For UVA dorm delivery, we will contact the recipient upon arrival and have them meet us outside. If we are unable to hand off the order nor contact the recipient, then we will return the order to our store for safekeeping unless instructed otherwise. 

We check IDs for all deliveries which include alcohol.

705 West Main Street, Charlottesville, VA 22903.

We do not have dedicated parking, but free two-hour parking is available along West Main Street, and paid parking is available in the Amtrak Station lot across the street from us. 

Unfortunately, we do not have a high chair in our shop at this time.

Our front door is wheelchair accessible (although please note that it does not have a push plate) and our guest bathroom is ADA compliant.

Some of our seats are backless and/or bar-stool height. Guests who require seating accommodations are encouraged to call ahead so that we may adequately ensure your comfort.

We offer a rotating selection of cake by the slice, wine (by the glass, by the bottle, and flights), cocktails, non-alcoholic wine, soft drinks, French press coffee, hot tea, cookies, and a light lunch menu.

Absolutely! If you’d like to order a whole cake or slice sampler to enjoy in-store, leave us a note at checkout with your desired reservation time and the number of people in your party; we’ll send you an email by the next business day to confirm your reservation. If you’d like to enjoy your cake slices with flights of wine, check out our Cake and Bubbles Experiences.

Given our cozy space, we can accommodate reservations of up to 8 people; for larger parties, please inquire about our private and semi-private events. We have a $20 per person minimum for groups of five or more, plus 20% gratuity on all large group dining checks.

A Cake Bloom specialty, our Cake & Bubbles experiences marry our popular cake slice samplers with flights of sparkling wine for a truly indulgent experience.

We offer three options for pre-order:

• Signature Cake & Bubbles Pairing - our five signature cake flavors + five accompanying 1 oz pours of wine.
• Ultimate Cake & Bubbles Pairing - all eight of our cake flavors + four accompanying 2 oz pours of sparkling wine. 
• Signature Non-Alcoholic Pairing - our three most popular signature flavors (Simply Lemon, Floral Funfetti, Classic Chocolate) + three accompanying 2 oz pours of wine. Designed for groups of 2+.

To pre-order a Cake & Bubbles experience, add your desired number of wine flights to your cart, as well as any additional cake boards you desire.

At checkout, please select the date you wish to visit us, then leave a note with your desired reservation time and the number of people in your party. We'll confirm your reservation by the next business day. 

Given our cozy space, we can accommodate reservations of up to 8 people; for larger parties, please inquire about our private events. We have a $20 per person minimum for groups of five or more, plus 20% gratuity on all group dining checks.

We recommend one wine flight per guest, one 5-Slice Sampler board per every 1 - 2 guests, and one 8-Slice Sampler board per every 2 - 4 guests.

We find that most guests spend about 1 to 1.5 hours enjoying their Cake & Bubbles.

Yes! We offer both Signature and Ultimate Cake & Bubbles experiences for walk-in guests while supplies last. We also offer a number of in-store cake & bubbles specials.

That said, we cannot guarantee a robust selection of slices for walk-in guests, so pre-ordering is strongly recommended.

Yes—our Signature Non-Alcoholic Pairing experience is available by pre-order for parties of 2 to 4 guests. We also offer a number of non-alcoholic slice & glass pairing specials in store.

Yes—guests under 21 are welcome to skip the wine and partake in cake! We ask that you include these guests in your count when letting us know the size of your party.

Your Tea Service reservation entitles you to one portion of tea tower snacks and one small pot of tea. Our tea tower assortment varies slightly each month, but typically includes savory tea sandwiches, scones, cookies, bite-sized cake Bloomers, and other treats.

To inquire about menu specifics, please email us at hello@cakebloom.com.

Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to offer a gluten-free Tea Service menu at this time; we apologize for any inconvenience. Parties with gluten-free guests are encouraged to reach out to hello@cakebloom.com to discuss our gluten-free seating option.

Yes; for vegetarian guests, we will happily omit meat-based savory sandwiches and provide you with extra veggie sandwiches. (Please note that this option is not vegan and still contains non-meat animal products such as dairy and eggs.)

Vegetarian guests must alert us to their dietary requirements at the time of order confirmation.

Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to offer a vegan Tea Service menu at this time; we apologize for any inconvenience. Parties with vegan guests are encouraged to reach out to hello@cakebloom.com to discuss our vegan seating option.

Yes; for guests with nut allergies, we will make appropriate substitutions to ensure no nuts are present on your tea tower. (Please note that, while we take every precaution to avoid cross contamination, we do have nuts in the kitchen, including peanuts, almonds, cashews, and pecans.)

Guests with nut allergies must alert us to their dietary requirements at the time of order confirmation.

Your Tea Service reservation entitles you to a 1 hour and 15 minute seating time.

Our Tea Service does not have a dress code; however, many of our guests enjoy dressing up for the occasion, and we encourage you to do so if you’d like!

Our Tea Service menu includes food offerings that we don’t normally carry in-store, so unfortunately, we can’t offer any Tea Service reservations outside of our listed dates (with the exception of our Private Tea Party packages).

If you’d like to switch the date and time of your Tea Service, please email us at hello@cakebloom.com as soon as possible. 

We can apply your deposit towards another tea service weekend up to 72 hours before your Tea Service date; on short notice, we can only reschedule Tea Service reservations for days/times on the same weekend as the original reservation date. We appreciate your understanding.

For cancellations, we will issue a full refund up to 72 hours before your Tea Service date.