This is the Best Grocery Store Cake—It Tastes Homemade

I’m cursed with a special “problem”: One of my best friends and closest collaborators is a pastry chef.

Her specialty? The most beautiful cakes I’ve ever seen, with interesting and unexpected flavors, decorated with edible blooms from her organic garden. She colors the icing with natural food dyes she makes from herbs and fruits. They’re works of art from the outside in.

Now, when I need to pick up a cake from the grocery store on the way to a family gathering, I’m underwhelmed by the options. I can’t stand the artificial colors, flavors, and cloying sweetness. I stand in front of the bakery section, heave a sigh, and resign myself to a subpar dessert.

I finally decided that enough was enough. I told my husband that we would commit to a challenge: tasting as many grocery store cakes as we had to until we found the one that met our high standards. He bravely agreed, and we set out on our mission.

Here’s the store-bought cake we agreed was by far the best.

The Best Layer Cake To Buy

Based on our exhaustive (and delicious) research, the winner is Whole Foods Berry Chantilly Cake. Famous for its cult-like dedication, the cake went viral last year when Whole Foods tried to change the recipe and was met with pushback from its legions of fans.

I was skeptical—remember, I hang out with an award-winning pastry chef—but this cake proved me wrong. I found myself reaching for another bite again and again. The cake and Chantilly cream are both light, with a faint taste of almond that pairs beautifully with the berries.

One of my pet peeves about grocery store cakes is that there’s often too much buttercream frosting for the amount of cake. This slice was perfectly balanced, and the fresh berries studded throughout the middle layer of Chantilly cream made every bite delicious. 

The cake comes with a generous garnish of simple mixed berries. No food dyes or fake flavors here! Not only did Whole Foods’ choice in garnish tick a box for me, but the juice from the berries that was soaked up by the cake was the perfect punch of acidity to cut through the sugar.

We finished the last slice and looked at each other. Time to get another cake.