Just Cake

My husband and I had a great experience working with Marina & Michelle at Just Cake. Michelle was super responsive over email (she even responded to an email almost immediately after I had sent it around 10:30 at night), and made the whole process smooth and easy. All of the cakes we sampled at the tasting were just absolutely amazing. We could have gone with any one of them and been happy.
We weren’t too picky on the design, and Marina drew up something fun and whimsical for us, which suit the vibe of our wedding perfectly. Everything went flawlessly the day-​of, and the cake was just beautiful. It was baked to perfection, I had a bit of trouble stuffing it into my husband’s mouth because it was so moist and crumbly (in a good way).
Our one regret was that we actually didn’t get to eat any of the cake! We got swept away after the cake cutting and it was all served to our guests. I emailed Michelle and they were kind enough to offer to give us two mini-​cakes (free of charge) of each of our cake flavors. We’re picking them up in a few weeks, but I have no doubt they will be beyond delicious :-). Such a positive experience overall.

Everyone at the wedding loved the cake! Bride loved the design. Great contribution to a perfect wedding!

I had a consultation with Marina today for my wedding… she is just absolutely delightful! She drew us a an example of what our cake will look like for our wedding & we sampled all of her delicious cakes. I. DIE.
If you have a particular flavor you love, I would recommend telling her in advance because I let them know I love salted caramel and she did an amazing job at executing it for me. The toasted pecan with red velvet cake is out of this world.
I can’t wait to see our cake on our wedding day! Thank you Marina.
–Merideth :)

Sooo in love w/​so many things about Just Cake but I’ll try to keep it short.
I’ve been a fan of Marina since I’ve seen her on Food Network Challenge [sorry if I sound like a groupie]. Imagine my joy when I found out she was within driving distance of us. I was running an hour late for my tasting but Marina was kind enough to accommodate us. She’s awesome. =]
Her creativity + artistry, not to mention cake flavors, were beyond what I expected. I saw 2 cakes she previously made that fit exactly what I envisioned. Suuuper stoked as she was jotting notes + sketching away. As we tasted the cake, I couldn’t help but devour a couple whole slices. BOMB DOT COM! She even made Tommy like lemon cake when he absolutely hates lemon cake. Amaaazing!
Can’t wait to finalize everything soon for my wedding cake.

First let me say that this review is long overdue!!! Just Cake is positively awesome! Marina Sousa created my birthday cake in August of 2010 and it was absolutely the best’est cake I have ever had in my entire life!
Marina is patient and creative and with my ideas she created EXACTLY what I wanted! Look no further, This is where you want to purchase your cake for that very special event (s) in your life.

Marina made lovely cupcakes for our small wedding. Their beauty and taste elevated the whole ambiance of our event. We couldn’t have done it without her. I would recommend her to anyone!

Marina made a beautiful cake. It was a five layer with one layer in the middle at a slant for a really modern, artistic look. At the ceremony, we had a spot light on the cake and had it positioned smack dab in the walkway right when you walk into the reception, as it was truly a piece of art that deserved to have everyone see it. While I don’t think Marina had ever done a cake like this, she nailed it! Marina was very friendly and took my notes and hopes and turned them into a beautiful work of art. I highly recommend her.

Marina and her team whipped up a magical cake for our wedding last month in Big Sur that everyone is still raving about! She was very accommodating and we had a fabulous tasting session at her office in Capitola — so many delicious options to choose from! We decided on a lemon/​raspberry layer cake and a mocha cake — both were out of this world! We have been hearing quotes such as «that was not only the best wedding cake I have ever tasted, but the best dessert I have EVER had!» My sweet, petite relatives reportedly ate 3 pieces! Marina professionally had it delivered to our site in Big Sur for a reasonable fee, and she working in conjunction with our florist to have matching flowers to our centerpieces decorating the cake — we couldn’t be happier! I am already counting down the days until we can order our anniversary cake from Marina & her team. Thank you! :)

Marina and everyone at Just Cake was an absolute joy to work with. With every aspect of our wedding I did a LOT of research, both for aesthetics and cost. I found Marina’s website after quite a bit of searching, and instantly believed that she would be WAY out of our price range. Her work is impeccable, so perfectly executed that every design is shown in its most beautiful light. I called Marina and was amazed that she was within budget, and we didn’t have to scrimp on the kind of cake we wanted.
We met at her completely cute showroom, and were immediately enthralled, every example shown was beautiful. My husband and I looked through her tear sheets, and unfortunately had very different ideas about the kind of cake we wanted. We showed Marina the images we each had pulled, and while we were tasting her scrumptious flavors she sketched out a design that was the perfect balance of what we both wanted, and on our wedding day was absolutely our dream cake.
I would recommend her to anyone with good taste and a discerning sweet tooth. I want to get married all over again (to the same guy of course) so we can eat more of her delicious desserts!!!

My wife and I were very pleased with our wedding cake from Just Cakes. Marina nailed the design style we were looking for, which was a series of patterns from our invitations. The three tiered cake was a true work of art both visually and in flavor and texture. Marina is a true artist.
Before narrowing down our final flavor choice, Marina provided several samples, and once I tasted them, I knew it was going to be a touch choice, but no wrong choices either. Every sample was delicious.
All in all, it was a great experience dealing with Just Cakes, and my wife and I can’t wait for our one year anniversary cake from there.

Marina Sousa of Just Cakes was the best part of my wedding! I was one of those crazy brides who has an idea but ends up changing her mind every few weeks. Marina was amazingly patient, understanding, and supportive. Her creativity and openness to new ideas and flavors made working with her an absolute joy. The week before the wedding, I asked her to add even more details to the cake. When the brides and grooms cakes arrived at the wedding, they were exceptional! Marina listens to what brides want and then creates cakes that exceed all expectations.
Oh, and she has a few Food Network awards under her belt.
Well done Marina!

Marina contacted me shortly after I posted my review. Apparently, she did apologize through my wedding coordinator, which did not reach me. She also apologized directly to me for the error (though in her first email she qualified it «I am unclear where the confusion was but in any case I do apologize»). She also made an offer of monthly cake until my anniversary. Though I appreciate the gesture, I really only needed the one cake, and declined.
I have very mixed feelings about this. I’ve given her a 3 so it will even out to a 2 overall (at least I think that’s how Unilocal works). Though I was very disappointed that my cake was not what I ordered, it was still pretty and tasty and the guests only realized something was amiss since many of them knew I ordered lemon (I had been very excited about my cake and was telling everyone about it) — not that they minded the option of chocolate.

Just Cake makes above all, the best tasting and most professional looking cakes around — and I have tried a lot of different vendors! Marina Sousa is a true artist! Her design was right on with our wishes and the actual cake tasted even better than the delicious sample we got to try in her shop. We even changed our mind about the flavor of the third tier of our cake only a week before our event and she graciously made the appropriate changes at the last minute. She made our day extremely memorable! We are now return customers and have recommended several friends to Just Cake, all who have been soooo happy we did so. Thank you Marina!!!

I must have tested close to two dozen cakes from vendors spanning from San Francisco down to Monterey and Just Cake was the perfect fit for my wedding down in Pebble Beach. I was honestly stumped, until I found Just Cake that is, at finding a cake that both looked elegant and timeless while also tasting fabulous. I settled on half the cake being a very mild lemon flavor with butter cream while the other half a mix between chocolate and espresso. They were both delectable but my personal favorite was the lemon. There is no way the top is staying in my freezer for a year cuz I’ve already sneaked a couple slices and it’s only been two months from the big day. This is talent and creativity at its finest.

YUMMMMMMYYYY!!! Marina’s wedding cakes are gorgeous! We heard about her through a friend who got married 3 yrs ago. After coming in for a tasting we knew she was the one who would make our wedding cake :). Favorite flavor? Red Velvet! Her cakes are super moist and the fillings to die for. Only con is — it takes her heckuva long time to call or email back.

Marina is incredibly nice and AMAZINGLY talented! Our wedding cake was exactly like the sketch she drew three months earlier, and it tasted even better on the day of than it did in the tastings. Everyone hovered over the cake the entire night taking photos of it and I can’t wait to eat the rest of it! She is extremely talented and you won’t find a better tasting fondant anywhere!

Marina delivered us a superb wedding cake all the way from Capitola for banquet in SF. I’m counting down the days for our first anniversary so I can tuck into the anniversary cake in the freezer. Her showroom is immaculate. Her demeanor is all calm. Brides, you must go here!
UPDATE:
The cake, one year later, was awesome. There was enough butter cream and fondant to protect it from freezer burn. And the fondant was still soft and delicious!

I lust over Just Cake. I’ve actually never had their cake (or even been inside the tiny, adorable shop), but my boy’s parents live down the street and I used to live about a block away so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to window shop their designs. From what I’ve seen they are fabulous, classy, and just beautiful. If you are actually in the market for wedding cake, I’d recommend stopping in.

Yum-​o! Not only are Marina’s cake’s absolutely fabulous to look at, but it is some of the best tasting cake I have ever had. Let me tell you — that is hard to find! Marina designed and made our cake for our September 2005 wedding. She was super easy to work with, amazingly talented, and great with helping you design your cake (even if you have no idea what you’re doing.) She has had a star-​studded client list (think Brad & Jen’s wedding!) and won the Food Network’s Birthday Cake challenge. I think that her prices are reasonable for her amazing skill, but she is certainly not a bargain. We did half of our cake decorated, and half as a sheet cake. It really cut down our cost and she was really nice about doing it for us. Schedule a tasting! You won’t regret it!