The Cakemaker

Best part of working with Bala: THE FREAKING CAKE! (Everything else was easy and enjoyable too… more on that in a bit.) Our wedding cake ended up being a 3 tier beauty to serve 50 for our Big Sur nuptials in August.
We got married on a Tuesday, so Bala made the cake on Saturday. That way, friends could pick it up in San Fran on Monday and trek it down to Big Sur. 3 days later, on wedding day, the cake was moist and delicious. We had almond flavored white cake with coconut mousse and vanilla buttercream with shaved coconut. The cake itself was dense and had a wonderful texture. The vanilla buttercream was magical – somehow tasting more like homemade whipped cream, but thicker… and the coconut mousse was delicate and had no hint of fake, overpowering coconut flavorings. All the textures and flavors blended together beautifully for a truly delicious cake that just happened to be our wedding cake.
ALL OF OUR WEDDING GUESTS RAVED ABOUT THE CAKE. When does that happen?! Not to mention, the cake traveled beautifully and arrived 3 hours south of SF in perfect condition.
As for working with Bala, we coordinated primarily via email as I live in Chicago and our wedding was a destination wedding in Big Sur. We did speak on the phone once to shore up the design plan. He was accommodating to our schedule for both picking up a sampling of the flavors we’d picked when we were in CA a month before our wedding to get our marriage license. And, he was more than easy to work with as we designated friends to pick up the cake for us. It was boxed appropriately for a decently long trip… proof was in the fact that the cake rode down with two of our crazy groomsmen and still arrived in perfect form.
Finally, the price was more than fair. I would have paid double once I got the flavor sample from Bala – both my (then) fiancé and I were so stoked on our way to get our marriage license after realizing what an amazing wedding cake we were going to have to serve our guests. Cannot say enough about THE CAKEMAKER! Thank you, Bala. I will never forget our wedding cake.

Ok, since my extremely picky niece and sister-​in-​law recently surprised me by mentioning that the wedding cake at my wedding (more than a few moons ago) was still probably one of the best wedding cakes that they have ever had, well, I figured I better finally take care of my review. (Sorry, Bala!!!)
They mentioned how the outer layer was particularly well done. I guess a lot of fondants are not really edible but Bala’s was quite different in that regard.
We had several different flavors in our cake, but I do seem to recall that the passion fruit with chocolate was killer.
I would highly, highly, recommend that you set up a tasting with Bala. Street parking is a tad tight there and be mindful of the street signs. Bala was great and very easy to work with.
Had I known I would one day get such positive reviews from such discriminating foodies, I would have gladly paid more (but didn’t have to)!!!

I usually don’t care for the taste of wedding cakes, but wow — this is something else. Bala’s cakes are moist, tasty, and he has such great combinations. He creates beautiful cakes that are perfect for any wedding style. He is friendly, patient, generous, and easy to work with!

My fiancé (now husband) has a gluten allergy. After scouring Unilocal,I stumbled upon Bala (The Cakemaker). We went in for a tasting and were very happy with his personality and style. and the cake flavor!
Our wedding was last weekend and I cannot count the number of people who specifically called out how great the cake was. Many of them said it was better than regular (non-​GF) cakes! Even for our leftover brunch the next day, the cake stayed moist and yummy! To top it off, the design was beautiful. We went with a simple, modern design and added green calla lilies. I couldn’t be happier. Thank you Bala! You were the icing on the cake for my wedding day. ;)
I’d highly recommend Bala for cakes, especially those needing a gluten-​free one!

All the flavors we tried at our tasting were so good, it was hard to narrow it down to just two choices. In the end we picked the chocolate cake with mixed berry mousse filling, and lemon zest with raspberry mousse filling. Three tiers, each tier wrapped in white chocolate with a different pattern on each layer. A cascade of lavender colored lilies trailed down the side. Beautiful. Delicious. I only regret that I only got to eat a few bites of cake before champagne and the dance floor were calling too loudly for me to ignore.

Bala did a beautiful job for our wedding cake. We had vanilla bean cake with mascarpone and vanilla bean with chocolate. Not only was the cake beautiful but it was light and had just the right amount of «sweet». Bala was easy to work with and the tasting was great. I would highly recommend The CakeMaker.

After trying cakes at a couple of cheaper places and being rather disappointed, we decided to check out the Cakemaker who came highly recommended by friends. Bala was very timely in returning my phone call when I left him a message. In fact, he was always very quick to respond to my emails as well. Setting up our tasting appointment was easy and free.
His cakes are simply superior to others. The cakes are moist and not too sweet, which I like. Being able to select the flavor for each of your cake layers along with the filling to go with it was a plus (our flavors — chocolate with strawberry and lemon poppy seed with mango mousse). He also has many designs to select from and was able to answer many of our questions about fondant vs icing etc. We ended up choosing fondant because we liked the look better on the cake. The design was intricate with lace, which ended up matching my theme. I was surprised that the price was actually much more reasonable than I thought it would be. It cost us under $ 900 for a beautiful cake plus extra sheet cake to feed 175 people total. I highly recommend the Cakemaker.

Bala made a beautiful 3 tier cake for my wedding and I loved it. His wife delivered it to my venue and placed the wedding topper and fresh flowers. The cake (chocolate and vanilla bean with raspberry mousse) tasted great and all the guests loved it.

Hands down, Bala makes the BEST cakes in San Francisco.
I normally hate eating cake, especially at weddings because they’re always too sweet. The Cakemaker makes the perfect cake, it is very moist and not too dense/​rich. We went for the basic white cake with mascarpone cheese & strawberries. My guests LOVED it. Some of my family members and I even got together the next day for lunch, and ate some more leftover cake!
I’m a little sad because Bala told me that he won’t be taking anymore cake orders for birthdays/​other occasions because he is way too busy with wedding cakes. Very understandable since his cakes are soooo delicious. Guess I’ll have to wait for someone’s wedding to eat it again.
The design for his cakes are also beautiful & detailed.

I’ve never tasted a better cake anywhere. Period. And if that isn’t reason enough for you to choose Bala, he’s also a kind, funny, bright soul – and who else would you want making the cake for your wedding?

My first encounter with Bala and his cakes were at my sister’s wedding cake tasting back in 2009. I’ve been hooked since then. I love his white chocolate signature basket weave pattern. It’s beautiful and delicious (way better than fondant). You can even see her review back in ⁹⁄₂₀₀₉ where she mentions me talking about the cake long after her wedding was over. She did end up ordering one for my birthday and it was just as delicious.
So obviously he was the first vendor I booked for my wedding. His prices have only increased slightly, but he charged a higher delivery fee since he already has a lot of business in SF (my venue was in Mountain View). We went with the lemon zest cake and raspberry mousse filling. The cake was really beautiful and the person who delivered it (I think his wife) placed the fresh flowers on the cake like a pro. It was light and delicious — slightly sweeter than I remember it being and a little less moist, but overall still much better than the typical wedding cake. So maybe more like 4.5 stars. I would order from him again for a future event. We had a ton of cake leftover, not necessarily a bad thing but in hindsight I could have ordered less. We had 125 guests and we bought a 3 tiered cake (for 100 ppl) w/​a 30-​slice sheet cake. At the end of the night we had ¾ of the bottom tier and the top tier leftover (which we wanted to save anyway). More for me!

This gentleman is amazing. First of all, he’s very professional and the cake tasting session was great. His cake is nice and fluffy and the fillings are perfect and not too rich.
He is honest and encourages you to get a medium sized cake and then a flat with it to serve first. Perfect.
For our wedding we went with alternating layers of chocolate cake with salted caramel filling and chocolate chip cake with white chocolate filling. The frosting is thin on the outside but sturdy and is the perfect amount. His decorations are out of this world.
Everyone at the wedding loved the cake. We froze the top part of the cake and had some last night for our one month anniversary and it was amazing.
If you are searching for a wedding cake, look no further.

After looking for a great but particular cake for my brother’s birthday, I was at a loss. I looked on this site and found the Cakemaker. I simply said a white cake with chocolate frosting for 10. Bala said chocolate mousse filling? I said yes.
I am so happy with the result as was my family. The cake was super delicious and gorgeous! I am an artist and recognize that Bala is an artist too. The cake was inspired, and is a happy memory.
All cakes will now come from the Cakemaker!

The most delicious cake I have ever eaten
Beautiful design
Hassle free service
Everything I could have dreamed of for a wedding cake!
Thank you Bala!

All I need to say is white chocolate chip cake with salted caramel frosting and you’ll understand why I’m so giddy! But, luckily for you, I can be a talker. Our wedding last weekend was at the City Club in San Francisco. Our package with City Club included a cake from The Cakemaker. I’m so glad it did because Bala is truly amazing! I had been corresponding with him for months after our tasting and he’s always been honest and accommodating. His cakes are so fluffy and moist and the frosting was just the right amount of sweet.
Everyone loved our elegant Tiffany blue wedding cake and would have loved seconds. It almost looked too pretty to eat and was sturdy as it took us a little while to cut it (then again we have never been good at cake cutting). How much do we love Bala’s cake? Though we are being good and refraining from eating the top tier until our one year anniversary, I am about to contact Bala again and see what he can do for a birthday cake for my husband, and of course I want white chocolate chip and salted caramel!

I didn’t know exactly what I wanted in a wedding cake. OK, I had no idea! I knew more or less my colors. Bala knew exactly what to do and made the perfect cake for our city hall wedding. He also came in early on the day of my wedding so he could store it properly for us in his bakery to keep it fresh for our event. I really appreciate him going out of his way to make sure our cake was perfect. Highly recommended!

My friend helped me to order the wedding cake 2 weeks before my wedding. Normally, you need to reserve 3 month before your big day. Thus, we were really surprised that they accept our order. I was not expecting a lot of details and beautiful designs in 2 weeks especially with this super popular bakery. I send the bakery 2 reference images and then waited until my big day. We were amazed to see this cake. I was so happy to see that all the designs I wanted were on the cake. The flowers were so delicate and real that we didnt even want to eat this art piece. The cake was definitely the big star of my wedding. Everyone complimented on the cake. I want to thank Cakemaker for making this beautiful cake and added so much more happiness and charm to my special day.
They are the real cake makers!

Nice cake and a great price. Bala was very nice and delivered a great product when other companies were not returning calls and emails. Thank you very much.

Bala made my birthday cake for my 25^th birthday, and I just used him again for my 30^th birthday cake.
I had 2 tiers, white fondant with small gold balls as accents, a vanilla bean cake and salted caramel mousse filling, and my name on the side + «30» on the top in bright pink.
My guests raved about the cake and it seriously made my party!

Our wedding cake was SO fantastic! We are from out of town and had to order a cake sight unseen. We wanted to do a cake tasting so badly, and couldn’t, so we had to rely on the good folks here on Unilocal to steer us well. And you did!
After reading reviews, we went with the RED VELVET CAKE/​MASCARPONE CREAM CHEESE MOUSSE FILLING on one layer, and on the 2^nd layer we did the VANILLA BEAN CAKE/​LEMON MOUSSE FILLING. It was amazing! My and my husband’s favorite was the lemon, but our guests raved about the red velvet too.
For the look of the cake, we simply emailed a photo from Pinterest and Bala replicated it exactly! It was so beautiful.
Overall, we could not have been happier. Trust Bala and the Cakemaker, even if you are ordering from out of town– you won’t be disappointed!
Thank you Bala, we will be back for our anniversary cake! See you soon.