Does Costco Sell Same-Day Custom Graduation Cakes?

Costco is so much more than a giant wholesale warehouse, and this is proven by the fact that the store takes the time to personalize more than you might think. From the efficient customer service in the food court to the friendly folks handing out Costco free samples, the popular retailer values its members and aims to please. The Costco bakery has experienced bakers behind its counters, and while they're more than happy to make you a custom graduation cake, they can't offer same-day service.

There are a few things to know before ordering Costco sheet cakes, and the first is that it will require a 24-hour turnaround. Because lots of celebrations are taking place around May and June, it's probably even better to order 48 hours in advance, mainly because Costco's sheet cakes (the ones you'll order for occasions that require feeding more than a few people) are only available — customized or not — by filling out an order form at the bakery kiosk.

At the bakery, you'll find the order forms as well as pictures of design choices for specific sheet cakes. You can specify the cake size, design choices, and any personalized messages you want on the order form. You can get a 10-inch round cake, which serves around 16 people, or the popular half-sheet cake that allows about 48 people to dig in. Graduation design choices include caps, school colors, and the year of graduation. And, of course, you can customize further with names or brief messages.

If you've procrastinated enough to find yourself in a same-day pinch and you need to celebrate that graduate with cake, there are a few other smaller options available. Costco's bakery offers a variety of pre-made cakes, but note that they are available on a first-come, first-served basis. When the cakes are gone, they are gone for the day. So if you're already at Costco and you're looking for a grab-and-go, options that may be available are the 10-inch chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, the 10-inch white cake with vanilla mousse, a caramel tres leches bar cake, a carrot bar cake, or (based on our expert research) the best cake in Costco's bakery, Kirkland's signature chocolate tuxedo mousse bar cake, which is described as "delicious and texturally flawless."

Other bakery choices to consider for your grad include a 12-inch cheesecake (you could doctor this up with some store-bought icing), Tiramisu (6 count) that could be festive, or, for the truly adventurous, Baumkuchen sponge cake. We had to look this one up, but we've been told that this sponge cake can be enhanced with nuts, chocolate, honey, or (perhaps apropos for the newly minted graduate) some rum or brandy. Best practice here, however, is to plan ahead at least a day in advance (two or more to make it easier on the kind folks at Costco), and order that sheet cake, because it's delicious, and your graduate will thank you.