9 Wegmans Bakery Cakes, Ranked

If you've ever been to a party, eaten way more of a cake than you meant to, and asked someone where they got that amazing cake, there's a good chance they got it at Wegmans. In fact, even if they said they made it themselves or got it at a fancy bakery, they might be lying, and they actually got it at Wegmans. That's because the cakes at one of America's favorite grocery stores avoid the sickly-sweet, plasticky taste of your typical supermarket bakery options. Instead, they are towering, deftly made, thoughtfully decorated delights. Overall, there's probably something for everybody in the Wegmans cake lineup. But how do they compare?

I tried nine different cakes from Wegmans, ranging from classic chocolate to cheesecake to banana cream pie, to see which ones are worth the trip. I wanted to know which ones tasted the best, so I looked at the frosting, mix-ins, and the cakes themselves and evaluated their flavor, texture, and the overall ratio of the different elements. But I also wanted to know which cakes felt special, and which ones felt run-of-the-mill. Which ones were just dessert, and which ones felt like a party (or a decadent night in)? Here's what I ate, and what I found out.

Maybe the Ultimate White Cake was set up for failure from the moment it was named. After all, how can one not compare it to the chocolate version with the same title? But this cake's shortcomings went beyond any unfair comparisons.

I didn't expect Wegmans to revolutionize the classic white cake, but flavor-wise, this was indistinguishable from a cake made from a boxed mix. Nothing wrong with cake from a box. But I'd use that boxed cake mix before going to Wegmans and buying this again, because it leaned a bit dry. I would actually say that it needed more frosting, if the frosting didn't have its own set of problems.

The buttercream has dark flecks of vanilla seeds throughout, giving the exterior and interior frosting layers a very pleasing look. But it had me anticipating a distinct vanilla flavor that simply wasn't there when I tasted it. Actually, the icing tasted like very little other than sugar. Its texture was strangely crumbly, and leaned more greasy than creamy. With a cake so simple, flaws become all the more noticeable, and unfortunately, this cake had plenty of them.

In my opinion, red velvet cake is a dessert with an identity crisis. The question of what exactly the composition and the flavor of red velvet cake is can be found all over the internet, and it's one with many vague answers. Unfortunately, the Wegmans version did not make me want to delve much more into this confused cake. The red-tinted sponge was a bit tough and slightly dry, far from the traditional velvety, soft texture suggested by the name. Its taste was very mild, and while cocoa is listed in the ingredients, I detected very little chocolatey flavor. With not much to play against, the tanginess of the cream cheese icing fell flat.

To be sure, I did not love this cake, and I would not be likely to get it again. But there were some positives. For one, the red color of the cake can be attributed to beet extract, which is an appreciated choice considering how many red velvet cakes out there are artificially dyed. The spikes of icing piped on top, covered in light red sprinkles, were delightful, and it's always nice to get a cake that looks celebratory. 

The Wegmans plain cheesecake is a pretty good cheesecake. Thanks to the addition of Greek yogurt, there is a particularly tangy note here that cream cheese could not achieve alone. The filling was smooth and creamy, with no detectable graininess or crumbliness. And the graham cracker crust was buttery and salty-sweet, which paired well with the custard. But these positives are true of any passable cheesecake.

Like the Ultimate White Cake, this cheesecake is done no favors by its name. Ultimate Plain Cheesecake? What does that entail? I have no idea. I enjoyed this cheesecake, certainly, but if someone asked me where they should get a cheesecake, I wouldn't tell them to rush to Wegmans. They could get something identical at any number of places. A plain cheesecake is a plain cheesecake, and Wegmans does not deliver an "ultimate" version. Perhaps its more elaborate varieties of cheesecake stand out, but I haven't tried them, and this classic version is nothing to write home about.

The third member of the Wegmans Ultimate cake supergroup, this carrot cake does not shy away from the spotlight. It's positively stuffed with shredded carrots, chopped walnuts, and raisins, and stacks up tall with three layers. While the Ultimate White and Ultimate Chocolate cakes definitely felt substantial, this slice had serious heft beyond that of the other cakes in the lineup, likely due to the sheer number of add-ins.

The cake itself was expertly spiced, with nutmeg and cinnamon bringing warm flavor and aroma that contrasted wonderfully with the sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting. The sponge was moist, and while it was not as light and airy as some of the other cakes, it had the density required to hold up to the raisins and walnuts. The cake-to-frosting ratio was also on point. 

My only complaint is that it sure did feel like a lot of add-ins, to the point where the cake almost felt like just the matrix for holding them all together. The raisins were delicious, but I felt the cake lost some of its "ultimate carrot" focus. It was a delicious cake, but at the end of the day, I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

There is something about the unapologetic, over-the-top decadence of a chocolate mousse cake that feels like more of an experience than a dessert. It transports me to a fancy white-tablecloth restaurant, where the fudgy, dark chocolate layers are practically impossible to see in the candlelight. Anyway, despite the fact that I pulled this out of a plastic container and ate it at my dining room table, this cake did the job. The mousse was silky smooth, and together with an incredibly dense, moist cake layer and the chocolate ganache, it was richness on top of richness on top of richness, just as a mousse cake should be.

While this is a delicious cake, I can't say it's something you need to go to Wegmans to get. It's a surprisingly forgiving type of cake, and even regular grocery stores tend to have pretty good versions of this. 

Actually, I can think of perhaps one reason: the ingredients list. Tofu? Vegan cream cheese? This is not just any chocolate mousse cake. This is a vegan chocolate mousse cake, and Wegmans has no mention of this on the label whatsoever. Vegan-ness wasn't exactly part of the criteria for this ranking. But still, it's a nice thing to have a cake that more people can enjoy, given that it is generally meant to be shared — and that it's so tasty on its own merit.

Strawberry shortcake is a bit of a misnomer. It originally referred to strawberries and cream served with a scone-like pastry. But strawberry shortcake evolved over the years, and now the name may refer to all kinds of different cake-adjacent bases. The Wegmans strawberry shortcake is of the sponge cake variety, with layers of whipped cream and topped with sliced strawberries in syrup.

I'm a big strawberry shortcake fan, and the Wegmans variety gets it right. The cake was airy and delicate but had enough structure to be stacked as two layers. While sponge cakes often turn out dry and stiff, this was moist and tender. The whipped cream, piped on in pleasing swirls, was thick and stable enough that it didn't slide off or melt into the cake, but was still distinctly fresh, not frosting-like.

The strawberries, soaked in syrup, were perfectly sweet. The only problem here is that there simply weren't enough of them. Some strawberries in between the cake layers would have solved the issue. Alas, I found myself rationing the jewel-like strawberries on top, making sure I would have at least a bit of one for each bite.

Unlike Boston cream pie, banana cream pie is actually a pie. It's usually made with a flaky pie crust, vanilla custard, sliced bananas, and a whipped cream topping. The Wegmans cake rendition of this pie takes those elements and gives the whole thing a bit of a remix: A graham cracker base is followed by a baked banana pie layer, then two layers of banana cake. Vanilla mousse was nestled between each layer, and the cake was topped with a thin layer of caramel. It really was a majestic sight to behold. I like bananas, but wasn't thinking much of this cake until I laid my eyes on it. Now that, I thought, is a dessert.

The wins kept coming for this one. The vanilla mousse was rich and luxe. The graham cracker base was buttery and salty. The banana pie layer was deliciously banana-y without being overpowering or artificial tasting. And while the whipped cream, vanilla mousse, and banana filling all added creaminess, the banana cake layers were moist on their own with a nice spring and extra boost of banana flavor. The caramel on top was delicious, but this cake didn't need it to become one of my sleeper faves.

According to Wegmans itself, this is its most popular cake. It's not exactly surprising that a chocolate cake would top the bestseller's list, since it's, well, chocolate, and that's something that is well-loved in all shapes and forms. But the Ultimate Chocolate Cake lives up to its title.

This slice of cake, which I would describe as more of a slab, was love at first bite. Thick, glossy chocolate icing surrounded tender cocoa-infused layers of cake in perfect harmony. Neither overwhelmed the other, and they each had their own distinct chocolate flavor; this simple cake was by no means one-note. If you've ever had an intense craving for an indulgent, fudgy, deeply chocolatey cake, the kind you see in a movie and can't stop thinking about, one that you can picture so clearly and would go anywhere to get — this is the cake you were picturing, and Wegmans is where you could get it.

I'm not a big pie person. Luckily, Boston cream pie is not a pie. Typically, it's a yellow layer cake with custard in the middle and a chocolate glaze. Despite the fact that no Boston cream pie is actually a pie, Wegmans dispensed with the misnomer entirely, calling its version a Boston Cream Cake. Perhaps this is because the cake varies slightly from the traditional version. Firstly, this cake is three layers. Second, the filling sandwiched between the cake layers alternates from a classic vanilla custard cream to a simple whipped cream.

While this was one of the most visually impressive cakes, I was surprised to find that it was also the one I thought was most delicious. The yellow cake was springy yet tender. The vanilla custard was sweet and silky, and with the dark chocolate glaze, made for a rich and luxurious bite. The whipped cream layer was a wonderful addition that added some contrast to the other super-rich components. Whatever Wegmans wants to call this cake, I'll eat it.

The flavor and texture of the cake layers, frostings, custards, and additional toppings or mix-ins were evaluated individually. Custards and frostings needed to be smooth and the right balance of sweet, while the cake layers needed to be springy, tender, and moist. I also considered how these different elements were balanced, both in terms of flavors and amount. I looked at the appearance of the cakes, as visual appeal is a key factor in centerpiece dishes like cake, though I did consider the effects of slicing, packaging, and travel.

While I did evaluate the texture, taste, and appearance of each item as a standalone cake, I also considered these factors in the context of expectations associated with different types of cake; for example, red velvet cakes being expected to be particularly light and "velvety." 

The packaging for each slice included a serving temperature recommendation, which I followed. That meant that some of these were tasted at refrigerator temperature, while others were tasted at room temperature.