Editor’s Note: The Cheshire Cake Cups have been discontinued as of late Summer 2015. We’ll update you if/when they’ll return (because there will be shouts of rejoicing.)Oooooh, we’re talkin’ CAKE TODAY!!!!!
Okay, okay — so technically, National Cake Day was yesterday, apparently. But since we had so much fun with National Pie Day last week, I thought it would be awesome to start sharing some of my favorite Disney cakes. (I’m pretty shocked I haven’t done a cake post before — so much goodness to talk about!)
So here’s the deal with cake at Disney. It can take many forms… . And we’re going to include a bunch of ’em! In honor of National Cake Day, let’s take a look at some of our favorite entries into the category of cake!
Gourmet Cake Cups at Cheshire Cafe
I recently discovered Cake Nirvana at Disney. Because, in my universe, eating cake is usually a thinly-disguised, socially acceptable way to consume as much frosting as possible.
If you’re giving me a piece of cake, I’m getting a corner piece, with as many frosting roses as possible. That’s just how I roll.
So it’s always pretty great when a bakery can get on board with the “Frosting is the Whole Point!!” perspective. And Cheshire Cafe at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom has done just exactly that.
With their beautifully themed Gourmet Cake Cups, you can choose from a Vanilla Cheshire Cake Cup or a Mad Hatter Mocha Cake Cup. Characters from Alice in Wonderland are silk-screened onto a sweet round of white fondant and top each of the cake cups. (Sometimes. Sometimes you don’t get the characters. But who cares.)
Themed Cake Cups at Cheshire Cafe
THIS is what you get when you order. Confetti cake. FROSTING. Confetti cake. FROSTING. Confetti cake. F R O S T I N G!!!!!!
Cheshire Cake Cup at Cheshire Cafe
Yep. That’s all frosting on top. There’s no cake there my friends. And it’s glorious. Thick, bakery buttercream that’s so sugary it’ll make you sick. LOVE!
Frosting!!
I know a lot of you don’t have the love affair with frosting that I do, but for those who feel the same — you’re welcome! 😀
Butterfinger Cupcake at Starring Rolls
And how could we pay homage to cake without mentioning the original single serving cake? We are talking Disney Cupcakes, of course!
One of my favorites from way back at the beginning of the Cupcake Renaissance is still around and garnering rave reviews — the Butterfinger Cupcake at Starring Rolls Cafe!
Butterfinger Cupcake at Starring Rolls Cafe in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
This is one monster chocolate cupcake that you must experience to believe. Well, the cake is chocolate. And so is that incredible fudgy middle. But the pile of frosting on top is pure heavenly vanilla, topped with a crown of Butterfinger candy bar crumbs!
Cross-Section of Butterfinger Cupcake
It’s a classic for good reason.
Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake at Liberty Tree Tavern
I’ve been a little freaked out by reports that one of my absolute favorite cake creations, the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake at Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Tree Tavern, has been on and off the lunch menu lately.
And if you are like me and spent some time not ordering this dessert because you thought it was just plain ol’ cake, then think again the next time you’re at Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch.
It’s actually a cross between something kinda gooey and something kind of chocolate chip cookie-like. And crowned with a big scoop of ice cream and a sprinkle of toffee bits, I’ll be honest. It’s a little blissful.
Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake at Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom
Now we won’t panic if it takes a bit of a hiatus — after all, we have a handy recipe at our fingertips if it does disappear for a while — but please, for the love of chocolate and the very definition of ooey-gooey — don’t do it, Disney!
Frozen Cheesecake on a Stick at Disneyland’s Downtown Disney
How can you possibly improve on Cheesecake? Well, if this question has kept you up at night, then you’ll be excited to hear my solution: put a stick in the end and freeze it! Brilliant, yes?
Because then, your Frozen Cheesecake on a Stick becomes a multi-tasking, eat-and-stroll snack! I was delighted to find this novel frozen treat on a recent trip to Disneyland at the Gelato Bars Kiosk in Downtown Disney. It’s creamy and refreshing. And I was so surprised at just how perfect the texture was!
If cheesecake is one of your favorite desserts, you totally owe it to yourself to give this version a try!
Seasonal Funnel Cakes
is the ultimate sweet-n-fried treat. And Disney is all about making the temptation even more irresistible by offering Seasonal Versions and Special Toppings!
We’ve seen (and enjoyed!) funnel cakes topped with fruit or chocolate syrup. I think they’re especially good with Apples!
Funnel Cake with Apples at American Pavilion
And on a hot, sunny day, funnel cake topped with ice cream is delicious!
Try your funnel cake with ice cream!
One of our favorite versions that we see during the summer season is Strawberry Funnel Cake.
Strawberry Funnel Cake
And last year, there was even a Double Chocolate Version at Epcot’s Funnel Cake Stand! Yum!!!
And of course, when the weather turns a little cooler, it’s awesome to nosh on a Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake. It’s one of our favorite Fall treats in Epcot.
Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake
I love that Disney is always offering different flavors for this classic theme park treat. In this way, even though it’s something familiar, it’s something new at the same time!
Carrot Cake Cookie at Writer’s Stop
If you’re looking for me in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, your chances of finding me in Writer’s Stop are better than good!
This unassuming little coffee shop is a great place to take a breather from all of the exciting rides in the park. Stop by and enjoy a cup of coffee and look at a book or two. And while you’re there, you’ve gotta try the another of our favorite entries into the cake genre — the Carrot Cake Cookie.
Two soft and spicy cakey cookies are held together with a goodly amount of delicious cream cheese frosting.
Carrot Cake Cookie at Writer’s Stop in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
And given that I’m a big fan of carrot cake in general, this is one of my all time favorites, and a great (and portable!) way to enjoy these classic flavors! I always get one to keep in the fridge at my hotel and nosh on for a few days!
Grapefruit Cake
But we couldn’t wrap up a post about cake without at least one entry that features a classic — both in form and flavor.
And the Grapefruit Cake at Hollywood Brown Derby is that classic, perfect, layer cake vision. This one really is historical! Yellow cake, delicately flavored with grapefruit and layered together with cream cheese icing, it was originally created as a “healthy treat!” Haha!! Can you imagine?
Grapefruit Cake from The Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Well, it must have done the trick, because people are still flocking to the Derby to enjoy it all these years later. (If this all looks and sounds amazing to you, check out our recipe and make it at home.)
That’s our take on celebrating cake when it comes to delicious Disney versions. It’s so fun to think that you can have so many different types of desserts, and yet they can all be cake in some form or another.
We think we’ve just tipped the iceberg with this post, so I’m pretty sure that we’ll be putting together a cake gallery of all of our favorites in the very near future! You can see our other Disney Food Galleries here!
In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you! What’s your favorite Disney cake? Leave a comment and let us know which ones we should include!
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Are we sure the cake cups are still at the Cheshire Cafe? I looked at the official Disney menu on the Disney website as well as the allears menu, which was updated this month, and neither of them listed the cups. I hope they haven’t disappeared-I really wanted to try them 🙁
Emily – They disappear from time to time, but so far they’ve always come back. Fingers crossed you get to try one!
Is too early for cake? Technically if I have the grapefruit cake, it has fruit, so it’s healthy, right? 😉 Still haven’t tried it but it’s in my list for my trip at the the of September!
Those cake cups look AMAZING, but the issue I usually have with Disney cupcakes is that they’re served refrigerator-cold! Who wants cold, hard buttercream frosting? Are the cake cups by any chance served at a greater-than-Arctic temperature?
Susan — I don’t remember mine being cold 🙂 To be fair, though, I usually keep my birthday cake in the fridge, so not sure I would notice 😀
I tried three of these wonderful things when I was at Disney World a few weeks ago… the vanilla cake up, the butterfinger cupcake, and the carrot cake cookie! They were all SO SO SO delicious! I, like you AJ, are a huge fan of frosting… I really only use cake as a vehicle for frosting. I was blown away by the cake cup!! Having a huge mouthful of frosting in every bite was just perfect. From what I remember, it was not served cold. Nice, room temperature, soft frosting! The butterfinger cupcake was also one of my favorite things I ate all week! The carrot cake cookie was also delicious, but again, mostly just because of that wonderful cream cheese frosting! We got a peanut butter cookie at Writer’s Stop as well, and that was the real winner there for us! Thanks to all your wonderful posts, I had quite a list of things I wanted to try… and I did pretty well on knocking some stuff out!
The Butterfinger cupcake was good, but the Chocolate peanut butter cupcake from Starring Rolls still beats it for me, it’s just perfect. I would also vote to put Boardwalk Bakery’s Sticky Bun on this “must-do” list. I still dream about those sticky buns!
Tried the awful horrible too sweet vile Cheshire Cafe cupcakes last October and couldn’t eat it. It was way too sweet and non descript and blah. The carrot cake cookie was devine, delicious and decadent, totally yum and I cannot wait to eat it again this year. The grapefruit cake is light, fruity and fun. I love cake but I am not a cupcake lover as the topping is usually too sweet, give me regular cake any day
We had the Mad Hatter Mocha Cake Cup from Cheshire on Friday, January 24th. The vanilla one was also on the menu.
Hmmmm…..I”m not sure there is a cake I would turn down. For some reason though, the Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake wasn’t a favorite and it’s too bad because I have the recipe and everything. 🙁
Vader cupcake at Star Wars weekend! Peanut butter and chocolate–yum!
haha i love that they just took a SLICE of ice cream for that funnel cake!
My favorites are the King Cupcake at Pop Century and the Pina Colada Cupcake at the Grand Floridian. Mmm.
No more Ooey Gooey toffee cake? Say it isn’t so!
the butterfinger cupcake is a must… the last 2 times i was there i got one for free.. first time i got distracted and walked out without paying then when i went back to pay they said not to worry about it… and the second one the line was too long to pay(becuase of a mix up on someones bill) so i asked if i could just give it back and they said just take it and have a nice day… only at disney would that happen..
Oh heavens I can’t cope! And I’m not going back until April 2015 🙁
That Butterfinger cupcake and the carrot cake one look divine.
Going to Disneyland Paris next week and you’ve totally inspired me to go on a cake hunt – I get the feeling there won’t be quite as many to choose from though!
Love the grapefruit cake and the Cake Cups at Cheshire Cafe.
Frank
I loved the gingerbread cupcake we got at DHS this past holiday season!
I’m going with my friend and he is allergic to nuts do any of these have nuts?
The vanilla cupcake cup was there marathon weekend! And I am SO with you, AJ. I’d eat frosting out of the can! …meaning I have have eaten frosting out of the can. 🙂
Love the Carrot Cake Cookie at Writer’s Stop! Is it cake…is it a cookie…always a must have! Thanks for including it! Always thought they should do a red velvet version. Not alway a fan of red velvet, but I think in this cookie form it could work.
When I was at Disney I stay at the all star hotel. They had the best carrot cake I every ate.
I’ve gotten the cake cups twice: The first time they were cold and delicious, and the second I was disappointed—they were *gag* room temperature. I’m a huge cake fan, but I find room-temperature cake disgusting. Especially the frosting—even the most deliciously prepared chefs’ creations change from refreshing and delicious to a warm lardy lump when the chill wears off. I think their temperature depends on how recently the cakes were delivered to the Cheshire Cafe. Next time I will be sure to ask first.
I love fondant so a choc mocha cake cup with the fondant trim would be wonderful, please! I, too, feel that the frosting ratio should always be decent. 🙂 I want to make the Ooey Gooey and the Grapefruit cakes at home sometime; I’ll let you know how they turn out. Thanks, AJ, I just love blogs like this.
I hope the cake cups are still there when we go end of March/early April. I want to try one so much!!
Love all of those cakes but any of the funnel cakes are my favourite
My daughter and I had the hatter mocha cupcake last November during the Very Merry Christmas party and it was amazing!! And the Carrot Cake is always a must have when we go to Hollywood Studios! It’s like the best carrot cake you’ve ever had in portable form!
Last October (2013) I had an orange marmalade filled “giraffe” cupcake at The Mara at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I don’t know if it was a short term addition to their menu or not, but it was awesome! I would love to find a recipe to make these at home! <3
I was incredibly disappointed by the Butterfinger cupcake at Starring Roles Cafe. It was unbearo sweet and painfuly dry. We ate a couple of bites and tossed it. In fact, I think we tossed all three of our treats purchased there.
In stark contrast, the 2013 4th of July cupcake with Apple pie filling, caramel buttercream frosting, and apple crisp topping adorned with a red, white and blue “white” chocolate Mickey’s head was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. Right up there with our favorite desserts from our favorite Disney restaurant, Jiko.