Read This Before Buying A Costco Cake

Heads up — it's party time at the office! It's someone's birthday, or there's an upcoming retirement, or the person at the next desk over just got promoted — and so on and so forth. All of a sudden, you're really regretting having volunteered to serve on the celebrations committee, since guess who's supposed to provide the cake?

You check the selection at L'Élégante Pâtisserie Française, but those prices are super high. There wouldn't be anything left in the kitty for the next party, and your own birthday's coming up in a few weeks. So what can you do, grab a few boxes of Duncan Hines and DIY a cake? But wait, what wasn't there something you heard about cakes from Costco? Is a sheet cake from a big box store really going to cut it at your office party? Yes, absolutely. But before you ask around the office to see who's got a Costco card and is willing to take you shopping, here are a few fast facts regarding their cakes.

Costco sheet cakes are a fantastic value, and you certainly get your money's worth. For one thing, they're freaking huge. A half sheet cake weighs in at about nine and a half pounds and is said to serve 48 people. Also, there's even better news — Costco's sheet cakes are really, really cheap — currently just $18.99, according to Delish, which is approximately the price of a single croissant at La Pâtisserie Trop Chère. And the taste? C'est magnifique! (As they'd say at La Pâtisserie Pas Nécessaire, if they could ever admit that a cake approximately 1/10th the price of one of theirs could have any merit whatsoever.)

There are some very minor quibbles with these cakes, though. One thing is, they only come in two flavors — white and chocolate. Those flavors aren't nearly as plain as they sound, however. According to Costco's sheet cake order form, the white cake comes with a vanilla cheesecake mousse filling (2 whole pounds of it!), while the chocolate is filled with chocolate mousse (also 2 pounds). Also, the decorations are kind of limited, running to several floral selections, a few sports motifs, and some basic kids' party stuff like a clown, princess crown, and dinosaurs. The Costco bakery should be able to run to a basic script like "Congratulations!" with a name, however, so you should be all set.

There you go — party saved. Just hope whoever's organizing your b-day bash (surely you won't be stuck with that task, too?) will have the sense to order a Costco cake, as well. That Costco bakery really knows their sheet (cake)!