- As a pro baker, I tried sheet cakes from the bakery section of Publix, Walmart, and Piggly Wiggly.
- Piggly Wiggly's had a nice ratio of cake to frosting but was a little dry.
Store-bought sheet cakes were a staple of every birthday party I had growing up.
They're one of the easiest ways to serve dessert at a party, plus they can be customized with all sorts of themed decor. But since I'm a professional baker, it's been a while since I've tasted cake from a grocery store.
On a mission to find the best option out there, I sampled sheet cakes available from three different stores near me — Publix, Walmart, and Piggly Wiggly.
All three sheet cakes were chocolate with vanilla frosting (my favorite combination) and the same ¼-sheet size. I didn't ask for any additional decor and just purchased each as-is with standard designs.
Publix's cake looked great and had fluffy frosting
The first thing that stood out about the Publix cake was how tall it was. It was covered in bright-white frosting, with beautiful piping and a basic balloon design on top.
It cut very nicely into slices and inside there were two even layers of cake with frosting sandwiched between. Once sliced, I could tell the frosting was fairly thick on the sides and a little thinner on top.
I sampled a corner piece (my favorite slice) and found the cake to be super moist. The sponge delivered the chocolate flavor and tasted both homemade and fresh.
The frosting was nice and light, not too sweet. It didn't have a strong vanilla flavor, but was very fluffy, which I liked a lot. I thought the frosting and piping were both pretty and even all around.
The Publix cake cost me $25.
Walmart's cake was moist but had too much frosting that I didn't love
Visually, Walmart's cake looked a lot like Publix's — both had balloons — but it was shorter. It sliced well but was composed of only one layer of cake, albeit a fairly thick layer.
Once sliced, I could see that the frosting was thicker on top, almost double the amount that was on the sides. In a few places, the frosting was a little thin on the sides thus allowing some cake to show through. Otherwise, the frosting was applied smoothly and the design was both effective and beautiful.
The cake was moist and had a good flavor, but it didn't taste homemade to me. Still, it definitely delivered on chocolate flavor.
As for the frosting, I found it to be a little dense and too sweet, especially with such a thick layer on top. It didn't really have a very strong vanilla flavor, in my opinion.
The Walmart sheet cake cost me $20.
Piggly Wiggly's had a nice ratio of cake to frosting but I found it to be a bit dry
This Piggly Wiggly cake was a similar height to Walmart's as it was also composed of a single, thick layer of cake. The standard decor, which featured roses, was slightly different from the other two.
Still, the cake looked neat and professional and the frosting was nice and even on the top and sides. The frosting was also the perfect thickness.
In my opinion, the chocolate sponge was slightly dry and a bit denser than the others I tried. I thought this was the least flavorful cake as it failed to deliver a strong chocolate taste. I also didn't love the aftertaste, which I found to be a little artificial.
The Piggly Wiggly cake definitely had the sweetest frosting of the three but it mostly just tasted like sugar to me.
It's also worth noting that I had no problem transporting the other two cakes in my car but this one started to sweat and melt in its box as I drove home. This was surprising, as the drive was only 10 minutes, it wasn't super hot out, and I had the air-conditioning on in my car. The condensation left a few water drops on top of the cake and made the frosting bleed in some parts.
The cake from Piggly Wiggly also cost $35, meaning it was the most expensive cake of the bunch.
Overall, I think the Publix cake had the best value and flavor
After I came down from the sugar rush, I determined my favorite sheet cake was Publix's. In terms of value for money, it cost slightly more than Walmart's but edged it out on taste.
It looked beautiful, had a great texture, was easy to slice and serve, and — most importantly — wasn't overly sweet. I liked how tall it was and liked that it wasn't just a single layer of cake. The frosting in between the two slimmer layers meant each bite contained a good balance of both cake and frosting.
Walmart's cake was a strong contender, but its frosting fell flat for me. There was both too much of it and I found it to be too sweet. Piggly Wiggly's cake looked beautiful but, especially at its higher price, I found the inside just didn't deliver.