Tara’s Piece of Cake

Not only was I accommodated last minute, but the thought and execution was perfection! My rat cake was created for my Naked and Afraid premier of «All or Nothing» season 5. I was blown away at the crunch it had (like bones) with red velvet in the center and raspberry jam like blood. I will only use Tara

Jade & Tara are the best sister duo! Jade was super nice & was really quick in responding to emails & clarifying everything. She was the one that delivered our orders & helped with the set up. Tara made these awesome cakes & cupcakes according to the designs I wanted. May not be the super exact designs but they were perfect & delicious! I ordered 8 inch cakes (1 fondant & 1 buttercream, good for 20 ppl each) but since they were really thick (4 layers thick), we ended up slicing half of just one cake to feed about 50 ppl… We will definitely go to Tara for cakes again!

This is not a review for the business as I never ended up using, just information. Wanted $ 100 for a 6 inch cake!!! and is not located in Pacifica per Unilocal address provided. Wanted to charge an additional $ 20 to deliver.

I found Tara on Unilocal and so happy I went with her! She did the cake for our engagement party and I couldn’t be happier! Tara was amazing right from the beginning! Her assistant, Jade was very responsive and just a sweetheart over email.

The cake was EXACTLY like the picture I showed her and even nicer! And she really worked within what I felt comfortable spending.
Better yet, the cake was DELICIOUS! I chose to do red velvet since my colors were black, red, and white. A lot of people kept complementing how pretty the cake was, and better yet, how good it was when they ate it! Sometimes it’s hard to find the best of both worlds, so I was extremely happy with the results!
She really went above and beyond. Would highly recommend her and would totally work with her again! Thanks Tara and Jade :)

I was looking for a cake for my girlfriend birthday and I didn’t want to bring a plain cake like everyone else would, so I decided to contact Tara. She was very professional and always replied as soon as possible if I had a question (thru email). This is the first time I have actually ordered a cake before so I was surprised that it was so easy and Tara made the process as easy as possible. My girlfriend had been mentioning minions alot lately so I decided to get one made and it came out better than I imagined. I sent Tara a picture of what I wanted and what flavor I wanted. That’s all she needed and she was off making the cake. I would suggest contacting her a least a month ahead of time. We went to go eat at this Brazilian steakhouse in San Mateo and after we had our dinner the server brought out the cake and everyone in the restaurant was in awe when they saw it. It not only looked good it was delicious, I got the red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, which is what she is most famous for but she does have chocolate, strawberry, vanilla you name she’ll have that flavor. My cake cost me $ 100 for a 10 person cake she probably could have made it smaller but I wanted something to stand out but I’m sure she can make it as big or as small as you would like it. Highly recommend getting a cake from her at least once in your lifetime. I

Tara is hands down the best ever!!! I’ve ordered a variety of cakes from her and her creations ALWAYS wow guests & everyone is also super impressed!
I’ve had a wide range of designs and Tara always knocks it out the park! And when possible with certain cake flavors, color coordinate the actual cake color i.e. Blue cake with yellow frosting for a warriors cake!
I’ll include all the cakes I’ve ordered over the past year!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH TARA! You truly are gifted– thank you for making our celebrants so happy!!!

So happy with the cake. Not only was it beautiful, it was delicious as well! The cake was a total hit. Everyone commented on how beautiful it was. When we finally served the cake towards the end of the party I was kind of worried because it was my first time ordering from Taras but immediately the feedback was that the cake was delicious.
We ordered chocolate cake with cookies and cream filling; It was fresh, moist and tasty.

Best cake I’ve ever seen!!! I got the Tiramisu flavor for my mother in law’s 50^th birthday. She loves her LV bags so of course, gotta do it fancy for her too! A friend recommended me to Tara’s since she’s been her go to cake maker for years! I have tried her cookies and cream flavor and red velvet and they all taste amazingTiramisu tasted wonderful! I have booked my cousin’s wedding cake with her also and she will be my future go to place for cakes!!! Thank you so much Tara! And her assitant Jade is awesome at getting back at emails :)

this is more like 4.5 stars, rounded up (of course)…
what a find! i was planning my son’s big first birthday and really wanted the cake to be the star of the show. while looking through Unilocal,i came across tara and looked at photos. someone had posted a pic of a baseball-​inspired cake and the one tara created and i was sold — tara’s version was BETTER!
in my version (found through pinterest), it was an ambitious hat shaped cake and baseball, which would be the smash cake. i am definitely a giants fan, but this was vintage baseball themed with a custom logo of my son’s initials that i created, so the color scheme was very specific.
the end result was amazing overall, but because all communication was done through email, not phone/​face-​to-​face, some details were lost in translation. this may be nitpicking, but i give editorial feedback for a living, so i can’t help it. here is why there is 0.5 stars missing:
–COLORS: i requested a navy hat with a grey logo and orange stitching detail (orange was only meant as an accent color), so the interpretation with royal blue and orange made the hat look like a mets hat and it didn’t help that my son’s initials are MET: p
–BASEBALL: since this was a solo smash cake, i was envisioning it to be like 3 inches tall, but it turned out to be bigger than his head… haha! obviously he didn’t mind. this was something that i should’ve been more specific.
BONUS: she was totally okay with us doing different flavors in the main cake and the smash cake… not that it made that much of a difference, but i wanted the «healthiest» option for our baby’s first sugar high and we went with vanilla with strawberries for him and marble with honey almond crunch & custard for us.
like i said, overall, AMAZING… just learnings for me in future cake needs because she is definitely now my go-​to cake lady! her pricing is also extremely reasonable and competitive for impeccable work! thanks so much tara!

Tara is simply the best!
I originally ordered a two tiered giants themed birthday cake for my man friend, but because of some changes, I decided to go for a personal sized cake instead.
Tara and her assistant jade were really helpful with the details. It was easy to communicate with them, and I showed them exactly what I needed. They were easy to talk to, and helpful when it came down to flavors, design, etc…
We opted for a white cake with ganache and fresh strawberries. It tasted amazing!
The design came out too pretty to even eat! I will definitely hire Tara again in the future and recommend her to my family and friends in the area :)

Our son’s first birthday was this past weekend, and Tara made us an awesome 2-​tiered birthday cake! We found Tara on Unilocal about a month ago when we were looking for a bakery to make my son’s birthday cake. My husband came across her page and saw all the beautiful cakes she made. We knew right away that we wanted Tara to make our cake. So I contacted her via email, and her assistant Jade responded right away. She was very professional and helpful. She provided us with a list of flavors and pricing, and confirmed Tara’s availability. We were so excited! I started gathering ideas for the cake, and decided on «the very hungry caterpillar» theme. I found some ideas on Pinterest and sent them to Tara and Jade. Jade came back and said not a problem, that Tara would incorporate the ideas and add her own creative twist. We picked a 2-​tiered, red velvet cake that would feed about 50 people. We also ordered a small smash cake for our son, with vanilla and banana filling.
On the day of the party, Tara’s husband delivered the cake to us, at the designated delivery time. He was very nice and helpful, and gave us tips on how to unwrap the box when it was time to do the cake cutting. When we saw the cake, we were speechless because it was so cute and adorable — it was everything we wanted and hoped for! Our guests were amazed at how beautiful it was and everyone kept asking where we got the cake from. I posted the picture on Facebook, and friends were commenting and asking about it. The cake not only looked great, it was also delicious! It was light and not too sweet, just the way we liked it (thank goodness for leftover cake). My son also loved his smash cake, and got mad when I wouldn’t let him eat more.
I would highly recommend Tara! She is so talented, and her assistant Jade is so helpful and on top of things. We can’t wait to order more cakes from Tara in the future!

About two months ago Tara produced the most delicious and most beautiful naked cake for my wedding day!
The months leading to the wedding Tara consistently followed with my husband and I to discuss ideas/​flavors and scheduled cake tasting appointments in a timely manner. Tara was really flexible and was willing to meet with us on the weekends, and always made it to our appointments on time. Tara was patient, attentive and was willing to explore the various ideas we initially had for our wedding cake. Tara’s knowledge, experience, creativity and listening skills allowed her to integrate various ideas we had in order to create one spectacular cake!
Tara was also consistent with her estimated price and provided a neat and detailed contract. The final product was BEAUTIFUL and a huge hit! Our wedding guests are still telling us how much they loved the cake (many of which typically do not eat or enjoy cake)!
We also really appreciated that on the day of the wedding Tara was right on time and took the initiative to set up the cake and helped stabilize/​secure a wooden cake stand my father had made. I could not have been happier with her services. Lastly, we wanted to mention that when we first connected with Tara, my husband and I noticed it took her a few days to reply to our emails (as previously mentioned by other reviewers). However, it appears that since then Tara has someone helping her respond to the emails. Her assistant was phenomenal and was able to answer last minute logistical questions in a very timely manner. We highly recommend Tara, especially for a special occasion (such as a wedding) because it truly is critical to hire vendors that will make the process easy, successful, and even enjoyable! :)

Tara’s Cake are awesome. Had a Gender Reveal Cake party for my sister and it was a hit. It matched our theme «Guess Who?» perfectly, and my sister loved it. It was a Girl, so I asked her to do a pink ombré theme with red velvet and cream cheese frosting and it was so yummy and beautiful. LOVE Tara, she’s great and her cake prices are worth every penny and quite reasonable for these custom cakes!!!

She made us a beautiful gender reveal baby cake. It was super awesome, and the details she put into it. The cake also tasted so good that it was the talk amongst our guests: moist red velvet. Thank you so much for making our day so special. We will definitely come see you for our baby girl’s 1^st birthday cake. I will tell all my friends to come to you from now on. Your prices are unbelievably affordable as well!

What a master piece!!!
Everyone at the birthday left amazing at such a creation made from cake. In other words, the cake was to pretty to eat.
First time buying a decorative care for a birthday party. When I first contacted Tara about creating a cake for two birthdays but both the designs had to be on one cake. One birthday had to be a disability theme cake and the other was a flower and candy theme. Once I picked up the cake I was blown away by the design and attention to detail. Overall the flavors where amazing. I high recommend the vanilla flavor with fresh strawberries and custard marble cake. The center of the cake was perfectly moist and rich that makes your mouth drop with the initial bite.
I will be coming back for more order in the near future, everyone else I high recommend you get a cake from Tara. She will give you the best price in town.

The now-​husband and I spent a small fortune on our wedding, and in spite of trying to pinch pennies every which way we could, the San Francisco wedding machine was eking ever little bit it could out of our budget. Foodie that I am, but I was insistent on having a great looking, great tasting cake nonetheless. Considering that most bakeries that at the very least have a website charge $ 6 per slice, I was appalled that my cakey vision for a simple, white, delicious cake was going to cost an arm and a leg. This was, of course, until Unilocal brought me Tara!
Before I get into the nitty-​gritty, Tara herself is a true joy to work with. When hubby and I went to our first tasting, she was super friendly and answered all of our questions regarding flavors, delivery, costs, what she can and can’t do-​everything! On top of this, I totally bombarded her with dozens of emails regarding design and flavor. She was fantastic, and even offered a second tasting so we could try her mini desserts and additional flavors. Heaven!
After our second tasting and several emails, Tara agreed to make a 4-​tier buttercream cake with 120 lemon tarts and cheesecake bites. The tiers alternated flavors between fresh berry vanilla custard and red velvet. As a special surprise, I asked for the bottom tier to be red velvet flavored, but with rainbow layers. It was a huge hit! Everyone looooved the cake, and a photo of the rainbow cake layers was one of the most liked on Facebook of all of photos from the wedding.
If you are getting married in SF or the Peninsula, I cannot recommend Tara enough. I wish I lived nearby so that I could buy her cakes for everything!

CAKE CAKE CAKE (THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR DESSERT)
PRE-​BEAUTIFUL-​AWESOME-​CAKE
After last years failed attempt in getting a custom made cake that actually did not look as good as it tasted. I started my search of places around the peninsula that specializes in custom made cakes, because the boyfriend’s birthday was coming around the corner. I narrowed my search down to 3 people, and after reading the reviews for Tara and after looking through her portfolio, I decided that I wanted to work with her.
DON’T BE ALARMED
I emailed Tara, but did not get a response for about 3 – 4 days. So, I decided to send her another email and I got a response after a day or so. A friend who had a cake made by Tara before, informed me that she is fairly busy and sometimes will not be able to get back to you right away. BUT, don’t get your panties all in a bunch! Just send her another friendly email if you don’t get a response within a couple of days!
DODGERS THEMED CAKE FOR THE BOYFRIEND (yes, he is from SoCal)
Anyways, I told Tara that I wanted a Dodgers themed cake and emailed her pictures of Dodgers themed cakes. But I couldn’t figure out how I could incorporate these designs together onto one cake. So, Tara sent me a picture of a Giants themed cake (which so happened to be a cake my friend had gotten made for her boyfriend), and suggested something along the lines of that but of course Dodgered out. I left everything in her hands, only after picking the flavors of course! I went with a white cake with fresh strawberries, nothing too sweet.
GIRL MEETS CAKE
Tara had the cake made and ready for pick up in time for the boyfriend’s birthday, thank you! When I first laid my eyes on the cake, I thought to myself «OMG this cake is too beautiful to eat! It’s perfect, and he’s going to love it!!» I couldn’t wait to take it home (get your mind out of the gutter, hehe), and into the fridge where it would be safe.
SO, DID IT TASTE AS GOOD AS IT…
Yes, yes it did! The cake tasted just as good as it looked, and the strawberries were very sweet and fresh. :) Everyone commented on how good the cake tasted, and of course on how beautiful the cake was!
CONCLUSION
The boyfriend loved the cake! His eyes lite up when the waitress brought the cake out from the kitchen, and he was smiling ear to ear, priceless. Thank you so much Tara, you are truly talented and I will continue getting cakes from you for as long as you keep baking em! You made this birthday one of the best! :)

Thank you Tara for creating such an awesome basketball cake! Every one was fooled thinking it was the real thing, and questioned why there was a ball sitting on the middle of the table. Lol. When they realized it was the cake they were totally amazed! I also ordered cupcakes (regular and mini size) with basketball and jerseys on top.
The flavors were vanilla and red velvet and it was made just right very moist and very yummy!!!
Everyone loved it! Thanks again!

Virgos are ridiculously anal-​retentive perfectionists. They don’t trust anyone to do anything so they want to do e-​v-​e-​r-​y-​t-​h-​i-​n-​g themselves. Yes, they are crazy and they make the ultimate bridezilla but you can always count on them to get the job done well. Damn well, I might add.
Mr. NSS, otherwise known as my Human Garbage Disposal’s birthday was coming up. As a huge sports fan, I knew I had to get him a custom SF Giants birthday cake.
Being that I’m a crazy Virgo, I spent a week looking through every single bakery from SF to San Jose on Unilocal.I contacted several bakers and the minimum charge for a custom cake was $ 250. For a cake for 10 people? I might as well bend down and grab my ankles because that is ridiculous.
I came across Tara’s Piece of Cake on Unilocal and was in complete awe with her creations. Pictures don’t lie and you can tell she was one talented baker.
I contacted her a month in advance and linked her to a picture that I wanted the cake to look like. She said she can replicate it and deliver it. She quoted an incredibly reasonable price that I had to neurotically confirm several times because I was so surprised.
When the cake was presented to Mr. NSS on his birthday, his face lighted up and he was grinning ear-​to-​ear as if he saw Kim Kardashian (pre-​couch dress picture at the Met Gala):
. Normally as a Human Garbage Disposal, he kills everything in sight asap. However, he just sat there poking at his cake because he said, it was «too nice to eat».
Tara did an amazing job replicating the image I sent her and the cake tasted just as good as it looked:
. You can tell she has mad skills as even the littlest details were perfect, i.e. stitching on the baseball and coloring of the bat to make it look realistic. Hmm, I wonder if she’s a Virgo too?
I ordered the Tiramisu and the cake was super moist and the cream deliciously rich with a subtle coffee flavor. Not too sweet, which is just the way I like it. The hat, bat and ball was made of yummy rice crispy treats.
Everyone at dinner was commenting about how spectacular the cake looked as well as the staff at Lolinda (where we had dinner).
Thank you, Tara for impressing the hard to impress Virgo and making it one memorable birthday for Mr. NSS. You should of seen the look on his face when I told him I want Tara to bake our wedding cake. The same scowl facial expression Al Bundy gives when Peg asks to boink.
Priceless.
OTHER NOTES:
*Tara is really busy so do be patient and she’ll respond to you.
*At least 2 weeks advance notice for cake order.
*Cake was only $ 60 and could feed 12 – 14 people.
*Flavors:
–Red velvet w/​cream cheese
–Vanilla or chocolate w/​fresh strawberries
–Choc-​raspberry
–Tiramisu
–Lemon/​raspberry
–Marble w/​honey almond crunch & custard
–Cookies & cream
–Coconut cream
–Banana/​caramel
–Carrot w/​cream cheese
*Payment made by check.

There are just some special occurrences that cause you to rush on Unilocal and bang out a passionate review, because a business has really made an impression on you (Hey I rhymed!).
It was my dad’s birthday party and the cake was done by his co-worker’s (Chris) daughter (Tara). Being that it was a referral from Tara’s mom, I had to be a bit judgmental but you know what, Mother knows best because Tara’s Piece of Cake pleased even the pickiest of picky people (me).
First, let’s go with looks. It was a gorgeous cake! The cake design was a 4-​layer dart board (red velvet) with a wooden board behind it (chocolate w/​strawberries). We had a dart board cake last year also (not made by Tara) and this year’s cake totally took the cake compared to last year’s (no pun intended). Tara’s numbers on the dart board cake were so crisp and clean and you can tell that each detail was worked on with perfection.
Value: The cake was HUGE and the price was very reasonable. I just got married a month ago so I know exactly how much these decorated overpriced cakes cost but I couldn’t believe how inexpensive my dads cake was. I sound like a crazy person because I can’t stop repeating how great a deal this cake was. And they delivered.
Taste: To top it off, it was delicious. The cake was so moist and soft, and you could really taste the cream cheese icing. It tasted how a red velvet should taste. Not a bunch of sugar or butter cream flavoring like other places.
Trust me, I’ve looked at so many cakes over the past year during my wedding planning and I can notice and appreciate the tiniest detail. In some cases, you need to sacrifice one area (such as taste or design) in order to meet budget but Tara’s Piece of Cake gives you everything you need. I even visited her website so I could scrutinize her other cakes and I couldn’t find an ugly cake. It seems that this girl can do anything, and is very creative with her designs.
I only wish I could’ve found her sooner and I would’ve been able to get some really beautiful cakes for some really important occasions. I’m very excited that I found a talented Baker in the area and will definitely place a call for another cake order in the future.
Thank you Tara for helping make my dad’s birthday a hit with such a beautiful cake! Til next time!