COVID-19 advice
In addition to the high standards of hygiene we already practice, we are following advice and best practice from the Government, World Health Organisation and Public Health England to keep our customers and us here at Pumpkin Cakes safe. For your peace of mind, we offer contact-free collection.
How much will my cake cost?
Every cake is unique to you, and as such, we can’t quote an accurate price until we know exactly what you’re after. Once we have your ideas, we’ll usually come up with a couple of price options and, if you’re working to a budget, rest assured we’ll do our best to provide a cake that meets your expectations.
I have a specific dietary requirement; can you bake me a cake?
If you have specific dietary requirements, or have a food allergy or intolerance, please check this FAQ page carefully.
To help you, a detailed list of ingredients and allergens can be found in our Ingredient and Allergen Guide.
What flavours can I order?
To keep things simple, we only offer three standard cake bases for celebration cakes. We’ve offered more in the past but found that customers tend to opt for one of the three with flavours to suit most people. We’ve spent many years perfecting our cake bases so you can be sure they will be delicious!
1. Madeira Cake
Madeira cake is the most popular choice for most cakes because it has a subtle flavour and works with a wide range of fillings. It’s a versatile sponge that can be coloured and flavoured, carves well and is dense enough to support toppers and decoration. It can be covered in buttercream or fondant.
Madeira cake improves with age so even a day or two after your celebration (if stored correctly) it will still taste delicious.
Cake flavours
- Plain Madeira cake is delicious with a very subtle lemon tang
- Chocolate Madeira uses cocoa to create a light chocolate taste
- Lemon Madeira is flavoured with freshly squeezed lemon juice
Filling flavours
- Vanilla buttercream with raspberry conserve – our most popular flavour
- Vanilla buttercream with lemon curd
- Vanilla buttercream with strawberry conserve
- Vanilla buttercream, delicious on its own
- Bitter chocolate buttercream
Madeira sponge can also be coloured in single colours or multi-coloured in subtle or bright colours but please be aware this uses a high concentration of food colouring which can sometimes affect the flavour and may have an adverse effect on those sensitive to food colourings.
2. Chocolate Mud Cake
Our chocolate mud cake is a rich dense cake made with high cocoa solids dark chocolate. It can be fondant or buttercream covered. This cake is very moist which makes is unsuitable for cakes that require carving. If you would like a chocolate flavoured carved cake, please order a chocolate Madeira.
This cake also contains coffee – we use a standard caffeinated blend as it adds a smooth balance but if you would prefer us to use a decaffeinated blend in your cake please ask!
Filling flavours
- Bitter chocolate buttercream
- Coffee buttercream
- Vanilla buttercream, delicious on its own
- Vanilla buttercream with black cherry conserve
Our vanilla buttercream is flavoured with delicious Madagascan Vanilla Extract and we only use pure cocoa in our chocolate buttercream.
3. Rich Fruit Cake
Our fruit cake is moist, rich, and dense with fruit. We use a light sherry which does not flavour the cake but helps to give it a lovely texture.
Fruit cakes can be supplied glazed with a sherry and apricot glaze and a fruit or fruit and nut topping or more traditionally covered with marzipan and fondant icing.
For a detailed list of ingredients and allergens please consult our Ingredient and Allergen Guide.
What size cake do I need?
Cake size varies greatly on whether it’s sponge or fruit and how generous you like to be with your serving size. Click here for our Cake portion guide.
Can you offer allergen-free cakes?
Please note that all our cakes are baked onsite in our kitchen which handles other ingredients. While we do have processes in place to minimise the risk of cross-contamination, due to space restrictions we cannot have segregated production areas, so cross-contamination of ingredients is possible.
Our kitchen handles all the main allergens of dairy, nuts, peanuts, gluten (wheat), egg, sesame, nuts, sulphites, and soya.
If you have a serious allergy to any of these allergens, or one which could cause you to have a major allergic reaction, the only way for you to be 100% safe is not to order your cake with us.
For a detailed list of ingredients and allergens please consult our Allergen Guide.
Do you offer gluten-free cakes?
We can offer cake options made with gluten free and non-gluten containing ingredients, however, our kitchen handles ingredients containing gluten.
Please be aware Pumpkin Cakes does not claim any cake baked in our kitchen to be gluten-free due to our kitchen handling other ingredients.
If you request a cake made with gluten free ingredients we can provide you with a full ingredient and allergen list applicable at time of request; this is because specialist cakes are not on our main ingredients list and suppliers may change.
Are your cakes suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans?
All our products are suitable for Vegetarians. Our fondant and food colourings do not contain any animal products.
We can offer a Vegan Madeira sponge option but please be aware we cannot claim any cake baked in our kitchen to be egg-free or dairy-free due to our kitchen handling other ingredients.
If you request a cake suitable for a Vegan diet we can provide you with a full ingredient and allergen list applicable at time of request; this is because specialist cakes are not on our main ingredients lists and suppliers may change.
How do I order a cake?
In the first instance please get in touch by sending us an email – details are on the ‘Let’s Talk’ page. Before you contact us, it helps if you have a date in mind, an idea of guest numbers, any dietary requirements and an idea of the theme you’re after.
Do you offer personalised toppers?
Yes, we do! Our toppers gallery will give you some idea of what we can produce although, the list is not exhaustive and pretty much anything that will fit on top of a cake is possible. Toppers are made from a modelling sugar paste which sets firm but can still be eaten. Some toppers, due to size, may not be edible. If your cake has models and/or sugar decoration, any specific details will be listed on your paperwork at time of collection.
You can order toppers without a cake if you fancy having a go at baking yourself. We are happy to supply toppers for collection.
Please be aware that toppers are time consuming to create; if you’d like a topper please give as much notice as possible.
How do I collect my cake?
Contact-free collection is available from our premises near Canterbury. Local delivery can be arranged.
How do I store my cake?
A storage guide will be provided when you collect your cake. If you have a question not covered in the guide, please contact us.