I have been going to Darlene's for YEARS...I remember her shop downtown in early 90s. I've followed her ever since. She did my sister's wedding cake which was strawberry and every guest enjoyed it! Several went for their third piece. Because I coordinate weddings, I also highly recommend her to our engaged couples! She never failed us!!!! I just emailed asking Darlene if she could do a strawberry cake for my 4 year old granddaughter because I'm guaranteed a FRESH, moist and delicious cake! read more

Best cakes ever! We've been getting cakes from Darlene for over 30yrs! I'm going to order one now since I'm thinking about it!

The best cakes ever. The icing brings back memories of the birthday cakes I had as a little girl

Dry, crumbly. Not tasty. Disappointed. They used to be so good but this German Chocolate was not good. We had one piece and discarded it.

Darlene was very quick to connect with initially via phone and then over text with follow up questions. The cake was DELICIOUS! Half chocolate, half vanilla with chocolate frosting. I sent her inspiration photos of the unicorn silhouette and it came out just as I'd hoped. Very pleased, will recommend and use her again! read more

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The cake was dry and the icing was crunchy and had an odd flavor. Darlene used to make great cakes. This most recent purchase was not good at all! Not sure what has happened to this place! Never again! read more

Yummy and so pretty! I ordered 10 petit fours for the school where I work and asked Darlene to use white icing with dark green initials. She must have google our logo because the result looked like our logo, not just any letters. They were gorgeous as well as tenderly delicious! Everyone was raving! Will order again! read more

Darlene has terrific customer service, answering the phone herself, and enthusiastically answering every question. She couldn't have been nicer, and only 2 day notice is usually needed, and pickup is easy, because the Donut shop she distributes out of is open 18 hours a day! She is happy to do taste tests, which in retrospect I should have done, but I really didn't think I needed that, since she said her most popular flavor is 1/2 vanilla & 1/2 chocolate, and that is what I wanted. All that being said, my cake was a real disappointment. Thinking back there were many things I should have done differently - so I am sharing this to hopefully help another person from making these same mistakes. Let my inexperience help you...I should have gone to Foxes Donut Den and seen her work before blindly trusting that what I had in my head, even though we discussed it twice, was what I was going to get. Having not ever ordered from her, I wish I had known to request a sketch of what she was thinking of doing. Darlene has no website. I should have known when I asked if there was a book at the shop that I could look through to get an idea of what she did, and she said no, because she has never done what I was asking for, that I might need to go the extra mile to insure success. Too bad, really. I was excited to share this successful long time Nashville business's yummy creation's ( that I had enjoyed a number of years ago) with my coworkers and friends. I ordered the baby shower cake to feed 25-35. I wanted a baby blue Bear holding a green light saber and the words "May the Force be with You" written in white on the dark navy blue background (since that is how it is in the movie, floating back into space). Darlene asked me how much I wanted to spend, and based on my answer then suggested said they could do a bear in pale blue on the side of a sheet cake - he would be raised up 1/2 inch off the cake. Then the rest would be normal sheet cake with the words. Sounded perfect. Below pic is what was made. Ok. The fact that it looked nothing like what I envisioned took me a minute to get over...but it was ok. The fact that it looked like it was done by a 10 year old was a problem. But the party must go on....and Darlene Cakes are supposed be the freshest and yummiest...so once I got over the design, I tried to console myself that it was going to be really moist and delicious, and that was what really mattered, right? Well, It was not fabulous. It was merely ok. The vanilla had hardly any flavor and was somewhat dry, but the chocolate was better than the vanilla, and more moist. The icing was way too heavy and had no butter flavor in the buttercream. Super dissappointed. Somewhat embarrassed, and many lessons learned from Darlene. I wish her well, but heed my warning...go have a taste test and bring what you have in mind for her too see, and have her draw out for you what she is thinking she understands you to want. read more

Darlene's Kakes - a slice of cake and a slice of pizza - Custom Cakes Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

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Always amazing! Best cakes ever!. Darlene will make sure that it is perfect every time.

My wife wanted a hummingbird cake for her birthday. Darlene's Kakes was the only place that would make one. The cake was beautifully decorated with flowers and tasted delicious! I highly recommend to others. read more

I would not recommend this cake business. When I opened the box the cake was cracked on top and did not look like a professional made it. It looked like a cake that was done by someone at home with their five your old child. It was messy in the design and had cracks in the top portion. The top was sinking into the bottom. We had a house full of people and needed to serve something. So we strategically took the top of the cake and put it on a plate and cut into it. The top of the cake was supposed to be strawberries that were fresh with a white cake and instead when we cut into it it was chocolate! But the worst of it was that when we cut it it just fell apart in mush. We had to scoop it with a spatula spoon just to get it onto the plate. It did not matter how thick we cut the slice it just fell apart. It looked so awful. I was so disappointed that the flavor wasn't what we ordered nor was the quality there. And the bottom of the cake Was just as bad as the top. It was supposed to be marble and instead it was yellow! Nothing like what we had ordered and paid for. The cake price was $125 and it was ridiculous how bad it was. I called Darlene because I wanted to make sure that she would know what had happened. I figured that maybe her employees made a mistake and that she would want to know. Instead she shared with me that she made the cake herself and that she was really apologetic for all of the mistakes. She said she made the mistake and made the wrong type of cake but she made the cake personally and that it was not her fault on how the cake looked when we cut it. Nobody ate it it was so bad and it tasted awful. For the cake to fall apart like that ingredients were left out. I was as a courtesy calling her because honestly I thought that one of her employees had made a mistake and she would want to know as a business owner. Instead she proceeded to tell me at least I had a cake to present. Thankfully one of the other family members brought a carrot cake that was amazing and everybody ate that. She said she would refund me even though it wasn't her fault on how I cut it. I let a couple of days go by and I remembered that maybe I should have given her the card number for her to refund since the charge was done by the donut shop. When I called her she told me that she was not going to refund my money and that it was not her fault on how I cut the cake. I told her that I cut it medium and thick and every time it just fell apart and that there was a problem. She continued to be rude to me on the phone. I told her she was making me feel bad that I even called and sharing with her the information as a courtesy. I figured as a business owner she would want to know if there was an issue. I also reminded her that the flavors were not even correct on what we ordered. She said she was not going to give a refund but to go ahead and call my credit card company and she would let the donut shop know that a request would be coming through. After we hung up the phone, she continued to text message me not very nice messages belittling me as a customer and making statements that it wasn't very important. I stopped messaging her and called my bank. This business is unprofessional. The cake quality is poor. The cake presentation looks like a school project. I should've never ordered a cake from her. I should've done more research on what she delivers. read more

Darlene's Kakes - Mushy and had to be scooped up with a spatula spoon to even serve it. This top tier was supposed to be fresh strawberries with a white cake! - Custom Cakes Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

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Darlene's Kakes will always be my #1 cake spot in Nashville. Even though I lived in Nashville my whole life, I only discovered this shop once I moved to NY and was planning my wedding in Nashville in 2014. I went to several places, as one would imagine while trying to find the perfect wedding cake. My aunt suggested Darlene's, and it was the best decision. Darlene made our wedding cake with almond and strawberry tiers, and a chocolate groom's cake. It was the talk of the wedding. Since then, I make Darlene's cake a must in my travel's to Nashville in the summers. She's done 2 of my daughter's birthday cakes, and I get a small cake with a design from my wedding. I can't wait to make it back down to Nashville after this pandemic. You can be sure that I will be calling my order in for a taste of Darlene's cakes. read more

I ordered a cake to be delivered from out of state. I know Darlene was swamped, but she graciously fit in my order at the last minute. The cake was delivered and according to the recipient - delicious. I really appreciated her kind and accommodating attitude, fair prices and great product. read more

I used Darlene for my wedding. We ordered vanilla cupcakes that were delicious. The cake was moist and tasty and the frosting was the most unique tasting frosting I've had. The guests really enjoyed them! You can't beat her price either. You receive quality food at a reasonable price. read more