How It Works
We have included answers to some of the most commonly asked questions below. If you look through this information and still have questions for us, just tap the chat icon and send us a text. If we're not able to answer immediately, we'll follow up within 24 hours.
Sizes · Flavors · Ordering · Pickup + Delivery · Weddings · Cancellation Policy
Our Product
Size Guide
We offer eight cake sizes. Below are the servings, dimensions, and recommended cake stand sizes for each one:
- Cutie (1-2 servings)
- 5" diameter x 2 layers
- Cake board: 6"
- Recommended cake stand: 6-8" in diameter
- Mini (4-6 servings)
- 6" diameter x 2 layers
- Cake board: 8"
- Recommended cake stand: 8-10" in diameter
- Small (8-10 servings)
- 6" diameter x 4 layers
- Cake board: 10" in diameter
- Recommended cake stand: 10-12" in diameter
- Medium (12-14 servings)
- 6" diameter x 5 layers
- Cake board: 10" in diameter
- Recommended cake stand: 10-12" in diameter
- Large (20-25 servings)
- 6" diameter x 8 layers
- Cake board: 10" in diameter
- Recommended cake stand: 10-12" in diameter
- Small two tier (30-35 servings)
- Top tier: 5" diameter x 5 layers
- Bottom tier: 7" diameter x 5 layers
- Cake board: 10" in diameter
- Recommended cake stand: 10-14" in diameter
- Medium two tier (40-45 servings)
- Top tier: 6" diameter x 5 layers
- Bottom tier: 7" diameter x 5 layers
- Cake board: 10" in diameter
- Recommended cake stand: 10-14" in diameter
- Large two tier (50-60 servings)
- Top tier: 5" diameter x 5 layers
- Bottom tier: 7" diameter x 8 layers
- Cake board: 10" in diameter
- Recommended cake stand: 10-14" in diameter
Flavor Guide
You'll find our flavors listed on all product pages, and we offer a tasting box that you can order for either pickup or delivery with 2-days notice. We currently offer the following flavors, all of which are paired with our signature light brown sugar cake.
SWEET CREAM + ROASTED BERRIES // raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry compote paired with sweet cream buttercream
- Backstory: This is one of the first flavors that we created, and it has endured the test of time because of how universally pleasing it is. It's the picture of balance, with the acid from the in-house berry compote playing off of the richness in the buttercream. This is a flavor for those craving a classic.
- Color (only shows through in our Exposé designs): white
9TH & LARKIN CHOCOLATE // 72% cacao chocolate ganache buttercream paired with a dark chocolate cream filling
- Backstory: Using Kokoa Kamili 72% cacao by local chocolate maker 9th & Larkin, this chocolate flavor has complex notes of dried fruits, a chocolate cream filling with a smooth, almost “cooling” mouth feel, and rich, dark chocolate buttercream. Paired with our signature light brown sugar cake, this flavor will satisfy both chocolate lovers as well as those who wouldn't normally gravitate towards it.
- Color (only shows through in our Exposé designs): dark brown
HAZELNUT + CHOCOLATE // 72% cacao chocolate ganache with hazelnut praline buttercream and toasted hazelnuts
- Backstory: Nuts and chocolate have been great friends for centuries, and this flavor honors that connection. We add crushed hazelnuts to our in-house hazelnut praline and make a hazelnut buttercream that we then cut with Guittard chocolate. This is a flavor for lovers of nuts.
- Color (only shows through in our Exposé designs): brown
BROWN BUTTER + MEYER LEMON // brown butter buttercream paired with a tangy Meyer lemon curd
- Backstory: The only thing the Butter& team loves more than butter is brown butter. Browning butter adds a fragrant, nutty dimension to our buttercream. We balance the richness of that experience with a fresh curd of the beloved Meyer lemon. While Meyer lemons bring the acidity that we need, they also bring a sweetness because of the mandarin in their ancestry. To create a throughline for this flavor, you’ll taste an echo of brown butter in the curd as well.
- Color (only shows through in our Exposé designs): ivory with light speckling
TONGA VANILLA BEAN // vanilla bean buttercream
- Backstory: For our take on this classic flavor, we use Heilala Vanilla, a world renowned humanitarian vanilla brand. Sourced from the Kingdom of Tonga, Heilala Vanilla Paste is made from organically grown bourbon vanilla beans. Combining two Butter& staples, quality ingredients and ethical treatment of its workers, Heilala Vanilla will make you feel as good as the product tastes. Vanilla lovers rejoice - this one's for you!
- Color (only shows through in our Exposé designs): ivory with light speckling
All of our flavors contain dairy, eggs, sugar, and lemon, and we have one flavor that contains nuts (Hazelnut + Chocolate). Contact us for a full ingredient list.
For two-tier cakes, we can do a different flavor for each tier. Place your order through our site under any flavor, and then send us a response to your confirmation email / text with the desired flavor for each tier, so we can update the order on our end.
Our Buttercream
The frosting we use is a silky Swiss merengue buttercream. Our recipe has much lower sugar and butter content than other buttercreams (e.g. American buttercream), which makes our cakes less sweet and more flavor-driven. We go to great lengths to temper our buttercream to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the secret to the creamiest buttercream experience.
Dietary Restrictions
For nut allergies, we have a number of flavors that do not contain nuts above. However, keep in mind that we do operate in a facility that processes tree nuts.
We offer a gluten-free version for all of our flavors! Please note that while all equipment is thoroughly washed and sanitized between uses, we do not operate in a fully gluten-free facility.
We do not yet offer a vegan option, however. We have experimented with these recipes, but it will take some time to develop a formula that meets our quality standards. Sorry, friends!
Design Principles
Our designers specialize in a modern, minimalist, and precise design. We love clean lines and balance, and we're on a mission to make great design more accessible.
Customizing Designs
You can customize our designs using the drop-down menus available on each product page. That can mean changing the color, the metal accents used, the stencil applied, the flower colors, and so on. Keep in mind, however, that we specialize in our own designs and not in custom themes.
Available Designs
Since our team is constantly working on new designs and collections, the designs available on our website change periodically. To see all of the designs we currently have available, browse this page.
Cake Stand Recommendations
All of our cakes are served on a stiff 10" cake board. To display your cake, there are a few options:
- Find an attractive wide-bottomed bowl, flip it upside down, and then simply place our cake on top of the bowl.
- Purchase a cake stand that is 10-14" in diameter. Our personal favorite stand is made by American Heirloom in Brooklyn, but you can also find options available at Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table.
Logistics
When to Order
If you need something for tomorrow, check out the options in our Casual Collection. These designs are simple but elegant so that we can turn them around quickly. We are open Tues-Sun 10am-6pm.
If you are planning 4 days ahead or many months ahead, you can choose from our full collection of designs. We recommend ordering your cake as soon as you know the date that you need it for, since that’s the best way to make sure we can serve you.
Although we are continuing to build our team, we do occasionally book up. Check out our live calendar view of date availability and holiday closures.
Pickup and Delivery
You can select pickup or delivery during the checkout on our website. We offer the below options in the San Francisco Bay Area.
For pickup, our address is 690 Indiana Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. We are located in the Dogpatch neighborhood. When you pick up at our studio, we'll bring the cake out to your car and help situate the cake to make transport easy.
For delivery, the price varies depending on the distance from our studio plus tolls:
- Pickup from our shop in Dogpatch in San Francisco — $0.00
- For orders under $100, courier delivery in San Francisco — $12.00
- For orders $100 or more, courier delivery in San Francisco — $39.00
- Courier delivery to other Bay Area cities — Click here for rates
To fulfill delivery, we use a local courier service that has a great track record of delivering our cakes both on-time and in great condition. We always deliver our cakes in a box with a carrying ribbon to protect the cake and make it easy to transport.
Communication
We’ll send a reminder text the night before the scheduled due date with pickup or delivery information and cake serving instructions. For delivery, we use the delivery phone number we have on file to coordinate with the recipient.
Sending the cake as a surprise gift? At checkout, make sure to enter the recipient’s name and phone number in the delivery address. It’s necessary for us to text the recipient that a gift is coming and give the courier the recipient's phone number to ensure that when the courier arrives, the package gets into the right hands. Don’t worry, we keep the texts discreet so that whom it’s from and what it is can still be a surprise.
National Shipping
We do not yet ship our cakes. However, follow us on Instagram and we will make an announcement if that ever changes!
Operating Hours
We're open on the following schedule:
Preorder Pickup Hours:
- Monday: closed
- Tuesday - Sunday: 10am-6pm
Retail Hours:
Check out our live calendar view of date availability and holiday closures here.
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel 5 or more days before your cake's due date, we will offer you a full refund. That means that for a cake due on Friday, we would need your cancellation notice no later than the Sunday before. If you cancel 4 days before your cake’s due date, we will offer you a store credit in the amount of your order total. If you cancel within 3 days of your due date, we will charge you the full price of the cake.
Creating your cake is a multi-day process of ordering inventory, baking, and designing. We are still a small team, therefore, in order to efficiently and ethically fulfill orders we must begin this process days before your order is due.
Editing an Order
You can make changes to your order as long as there are 5 or more days until your order is due. That means that for a cake due on Friday, we would need to know your order changes before Monday. Just reply to your order confirmation email with the changes you'd like, and we will review them and see if it changes the price of your order.
Gift Cards
If you wish to give the gift of Butter& but aren't sure which cake to choose, we have electronic gift cards available. Just like the love you give them with, our gift cards never expire.
Weddings
Click Here to See Our Current Availability
How We Serve Weddings
We know that preparing for a wedding can be a lot of work, so we want ordering your wedding cake to be the simplest part of that process. That’s why we price everything transparently on the website and have a streamlined ordering process — you know exactly what you are getting from us and how much it will cost from the start. Doing that allows us to avoid charging the minimums or extra fees for weddings that many other shops do.
Wedding Tastings
We offer a tasting box on the website that you can order for either pickup or delivery. We understand that some people want to taste our flavors before committing to a large order or simply want to participate in the great tradition of having a cake tasting to break up the wedding planning journey.
Others who would prefer to spare the extra expense often check our Yelp reviews so that they feel comfortable with the quality of our products. We do not offer in-person tastings.
Serving Count
Next to all cake sizes on the website, we show how many servings there are. For designer cakes, our smallest size is the Small, which serves 8-10, and our largest is the Large Two Tier, which serves up to 60 (see the Sizes section above for more details). For receptions that require more than 60 servings, there are a couple options:
- Purchase a trio of decorated cakes to display at the reception, which altogether add up to the number of desired servings; this creates an impressive display piece for guests to appreciate (e.g. a small two tier, a medium two tier, and a large two tier)
- Purchase one decorated cake for display and cake cutting and then supplement with some of our exposé cakes that are served from the venue kitchen
Courier Delivery
If you opt for delivery, we use a very reliable courier service that delivers in and around San Francisco (see Logistics above). Once the courier reaches your venue, they hand off the cake to the contact you give us, who is often a member of the venue staff, a wedding coordinator, or the caterer. That person will set up the cake for display at the reception. Finally, the caterer or event staff will cut the cake and serve it to your guests.
Pickup
Many of our clients either pick up their cakes personally or send one of the many helping hands available to them on wedding day. We hand off all cakes in a white box with a black ribbon that doubles as a great carrying handle. We instruct customers to hold the cake from the handle at the top, support from the bottom, and avoid squeezing the sides of the box. We also help position the cake in the customer’s car for safe and easy transportation.