Michelle Ashley Custom Cakes — Restaurant in Salem

I wasn’t going to leave a review because it’s been a few months since my experience (January 2024) but after hearing from others their experience, I decided to write my review so others can take heed. I ordered a custom cake for my boyfriend’s birthday. He wanted a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and that was it. They said they would have no problem making it for me and the order went through with no issues however, when I got the cake, the cake was extremely dry and the chocolate frosting tasted like cherry which is not what was agreed to or discussed. I contacted the store immediately and was told to bring the cake back in. I brought the cake back in and the owner was gone so the worker said she would hold it to discuss with the owner, Michelle. I was contacted a week later by Michelle. She told me they put it in the freezer and she tasted it when she got back from vacation. She said the cake tasted just fine and refused to do anything about it and told me they have a no return policy. I asked for my money back and they refused, even when they didn’t deliver on the product we agreed to and because I took the cake back and it was not returned to me nor replaced. I paid over $100 for a 9 inch cake that we didn’t even get to eat because they refused to replace it. They told me the best they could do was give me in-store credit and it wasn’t even close to the amount of money I spent on this cake. I was highly disappointed in the way that I was treated, and I will never order another cake from this place again nor will I give them my business ever again. Edit The credit card company did not “take your side”… I simply stopped pursuing it because I didn’t want to waste my time with you. I find it sad that you chose to not make this right and at least remake the cake. I’ve eaten your cupcakes and other items from your store and never had any issues which is why I ordered the cake there in the first place!. This cake was not good at all and out of the ordinary based on my prior experience. Therefore I thought you remaking it was the right thing to do and you wouldn’t even do that. I didn’t want my money back. I wanted you to...

It was $125 for a single tier nerf cake. It was extremely simplistic with an extraordinarily small nerf gun on top. My son picked out this cake specifically for the nerf gun (party was nerf themed) and was crestfallen when his cake did not remotely reflect the showcased nerf gun cake topper in the advertised picture. I’m not going to get detailed about it but this was probably a $1 purchase, which isn’t insane for a cake topper but it’s a little disappointing considering the primary feature of the cake was the gun in the advertised picture. Fortunately it was an easy remedy on my side and we replaced it with something a bit more substantial, but at the end of the day I was a little lost as to what I had paid $125 for. I’ve had custom cakes in the past that were far more intricate and similarly priced. This was just blue fondant with some literal smears of orange frosting sporadically placed on the sides and a printed edible nerf logo on the front. Silver lining was that it tasted great! It’s just hard for me to rationalize the price if the only highlight was the taste (lovin’ oven is an amazing alternative for those who are interested in simply decorated cakes that taste amazing! They are very affordable as well). I would happily buy from their case in the future but I’ll pass on any custom orders. If you aren’t doing the EXACT order of a cake as how it was visually advertised I would highly recommend getting extremely specific about what you expect/want. It was my mistake for not doing so and just assuming there would be more commonalties than color between what I saw and what I got. I completely understand they have items priced for a variety of reasons and I always try to support local I was just a bit shell shocked at what I got for the price I paid. This is really more of a cautionary tale for anyone who orders custom cakes in the future, be SUPER specific so everyone is on the same page and don’t just assume you’ll get the same thing as how it was...

Looking back on my wedding reception, my one regret was getting a cake from Michelle Ashley Cakes. I’ve been told by friends and family that I need to write a review. So I’m doing it now. We heard great things about Michelle Ashley Cakes and we ordered a $780 wedding cake that we were told was their signature cake - lemon lavender. Lemon being my favorite, I thought it would be perfect. The $780 did NOT include decorations, just the cake. We had to buy flowers separately and have them placed on the cake. When my husband and brother-in-law went to pick up the cake, they were surprised by how it looked and couldn’t stop staring at it. Ashley (the owner) apparently got defensive and wanted to know why they kept staring at “my cake”. My brother-in-law told me husband “hopefully it will taste better than it looks.” When they arrived at the venue with the cake, I was shocked and disappointed for what our money had gotten. My sisters tried making me feel better by encouraging me that it would taste amazing. They couldn’t have been more wrong. In addition to the $780 Ashley cake, we had also purchased two of our favorite cakes for $50 each from the Konditorei Bakery. Our guests tried the Ashley cake, and threw it away after 1-2 bites. NO ONE liked it! Not even me or my husband!!! The Konditorei cakes were devoured, there was nothing left of them. We spent $780 on cake that no one liked or wanted. My husband wrote a review (after months of our family and friends encouraging him to). Ashley’s response was less than encouraging. She claimed that it tasted like that because it was made from scratch. She also said that the Kondetorei cakes are made from a box, which is NOT true!!! I make cakes from scratch, but they aren’t super dry or taste bad like Ashley’s was. I regret buying my wedding cake from her. It was a HUGE waste of money. I encourage couples to go elsewhere for their...