The Mixing Bowl Bakery

The staff was amazing and their customer service was above and beyond. I called on a Tuesday to see if they were able to make a Mario cake for my son’s 6^th birthday party that would be ready to be picked up on Friday by 2PM. They said all they would need is a picture of what we were thinking and they would give us an estimate. Within 15 mins that said they could do it in the timeframe given and would be what we asked for.
I picked the cake up on Friday and was completely amazed at the attention to detail and how they exceeded my expectations. However, I wondered how it would taste. At the birthday party everyone commented on the beauty of the cake AND how delicious it was. The Mixing Bowl was far cheaper and higher quality than other places we researched. I suggested those who expect quality on multiple levels for a reasonable price to give this bakery a try.

I was in Cabo San Lucas during my boyfriend’s birthday. Called and asked if they could make a cake and deliver it to him on his birthday. They came through as a huge favor. Super friendly and really went out of their way for me. Thank you so much.

From the past 3 years we have been ordering our son’s birthday cake from Mixing Bowl. We have had so many different themes and oh boy! We are never disappointed with the cake. In fact the cake ends up being the highlight of the party. They look great and taste very good too!
Thanks for making our son’s bday super special!

I have to say I have had mixed experiences and a mixed opinion of the Mixing Bowl. I know this is a staple bakery fave in the Richmond West End, but there has been a few things that were off putting to me.
My first experience with the Mixing Bowl was in Oct 2014, where I ordered my son’s 4^th birthday cake. At this point my only experience was ordering my wedding cake in 2007 and my son’s first birthday cake in 2011, both from private bakers in Lynchburg, VA (and both wonderful). For his 2^nd and 3^rd birthdays, I baked myself, but for his 4^th, I had just had a baby and knew I couldn’t do it. So at the recommendation of a close friend, I headed to The Mixing Bowl.
First thing you will need to know: exactly what you what. Don’t really expect them to help in the design. I told them what the theme was (Avengers) and basically they told me to go online, find pictures of what I wanted, and email them. That’s all well and good, but I kinda expected them to help with a little more guidance. If you don’t have an idea in mind when you show up, you will get nowhere. This isn’t necessarily negative, I just didn’t know.
The second thing I quickly realized: they don’t have a ton of options as far as flavors go. Literally, your choices are yellow, chocolate, marble, carrot, red velvet, and a variety of pound cakes (which in both cases they said they do not recommend for children’s birthdays, because they don’t usually like the dense cake). So I went with red velvet, and I will say it was delicious. I just wish there were a few more specialty flavors to pick from.
So all in all, after this first trip to the shop, I was fine. I sent in some pictures from home and got a cake very close to what I was looking for. And it was yummy and moist, though it was also close to $ 100 (base price of the cake was ~$ 65, the rest was for the decorating).
Flash forward to Aug 2015, I needed a cake for my son’s 1^st birthday. Now, my own fault, I showed up on a Saturday two week’s before the party to see if they could fit me in (I was originally going to try to make it myself, but thought better of it as we got closer to the party). I started off the conversation acknowledging the short notice request, but they checked the calendar and said it was OK. Then I just felt rushed to make a decision. I know it was a Saturday, but when I got there, it wasn’t too busy (but did get progressively more busy the longer I was there). I asked again about the flavors because, one, I didn’t remember, and two, I was hoping maybe they added more (no such luck). The lady helping me rushed them out so fast I has to ask her to repeat. I also asked her recommendation on the flavor and she said «yellow», so I went with that. In retrospect, I wish I has stuck with red velvet. The yellow cake wasn’t bad by any means, I just liked the red velvet better.
I knew I wanted the cake to be a simple ombré, but I also knew there are several types of ombré icing styles, so I asked if they had ever done one before and what it looked like. She said yes, and did help in looking up a picture online. We found one I liked, including the color, so I said to make it just like that one. The resulting color wasn’t quite the same, but it was fine.
So overall, I don’t want this to be seen as a negative review in any way I really did like both the cakes I got. As I said, I think the red velvet was the better option, but yellow was fine too. I may even use the bakery again. I think I just expected a little more help in designing the cake and to not feel so rushed when I was there. Cakes are really expensive, and so for the money I am spending, it would be nice to feel like you have the attention of the person helping you.

I visited this bakery to inquire about a birthday cake for my son. I was greeted nicely by a young lady and told her what I was looking for and when. It was all fine until I asked about help with what to put on the cake. I was told by another lady fondant (which I had not even mentioned) would not dry quick enough which I said no problem maybe something done with just icing and asked if they had any ideas. You would have thought I had asked for a million dollars. A different woman huffed over to a computer and said in a low mean voice «I am looking now I don’t know why people can’t just do this themselves». REALLY! You are a bakery that designs cakes and all I asked for was a little help. I then said. you know what forget it. Before I could even finish saying that the grumpy lady yelled «uhppp there it is!» I guess other people have been as turned off as I was and this was not the first time it happened this way. Looking back on other reviews I see this to be true. This experience was absolutely horrible. It is rare to see someone such as this grumpy lady so miserable with what she does. I kind of feel sorry for her in a way as she should just bake and not deal with customers. I will never go in there again.

Amazing delicious custom cakes!!!
We were thrilled with the graduation and birthday cakes you made for our party!
Perfection!

Wonderful and beautiful job on the cake they made for me! I have ordered another for Mother’s Day and I cannot wait to see how it turns out!

Good Golly Miss Molly! I finally found the cookies I have been searching for! I am going to make a point to stop by when the cookie baker is actually here to meet them in person. They just get it. The cookies are only the tip of the lineup here with cakes, breads, well… a full line of baked goods!
I asked for the two most popular cookies. They were already baked and put in bags (about a dozen in each bag). I bought the Oatmeal and the Lace cookies… One bag of each. Best Oatmeal Cookies I have ever had! I haven’t tried the Lace cookies yet but I am positive they are just as good.
I can’t wait to go back and try the upside down cupcakes.
Great customer service! You’ll be seeing me weekly!

I had the strawberry upside down cupcake and a lemon square. They were great! You can tell they use fresh strawberries which makes it so much tastier. Not too expensive and very friendly. And they have discount items.

Oh my goodness… The upside cupcakes are delicious… Super sweet but delicious. The lady that greeted me when I walked in was super nice and chatted with my daughter about doing her wedding cake one day.
The upside down cup cakes were $ 1.95 each, and they look like just the bottom half of a cupcake. We got the strawberry ones and chocolate ones. Just delicious!

My review is based solely on customer service. I love sweets so I’m constantly in search of new places to try. I walked in and approached the counter there were two women behind the counter. I looked at the case for a little and finally I was approached by a extremely irritated woman who asked if I wanted anything. I told her I was trying to decide. The lady then raised her eyebrows pursed her lips and walked away. I was so put off by the lack of customer service that I immediately left. If you don’t want my business than I will take it elsewhere. There is no excuse for such poor service.

My best friend and I DID walk in 10 min before closing, so perhaps the hairy eyeball and dry, unwelcoming, «may I help you?» was warranted.
You would think that a bakery would have baked goods on hand, no? There were a few small bags of cookies (that, YESS! were actually a reasonable size, not huge dinner plates), some day old challah breads and «pumpkin spice coffee cake» sections two sad looking pies and a few assorted other little things, some of which must have been the «upside down cupcakes» that another reviewer mentioned. i was unaware that a cupcake, when turned upside down, would look so unappealing.
We learned that if you want something other than their rather anemic selection you must order it ahead of time. How was I supposed to know that? Do they have a website I can look at for a menu? No. You’d just have to call or go by and have them explain to you all the choices or possibilities. Getting a cake would involve either a long (what I expect to be confusing and less than cordial, based on our greeter) phone call and one trip or two trips out to Three Chopt to complete the transaction. That sounds like slightly less of a pain in the butt than making the cake myself, but I like to cook so your mileage may vary.
We ended up purchasing some of the day old goods and a bag of chocolate chip cookies. The breads were okay, the chocolate chip cookies were really good and the price was exactly right for what we got. Unfortunately, that’s really just not enough to get me to travel all the way out here from Manchester on a regular basis.
Important note! The picture as a thumbnail here is not helpful. They’re in the Westbury Pharmacy shopping center on the corner of Three Chopt and Eastwood, right where you’d turn to go to the mall on Parham. The awning above their door has the name of another business, a market of some sort. We were navigating off the address and picture on Unilocal.I drove right by it once and would have missed it a second time and given up were it not for the keen eyes of my best friend who said, «Oh! There’s a little sign in the window, ‘The Mixing Bowl’! That must be it! Maybe it’s in the market?»

Holy cannoli, these folks make a great cake.
I ordered a chocolate cake with buttercream icing, and it tasted amazing– dense and rich yet still homemade and fresh.
Also, they decorated it in a lovely fall theme that was really impressive.
Best of all, I called at 8:15am and they had it ready by 3pm that afternoon. They are amazing!
The price wasn’t awful either– $ 30 for a cake that easily feeds 8 people.
My only complaint is that their website is down, so I didn’t know what other choices I had in terms of flavors for the icing and cake itself. The lady helping me on the phone told me to check out their facebook page, but it just showed pictures… no real info.
This is the only place I’ll be getting cakes from from now on– it’s a million times better than the Ukrops bakeries or getting a Kroger cake, that’s for sure.

I purchased a Red Velvet cake for my boyfriend’s birthday last year and it was awesome. Just a 6″ cake, but it was large enough to probably feed 6, 4 if they wanted big pieces. It was beautifully decorated with delicious cream cheese frosting, the cake itself was moist and yummy… high praise indeed from someone who isn’t crazy about red velvet cake!
I also purchased yellow cake/​chocolate frosting upside down cupcake (YUM!!) and a cinnamon roll for me and my son… both were excellent as well, my son even wanted me to go back the next day for more.

On our last day at the corporate office, my co workers and I wanted to show our gratitude by plying them with a mess of pastries. We asked our hotel concierge, the folks at the local coffee shop and even a 7 – 11 clerk where we could find a local pastry or donut shop. The best anyone could come up with was Krispy Kreem donuts (gag) apparently, handmade breakfast pastries are not a popular food item in Richmond.
Searching the streets, we saw the Mixing Bowl sign and turned in to the parking lot of a little cottage set far off the street, that you would never know the business existed. We found Nirvana! Tracy (I’m pretty sure that’s her name) a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, had moved back to Virginia and taken over the Mixing Bowl baking business in the last six months. What a surprise that 3 San Franciscans pop up at her bakery looking for pastries!
Tracy was the sweetest, nicest person and piled 2 boxes with pastries, her signature upside down cupcakes, and sticky buns. Needless to say, we looked like heroes when we walked through the door with boxes with the Mixing Bowl business cards on them.
Their specialty is wedding cakes (there are kudos and reference letters on the wall where you enter her shop) but Tracy also makes sticky buns, upside down cupcakes, fresh breads and rolls. Support your local food peeps in Richmond, Va. !!!