Grocery store bakeries land on a broad spectrum of quality. Sure, the illuminated glass cases of glistening pastries and ornate tiered cakes are great to look at, but there’s no way a supermarket bakery can compare to a “regular” bakery, right? Publix is here to dissuade any doubts, because the Southern grocery chain is known for not just having the best supermarket cakes, but some of the best cakes in the game, period. We decided to put this to the test, reluctantly taking on the dreaded task of sampling and ranking five Publix Supreme cakes (just kidding; it was awesome). Honestly, there wasn’t any cake out of the five that we wanted to label the worst of the bunch, as they were all genuinely fantastic cakes. However, one had to come in last, and for us it was the orange cannoli cake.
Our criticisms for this cake are minimal, mostly coming down to what we found to be a “slightly artificial” orange flavor. This off-putting flavoring may have also affected the density of the cake, which was our only other complaint. Other than that, the frosting was delicious and creamy, the vanilla cake was overshadowed by the orange but still had a nice flavor, and the ganache drizzle was certifiably yummy. The cake was also decorated beautifully — as are all the Publix Supreme cakes — adorned with whole cannolis, huge swirls of buttercream, and a sprinkling of orange zest. All in all, this is the cake we’d choose last in a lineup of the other Publix cakes, but we’re certain there are plenty of people who would enjoy it.
A deeper dive into the Publix orange cannoli cake
Search Reddit, TikTok, X, or any other popular social media channels, and you’ll find praises for the Publix Supreme cakes. Publix even made it onto our list of best grocery stores to buy a birthday cake from. The grocery chain is known for its excellent bakery, with the Supreme cakes having a cult following. Publix makes its buttercream fresh and with real butter, giving it the edge in quality and flavor when compared to other supermarket bakeries. The buttercream shined bright on the orange cannoli cake, but the orange flavor in the filling was this cake’s ultimate downfall for us. Don’t get us wrong, chocolate and orange are a timeless pairing that we do enjoy. But this cake was missing that bright zing that makes fresh citrus such a beautiful element in desserts.
The internet has little information to offer when we tried to get to the bottom of this fake orange flavoring, so we’re left to hypothesize. We know for certain there is orange zest on top of the cake as well as in the filling, because that zest overtook the delicate vanilla cake flavor. Perhaps Publix uses an orange extract that we aren’t fond of. Or, we could be picking up on a hint of orange blossom extract that contributes a faint perfumey flavor that reads artificial with nothing but sweetness to cushion it on the palate. Whatever the culprit may be for the orange cannoli cake coming in last for our rankings, we can’t see ourselves reaching for this one over any other Publix cakes.
