A photo cake is a bento cake with your own picture on top: the photo is printed in edible ink straight onto the cream. At Vanilla Cake in Baku it costs the same as a standard bento — from 25 ₼ — and ordering takes just a few steps: upload the photo in the online cake builder or send it to us on WhatsApp. Ready-made ideas are in our photo bento cakes section; below we explain which shots print best, how to pair a photo with lettering and what to prepare for your order.
How the photo gets onto the cake
We print your picture in edible ink on the cream surface of the cake. The print is food-safe, does not change the taste, and the colours hold without bleeding. Underneath is a regular bento: you choose a vanilla, chocolate or red velvet sponge with cream cheese and one filling. All the options, with cross-section photos, are on our sponges and fillings page.
The photo can fill the whole top or sit as a smaller shot inside a frame. A piped cream frame can be white, pink or any other colour, and one of the most popular is the Polaroid frame — a white strip along the bottom, just like an instant photo. Before printing we show you how the picture will look on the cake, so you can see the result in advance.
Which photos work best
Almost any shot will do. These are the ones people ask for most:
- a portrait — of the birthday person, a couple, mum or a best friend;
- a travel shot — that sunset or your first trip together;
- a chat screenshot — the very first “hi” or a funny exchange;
- a film or TV still — a favourite scene or hero;
- a character or a meme — an anime or cartoon hero, or a meme cat.
One photo or two: Polaroid, frame and lettering
The layout depends on the occasion. These are the options you will see most often in our catalogue:
| Layout | What it looks like | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| One Polaroid and lettering | A photo in a white frame with a phrase and a heart beside it | Birthdays, declarations of love, just-because gifts |
| Two Polaroids | Two shots side by side with lettering below | Couples, friends, “then and now” |
| Full-surface photo | The picture covers the whole top, with a greeting over it | When the shot itself is the point |
| Photo in a cream frame | The shot inside a piped frame with hearts at the sides | Anniversaries, Valentine’s Day |
Lettering next to the photo is free, in English, Azerbaijani or Russian. Short phrases work best: a name, “Happy birthday my love”, “to my hero”, or a birth year as on the Limited Edition cake. Stuck for words? Browse our collection of cake lettering ideas.
Photo cake ideas by occasion
Birthday
The most common occasion of all. A portrait of the birthday person in a Polaroid frame with “Happy birthday” is the classic, while for a father, husband or brother people often pick the “to my hero” version. For a boss there is a tongue-in-cheek cake with Scrooge McDuck and “happy birthday, big boss”.
Anniversaries and romance
A couple’s photo in a Polaroid frame, two names and red hearts. For something softer, we can print a pair of cats or a panda hugging a bear cub with the two names instead of a photo — you will find these in the catalogue too.
“From this to this”
Two shots side by side: a childhood photo captioned “from this” and a recent one captioned “to this”, with the age in large digits below. A story at a glance for a milestone birthday or anniversary.
Kids’ cakes
For children we often print a favourite character rather than a photo: Lightning McQueen from Cars, a princess, Simba the lion cub. Any character can be swapped for another — just send us the picture. For more ideas, see our kids’ bento cakes: over a hundred designs, from animals to month-by-month cakes for babies.
Photo cake prices
The photo does not add to the price: a cake with your picture costs the same as a standard bento — the price depends only on the size, not on how complex the design is.
| Size | Serves | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 300–350 g | 1–2 | 25 ₼ |
| 750–800 g | 3–4 | 35 ₼ |
| 1200–1500 g | 7–8 | 60 ₼ |
The small cake for 1–2 people comes in a white clamshell bento box — the classic bento look. For more on the formats and how a bento differs from a regular cake, read our guide to what a bento cake is.
How to order a photo cake, step by step
- Open the cake builder and pick a size — for 1–2, 3–4 or 7–8 people.
- Choose the cream colour and upload your photo — there are 19 shades of cream, and you add your picture with the “Your image” button (JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 8 MB). You can place up to three images on the cake.
- Add lettering — up to three lines, in the colour you choose. Photos and lettering can be dragged around the cake and resized.
- Choose the border — none, cream pearls or shells — and view the cake in 3D. The border costs nothing extra.
- Choose the sponge and filling, the date, the time and delivery or pick-up, then send the order via WhatsApp. Links to the design image and to your photo are added to the message automatically.
Prefer to chat? Just send us the photo and what you have in mind on WhatsApp at +994 55 215 63 43 — we will help with the layout and show you how the picture will look on the cake. Your order counts as accepted only once we confirm it.
We deliver across Baku: Monday to Friday by courier from 11:00 to 20:00 or by Bolt Delivery until 22:00 (you book the Bolt courier to collect from our address), and on Saturday from 11:00 to 14:00. You can also collect the cake yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a photo cake cost?
Can I have two photos on one cake?
What kind of photo should I send?
Does the print affect the taste?
Can you print a character instead of a photo?
A photo cake is an easy way to make a gift truly personal: you choose the picture, and we put it on the cream. Find an idea among the ready-made designs or build your own version in the cake builder — and message us early to secure your date.
