How to Order a Custom Eggless Cake in Sydney

Sydney has no shortage of cake bakeries, but finding one that is genuinely 100% eggless and accepts custom orders without a 3-week lead time is harder than it should be. At Num Num's Bakery, the process has been deliberately built around a single constraint: it should take less than 5 minutes to place a complete custom cake order. No account creation, no online form that requires a 14-step checkout, no phone hold music. Just a WhatsApp message with five pieces of information.

This guide explains exactly what to include in that message, how the confirmation process works, what questions to expect, and how to make your order go smoothly from first contact to pick-up. It also covers the less obvious details: what "48 hours notice" actually means in practice, when you should give more notice, how deposits work for complex orders, and what to do if you need to make a last-minute change.

What Are the 5 Steps to Order a Cake from Num Num's?

The ordering process is the same whether you're after a simple single-tier vanilla cake or a 3-tier sculpted custom piece. The complexity changes the lead time and possibly the deposit requirement, but the process itself is identical:

1. 1
   Choose your flavour

   Browse the full menu of 15 eggless flavours — Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Fudge, Saffron Pistachio, Rose Cardamom, Red Velvet, Salted Caramel, Strawberry Cream, Lemon Zest, Mango Passion, Coconut Pandan, Taro, and more. If you can't decide, note your top 2 and we can advise based on the occasion and your guest profile.
2. 2
   Decide on size and format

   Single-tier round (serves 8–10 or 14–16), 2-tier round (serves 20–30), slab cake (serves 20–30), or cupcake box (12 or 24 pack). For large events — school parties, corporate events, large weddings — mention the total number of guests and we'll recommend the best format.
3. 3
   Note your decoration requirements

   Simple is fine: "smooth buttercream with a 'Happy Birthday Priya' message" takes the same effort as specifying a colour scheme. For complex designs (fondant work, 3D sculpting, edible printing, fresh florals), include a reference photo if possible — WhatsApp makes this easy.
4. 4
   Send your WhatsApp message

   Message +61 425 697 725 with: event date, servings needed, flavour, decoration notes, and which location you'll collect from (Harris Park or Riverstone). You can also use the online form at numnumsbakery.com.au/order.
5. 5
   Confirm and collect

   We reply within a few hours (during business hours) with confirmation, price, and pick-up time. Pay on collection (or deposit for complex orders). Collect at Harris Park (96/96 Wigram Street, daily 11 am–10 pm) or Riverstone (Shop 8, Riverstone Shopping Centre, Mon–Fri 6 am–8 pm, Sat–Sun 7 am–7 pm).

What Information Do I Need to Include in My Order Message?

The most common reason an order takes longer to confirm is missing information in the first message. When the team receives a message that says only "I want a birthday cake for Saturday" — the follow-up exchange to clarify size, flavour, decoration, and pick-up location adds hours to the process and delays confirmation of your slot. A complete first message typically gets a confirmed slot within 2–4 hours.

The 5 pieces of information you need:

• Event date and preferred pick-up time: "Saturday 26 July, collecting around 5 pm" gives us everything we need to schedule your order.
• Number of servings: "serves about 20" is enough — we will advise the closest standard size.
• Flavour: first choice and a backup if possible. "Saffron Pistachio, or Vanilla Bean if that's not available" eliminates a round-trip message.
• Decoration notes: message text, colour preferences, any reference image. "White and gold, 'Happy 30th Ananya'" is a complete decoration brief.
• Pick-up location: Harris Park or Riverstone. If you're unsure which is closer, mention your suburb and we'll advise.

How Much Notice Do You Actually Need?

The stated minimum is 48 hours. In practice, this means placing your order by the same time, two days before your event. If your party is on Saturday afternoon, you need to have sent your WhatsApp message by Thursday afternoon at the latest. But "minimum" is not the same as "comfortable" — here is what different lead times realistically allow:

• 48 hours: sufficient for a standard single-tier cake in a readily available flavour with a simple message. No complex decoration, no special requests. Best suited for informal occasions where perfection is nice but not essential.
• 3–4 days: comfortable for single or double-tier cakes with buttercream decoration, a specific colour scheme, or a custom message in a particular font or style. This is the sweet spot for most milestone birthday cakes.
• 5–7 days: recommended for complex fondant work, 3D sculpted elements, fresh florals, edible printing, or multi-tier architectural cakes. The decoration on these cakes is applied in stages and requires set time between layers.
• 7–14 days (December only): November and December are Num Num's busiest period — Christmas, New Year, school end-of-year events, and holiday parties all compress into 6 weeks. Slots during this period fill faster than any other time of year. If your event is in December, order as soon as you know the date.

What Happens After You Send Your WhatsApp Message?

The response cycle at Num Num's is managed by a human team member, not an automated chatbot. During business hours (Harris Park: 11 am–10 pm daily; Riverstone: 6 am–8 pm Mon–Fri), you can typically expect a reply within 2–4 hours. Messages sent outside business hours are responded to at opening the following day.

The confirmation message will include:

• Confirmation that your requested date and flavour are available
• A price for your requested size and decoration
• Your confirmed pick-up time
• Any questions the team has about your decoration brief (usually only needed for complex designs)
• A deposit request, if applicable (complex or large orders)

Once you confirm the order and pay any deposit, your slot is secured. All custom orders are made fresh, beginning the day before or on the morning of collection depending on size. This means your cake has not been sitting in a display case — it is made for you, for your event, on the scheduled date.

What Are the Most Common Custom Cake Requests?

Based on Num Num's order data from 2024–2025, the most frequently requested custom elements across all celebration cake orders were:

The most interesting insight from this data: 78% of orders include a name message, yet fewer than 20% of customers mention the exact font or style they prefer. The default at Num Num's is a clean, modern cursive in matching buttercream — if you have a strong preference for block letters, a particular colour, or a specific script style, mention it when ordering. This is one of the easiest ways to personalise a cake without adding cost or complexity.

The 18% photo print rate reflects a growing trend: edible photo printing allows a high-resolution image to be reproduced on the cake's top surface. This works well for milestone birthdays (a photo from 10 or 20 years ago), baby shower reveals, and corporate branding. Photo prints require 5–7 days notice to ensure the image quality meets printing standards — blurry or low-resolution images cannot be improved in production, so the original photo matters.

Are There Restrictions on What Can Be Custom-Ordered?

The short answer is: very few. Num Num's Bakery can accommodate most standard custom requests. The constraints that do exist are practical rather than arbitrary:

• Nut-free decoration: Pistachio-based decoration cannot be offered as "completely nut-free" because the same workspace handles pistachio products. If a guest has a severe tree nut allergy, choose a flavour and decoration that does not include pistachio, and mention the allergy when ordering so the team can advise on cross-contact risk for your specific choice.
• Alcohol-based flavours: Num Num's does not produce rum, amaretto, or alcohol-infused cake flavours. All products are alcohol-free by default.
• Eggs: Not available. Every product is egg-free. If you specifically need an egg-containing cake, Num Num's is not the right bakery — and that is a feature, not a limitation, for the vast majority of customers who choose Num Num's precisely because of the eggless guarantee.
• Same-day orders: Not available as a standard service. Last-minute availability (less than 48 hours) does occasionally arise from cancellations — WhatsApp to ask, but it cannot be relied upon for important occasions.

If you are planning ahead for a themed or decorative cake and want inspiration before placing your order, it helps to browse examples first. The eggless birthday cakes guide covers the most popular designs ordered through Num Num's for milestone celebrations, including colour palettes, topper styles, and tier configurations. For more on decoration options specifically, the eggless cake customisation page goes into detail on what can be changed, what cannot, and how to brief the team on a complex design in one WhatsApp message.

Frequently Asked Questions