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Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review – October 2015

Lindsey Morse
ByLindsey MorseOct 21, 2015 | 32 comments

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Box

Doorstep Desserts is a new weekly (or monthly) dessert subscription that sends you everything you need to make desserts at home.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Inside

My Subscription Addiction pays for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Contents

The Subscription Box: Doorstop Desserts

The Cost: $22 a box for a monthly plan, $18 a box for a weekly plan, $20 a box for a biweekly plan

The Products: Each box includes pre-portioned ingredients and a recipe card with step-by-step instructions.

Ships to: US

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Card

This week’s Doorstop Desserts recipe is for Death by Chocolate Cake.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Recipe

I received a recipe card with step-by-step instructions for constructing the dessert.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Ingredients

On a separate card, I found nutrition facts and a list of ingredients.

The outside of the box was labeled with a very large “PERISHABLE” sticker, so I’d assumed that the cake components would be made from scratch with recognizable ingredients (like milk, flour, sugar, eggs, and butter) and that I would need to immediately transfer everything to the fridge. Instead, I was surprised to see that the ingredients included a number of additives and preservatives. Nowhere on the cards was there an instruction to refrigerate anything. (I did anyway though, just to be safe.)

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - PackagedCake

Doorstop Desserts included two 5-inch, pre-baked chocolate cakes and all of the ingredients required to make each one into a small layer cake.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Cake2

Unfortunately, the box was packed without any protective packing materials, and both of the cakes arrived damaged. Once of them was salvageable, but the other was beyond repair.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Cake1

I considered reaching out to Doorstop Desserts for a replacement, but I decided against it. I’d planned to make the dessert for only two people, and I figured that one cake round would be plenty. (Plus, if we loved it, we could always dip the crumbs in frosting!)

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Tubs

The instructions were very straightforward. All of the cake components arrived pre-made, so I just needed to assemble the cake. I began by cutting the cake in half.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Step1

I then spread chocolate frosting between the layers.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - Step2

To top the cake, Doorstop Desserts provided Chocolate Crème Pie Filling and Chocolate Krunchies.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - ConstructedCake

When the cake was constructed, I cut small slices.

Doorstep Desserts Subscription Box Review October 2015 - SlicedCake

Personally, I like my chocolate cake to be as chocolaty as possible. When I make it at home, I put real chocolate in both the cake and the frosting. For me, this cake lacked that real chocolate flavor. Other than that, though, I was relatively happy with how it turned out. It was very easy to construct, and it looked pretty cute. The cake itself was soft, and the chocolate frosting was fine (it tasted like packaged frosting from the cake aisle). I didn’t really like the Chocolate Crème Pie Filling, but, altogether, the cake tasted okay. Both my husband and I had a small slice, but neither of us went back for seconds.

The Verdict: I think the subscription market is definitely in need of some great DIY dessert boxes, and I had high hopes for Doorstep Desserts. After giving it a try, though, I’m sad to say that, for me, it misses the mark. Overall, I think the concept is good. It’s fun to assemble desserts at home, and I think kids, in particular, could have a lot of fun with simple dessert kits like this one. Unfortunately, the poor packaging and high price are deal breakers for me. Cake is extremely delicate, and I think it’s essential to utilize protective packing materials like peanuts or tissue to make sure it arrives without any damage. It’s impossible to make a layer cake if your cake arrives in crumbs, and, even if the provided recipe is for something like cake pops or truffles (where the cake gets mashed up anyway), I think it’s unprofessional to package food without the necessary padding to protect it from damage en route. With regard to price, I think the $18- $22 range is too high. I think it’s fair to charge a premium for a dessert kit if the components are made with high quality ingredients, but I don’t feel that’s the case here. Based on the provided ingredient list, I think it’s safe to say that they’re relying on mixes and not baking from scratch. (Out of curiosity, I looked up the ingredients in Betty Crocker box cake and found them to be very similar to those listed on the Doorstop Desserts ingredient card.) If this kit had contained homemade cakes and frosting made from simple, quality ingredients (or the supplies to make those things yourself at home), I think I could better justify the current price. All that said, I think this box still has potential. With a lower price and better packaging, I think it could be a fun subscription for people looking to occasionally make quick, semi-homemade desserts at home. As it currently stands, though, I don’t think I can recommend it.

Have you tried Doorstep Desserts? What did you think of your dessert kit?

Lindsey Morse
Lindsey Morse

Lindsey is a professional baker, cold brew coffee addict, and rosé aficionado who loves writing about food and wine. When she’s not sharing her love of subscription boxes with the world, you’ll find her in the podcasting studio, perfecting her cake decorating techniques, or cursing her way through the New York Times daily crossword puzzle. 


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32 comments

Renee

So this is a total scam, right? I was communicating with Josh Lankford for a while but no response since June. We only received one order!

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Naomi

How can I contact them? I made an order two weeks ago and haven’t received any dessert. I received an email this morning saying my order was complete. It was very confusing because there wasn’t anything said about my order being shipped. I emailed them six days ago and haven’t gotten an email back except for the one this morning and I think it was automated.

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Rynae

I can’t even access their website and I was just charged for a box after I canceled my subscription! What email did you send it to please? I even wrote on their Facebook a few times! Ugh!

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Flubs

I love chocolate cake but I would’ve been really disappointed if I received this package. I too thought you would received ingredients to make the cake, not a pre-made cake. Even if it was free, I don’t want pre-made basics in a baking box I’m paying $20+.

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Melisa Sharp

So when do they take out the money from your account for this? I signed up for his box before the due date so like they said it would be shipped out on Monday. Instead they changed my order date to the next day so I would have to end up waiting another week for them to ship out my free box. Sounds a little crooked to me. Or maybe they are just stalling the shipment so that when they actually ship it out you are being billed that $22. I looked everywhere on the site to see when you would be billed later. I didn’t find any information about that on their site. Now I’m very scared because in this political world we live in, even if they did take my money from my account there’s would be litigation that business hide behind so they can have the time to have their fancy lawyers figure out to screw us over legally which I’m sure they already know how. And if I hired a lawyer so I could get my money back, I would be homeless because I wouldn’t be able to pay my rent. And over $22. I’d rather let them keep the $22 and pitty them because New Jersey crackheads got better game than that.

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Amy Ballou

laughing my butt off but shaking my head at the same time….soooo true! Let us know what happens, and good luck.

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Amy Ballou

I was gonna sign up but more than anything the website stirred me away, as I feel it lacked a lot of things. Even basic websites should have. I also wonder if you sign up monthly how do you know what dessert you get, if anyone can answer this please do!

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Jen

Got my trial box. Everything was fine, but then mine was for truffles, so cake would be crumbled anyway. I’ve already cancelled, as I don’t feel like the joy of basically icing a cake or mixing cake and icing is worth $18-22 a pop. Also, my husband made a comment that the nutrition label on the info card looked a little suspect, like it had been copied and pasted from somewhere else.

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Janelle

just got my trial box in the mail – it is what I saw 2+ weeks ago mentioned as the box of the week. The cake was crumbly. My girls will probably enjoy making the cake truffles but I have already cancelled. Definitely not worth the price.

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nursermk

I was very interested in this if shipped with good ingredients and the option of trying new techniques or methods, while scratching my creative itch. I love baking and making goodies from scratch and was very interested in your candid assessment of this new subscription. This could have been a nice companion to something like Plated or Blue Apron, providing materials to concoct a delightful finish to a home cooked meal. Even if they used a premium cake mix (Arrowhead Mills Organic is one I recommend for a darn close homemade flavor and texture) and provided components to embellish, it would be better than a smashed up cake and canned frosting.

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nelliebelle1197

So this is basically a sub for Sandra Lee’s fans? I don’t think so! How is this better than just buying a premade cake from a grocery store?

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Misha

I considered trying this sub- but decided not to based on the price. I really enjoy baking and thought this would be fun. I did not realize (probably didn’t look at the website close enough) that this is just an assembly dessert box. Much less fun to me, glad I passed.

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Chelsea

Lindsey, I love your reviews., as you are very descriptive and honest. I really appreciate it… BUT, I wish you(and other reviewers on this site) would complain to the company, when you receive faulty, or damaged products. You can’t give everyone a pass–and they need to know what is and what isn’t working as far as shipping goes. It would also give a true idea of how a sub box company handles the good and the bad. Otherwise, you’re a total Rockstar in my book!
Please chime in MSA community if you think I am off base.

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Lindsey

Thanks for the feedback, Chelsea. I’ll definitely take it on board! ?

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nelliebelle1197

I agree!

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EC

It says a lot about a company when they choose to send low quality products. I’m generally not a fan of what I call the overpriced “curation justification” (though there are a rare few exceptions to that). Here there isn’t even a plausible argument for curation. My suspicion is they bought cheap cake mix and frosting in bulk and divided into the cheapest containers available, dumped them in a cheap box and shipped via the slowest and cheapest method possible. Quite frankly I’m shocked they even bothered to include an ingredients list, unless they think subscribers too ignorant to bother reading them. Gee I can’t wait for my free box now, the one that’s been processing for 10 days so far. Seriously, this has a fly by night scheme feel to it in all regards. Cancelling immediately.

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PA Anna

I read the ingredient list before moving forward to read the rest of the review. I am absolutely shocked at the ingredient list versus what you are paying for the box. I was expecting a higher quality ingredient list.

Who is behind the company? Who is doing the baking? Is it being made in a commercial kitchen? I would want to know more about the company before putting food in my mouth.

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Vanessa

This is shockingly bad. They should be embarrassed. So they send already made cakes and you get the pleasure of putting frosting on them for $22? What a joke.

I’ve made cakes from scratch but personally nothing beats a nice Dunkin Hines cake mix, it’s super easy, delicious and costs less than $3. I usually make my own frosting from scratch. Probably another $3-$4 of ingredients. This is really a sad sad subscription service

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Laura

I’ve taken cake decorating classes and they actually recommended Dunkin Hines if not making from scratch.

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Vanessa

I’ve taken cake decorating classes also and that’s when I started using Dunkin Hines instead of Betty Crocker. It was recommended by the instructor

Jen

Looks like my free box processed and is shipping, but after a trip to the grocery store and seeing some great already assembled cakes for much less than the weekly price of this… I cancelled. There’s no actual baking involved, looks like. It’s just assembling something I could honestly make myself either from scratch or a mix with about $5 worth of ingredients, and as an added bonus, mine wouldn’t be crumbled.

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Sylvia

Thanks for this review! I was shopping around for another box (no, I don’t know why) and nearly signed up for this one, lured by the promise of a free dessert. I signed up for a cat-stuff themed box instead, but I still had my eye on this one. You’ve helped me decide to hold off and see how or even if they improve.

Dessert is awesome, free dessert is even more awesome, questionable quality *might* be somewhat excusable if something is free – but broken cake is just sad, free or not.

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WendyinCA

Wow. I guess I would have expected this box to include things like high-quality baking chocolate, organic butter, unusual gourmet toppings, perhaps some specially ground fine flour? Something that makes an amazing dessert! And maybe even a beautiful plate for display? Such an odd box. I wonder how much research was done before the launch?

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Melissa B

What a great review. I was excited about the idea of a dessert box but not for a premade cake. You can buy a premade cake at the store really easily.

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Renee

Even if both cakes arrived in perfect condition, the box still is not great. It’s terribly overpriced, and it’s nothing but two cakes and frosting. Seriously? Great review, though!

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Lexi

Yeah, thank you so much for this review! I ordered my “free kit” and it will be delivered next week. I promptly canceled after seeing this review and am considering writing the company. This is horrendous. I will be giving it away as that list of ingredients is SHOCKING for a box that costs 18$ week! Oh hells no. The high fructose corn syrup made me audibly gasp- I do not want that in my body at all and avoid it at all costs. I thought this would be an awesome homemade like dessert sub box- they have a lot of work to do to get this acceptable. My lord.

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Molly

Maybe it’s me, but I just don’t see it. A box of cake mix is like $2 and icing is the same. You could do the whole project for $5 max if you take the extra step of mixing mix with water and eggs and baking it.

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Erin D

Molly, it is not just you!

Yikes!!

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Ragan

Yeah, I don’t use cake mix or canned frosting but I could do this myself at home with what I keep on hand all the time.

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Crystal

Great review ! I was debating this one but I think I will pass even though it’s a free first box ! Not even worth the hassle.

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Jen

I signed up for this box after seeing the free box promo. I figure even if I hate it, I’m out nothing. So far, it still says my order is processing, even after well over a week. I did wonder when looking at the desserts if it was assembly or actually making a dessert, and that answers my question. I don’t have high hopes for me keeping this after my first box, if it ever arrives. I’d much rather make desserts from the ingredients myself, like I do with Plated. Plated does seem to do a much better job with desserts at $4 per serving. I’ll probably just stick with them unless these guys really impress and surprise me.

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lisad

Thank you for your review, I’ve been going back and forth on this one for my teenager. I think I’ll wait to see a few more reviews. I like the convenience aspect but would not like to receive broken cakes for sure.

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