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The #1 Thing To Consider Before You Buy A Costco Cake

It's easy enough to get lost in the aisles of Costco, and the bakery department is no exception. The warehouse's lineup of affordable pastries and seasonal desserts often steal the spotlight, but that doesn't mean you should sleep on their other offerings: namely, their sheet cakes.

Grocery store sheet cakes can often get a bad rap, but the ones available at the big box store aren't your average offerings. Once you take a look at the adorable designs and cut yourself a slice, you won't want to order a birthday cake from anywhere else. But before you head to your closest warehouse, here are 10 things you should know about their custom cake department.

1. They're Insanely Cheap

It'll set you back less than 30 bucks—$24.99, to be exact—to order a half-sheet cake from Costco. Chances are, you couldn't beat that price even if you made one yourself. A Costco cake is cheaper than the competition, too: BJ's, another big-box store, sells a similar sized cake for $29.99, and Walmart's is nearly $43 (!).

2. Costco Cakes Feed a Crowd

You can serve 48 guests with just one of Costco's half-sheet cakes. That means when cuts are made and pieces are doled out, you've spent just 52 cents per person.

3. One Costco Cake Weighs More Than a Newborn

If you were to set your half-sheet cake on a scale, the number would read about nine-and-a-half pounds. According to Costco's order form, two of those pounds are the cake's mousse filling.

4. There Are Only Two Flavors Available

You can either order what Costco refers to as a white cake—a.K.A. Vanilla—or a chocolate cake. The former is a vanilla sheet cake filled with vanilla cheesecake mousse that's iced with white buttercream. The latter is the chocolate version of that: chocolate sheet cake, chocolate mousse filling, and chocolate buttercream icing.

5. Members Used to Have More Options

Once upon a time, you could pick up a carrot cake sheet cake from Costco, which came with apricot mousse filling and cream cheese icing sprinkled with slivered almonds. Internationally, there are even more offerings: Costco Australia allows you to mix and match a raspberry filling with either chocolate or vanilla sponge cake.

6. You Can Take a Costco Cake Home on the Spot

Costco keeps its bakery section full of ready-made sheet cakes, some plain, some with birthday messages, and—around the holidays—some with festive designs.

7. Custom Orders Require Advanced Planning

Give bakers a day or two notice to craft something specific, like an intricate design or a special message.

8. Bakers Can Decorate In Nearly a Dozen Ways

The sheet cake order form reveals 11 designs to choose from. There are the classic ways to frost a sheet cake—with balloons or roses—plus some more offbeat ones, like the beloved Costco bear.

9. The Dinosaur Design Was Part of an Online Scandal

In 2015, The Inquisitr broke a story about a woman who complained the dinosaur on her kid's birthday cake had only three legs, each looking like the number "6." She claimed bakers had hidden this demonic "666" message in the cake on purpose. But upon some digging, the article was found to be written by the mother-in-question's boyfriend, and the Costco location at the center of the story confirmed no complaints had ever been received.

10. They're the Perfect Blank Slate

However you slice 'em, Costco's sheet cakes can look incredibly simple, so at-home bakers have taken to customizing them. You can pick up a cake that's only been frosted with a base layer, then trick it out at home.

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'The Bear' Chocolate Cake

Made famous by The Bear, this layered chocolate cake has become an object of admiration, with fans rushing to replicate the recipe or seek out a slice for themselves. On The Bear, the chocolate cake is the creation of aspiring pastry chef Marcus (portrayed by Lionel Boyce), but in real life, it's the creation of the show's pastry consultant, chef Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader. The co-owner of Chicago's Loaf Lounge, Mispagel-Lustbader shared the recipe (and the story of how it was developed) for the first time with Food & Wine.

Though made famous by the show, the chocolate cake is a star in its own right and won over our recipe testers and editors with its airy chocolate mousse filling, cocoa-forward frosting, and moist layers of rich and fudgy chocolate cake. 

Our testers note that when whipping egg whites, it's important to use a very clean bowl and whisk attachment free of any residue to ensure stiff peaks will form. This recipe has several components, but all three elements can be made in advance and assembled the day of your celebration or gathering.

Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

The Best Dinosaur Games For PC 2024

What are the best dinosaur games on PC? Ever since we watched Jurassic Park as kids we've wondered what it would be like to co-habit with the most terrifying of Earth's creatures. Whether you want to battle them or befriend them, we have the best dinosaur games for every taste.

Traditionally, we have been subjected to dinosaurs as our enemies. Terrifying behemoths or agile killers, they wanted our blood and usually got it. In recent years, though, we've had the absolute pleasure of co-habiting with prehistoric creatures, a much more calming experience, and one that usually allows us to keep our limbs attached to our bodies.

The best dinosaur games on PC are: 

Dino Trauma

Dino Trauma takes its cue from landmark dinosaur games of the '90s such as Dino Crisis and Turok, then sprinkles in a little Doom and Quake for flavor. This indie boomer shooter whisks you away to a secret laboratory tucked away in the wilds of Eastern Europe, where our favorite thunder lizards roam free. Embrace PS1-style mayhem as you accumulate an arsenal of shotguns, tasers, and rocket launchers for a frenetic, low-poly prehistoric cull.

Paleo Pines

If you've ever wondered what a mix of Stardew Valley and The Flintstones would look like, then I have great news for you. Paleo Pines places you adjacent to a slightly run-down town and gives you an exciting opportunity to make it prosper once again. Create a thriving farm, build a wonderful dinosaur sanctuary, and make friends with the townsfolk. It's a cute, cozy life sim and even has a Steam demo if you want to try it before you buy.

Ark: Survival Evolved

As the subtitle in its name implies, Ark belongs to the list of dinosaur survival games, which means the dino murdering can only commence after crafting your own spear to chuck at those pesky raptors. The shooting isn't the tightest, and there are still plenty of bugs even years after its initial launch, but the sheer range of creatures to fight, hunt, and tame in Ark will keep you exploring the game's many biomes for hundreds of hours.

After learning their quirks, you can even ride and tame Ark dinosaurs and use them to help you survive in the world, whether as simple mounts so you can get around faster or as resource-gatherers, freight carriers, and loyal foot soldiers. On top of that, there are also plenty of Ark: Survival Evolved mods to pick from. Now that Ark 2 has officially been delayed until 2024, you still have plenty of time to enjoy the original game.

Jurassic World Evolution 2

While most PC dinosaur games concern themselves with hunting dinos, Frontier Developments instead opted to create the opposite with the Jurassic World Evolution games: dino ranching. Rather than mowing down rare creatures with a minigun, you try to build a Jurassic Park that doesn't fall apart before its first day. Naturally, the whole enterprise is prone to all manner of disasters.

Jurassic World Evolution 2 adds plenty more management tools and a host of new dinosaurs with more complex behaviors and needs. In Chaos Theory mode, you get to test your crisis-handling chops in scenarios directly inspired by the films as you're handed the reins to parks on the brink of calamity. For a full report from corporate, check out Rich's Jurassic World Evolution 2 review.

Lego Jurassic World

Sticking with the Jurassic Park franchise, Lego Jurassic World marries the gameplay of action-adventure games specialist TT Games with the storylines of the Jurassic Park trilogy and the first Jurassic World movie. This is essentially the series' greatest hits, including more blocky Jeff Goldblum than you can handle.

The real treat here is that the Lego games are among the best co-op games available, making this a great dinosaur game to play with friends and family. Apart from the setting, there's not a vast amount that separates this Lego game from others, but you can play many different dinosaurs, which is a lot of fun.

The Isle

The Isle is a multiplayer dinosaur survival simulation game that's still a long way from leaving Steam Early Access, but nothing else quite like it on PC. The gameplay is pretty simple: you load into a server full of dinos that are all being played by other people and attempt to survive in the world by preying on smaller dinosaurs and avoiding predators at all costs.

The Isle gets interesting, however, when players start forming packs and groups in a server, leading to player-controlled herds, nests for growing your group, and inevitably massive dino battles.

Primal Carnage

Dinosaur-hunting games are all about the battle between man and beast, and that's precisely what you get with Primal Carnage. On one side, you have hunters in sunglasses toting big guns; on the other, you have giant reptiles ready to rumble.

While there are people who go in deep for the roleplay servers, Primal Carnage is at its best when both sides are just throwing everything they have at each other, resulting in a stupid, irresistible melee. Any game where you can play as a pterodactyl, swoop down, pick up a guy, and drop them to their death is worth checking out. Along with Dino D-Day, this multiplayer game lacks a player population, so you'll probably need a few friends if you want to guarantee a game.

Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter Reborn

If you're looking for a triceratops-toppling experience that's a little closer to traditional hunting sims than the likes of Turok, this is your best bet. This remake of a beloved series from the late '90s focuses on tracking, hunting, and killing a variety of dinos.

You have to sneak up on these big boys and hold your breath to get accurate shots, and the size and condition of each target determine what rewards you get for a clean kill. It's a bit light on content, but if you're tired of hunting down deer, boar, and other harmless woodland critters, this could be the change of scenery you need.

Turok & Turok 2

Speaking of Turok, it might be hard to believe now, but before the one-two punch of Gears of War and Call of Duty 4 tethered the blockbuster shooter to beige reality, the genre had its fair share of colorful contenders. The first Turok, in particular, is a relic of the Quake era, packed with weapons that spin in mid-air, your dinosaur hunter's frantic footspeed, and endless canyons of baddies to blast through, but it offers some of the best dino-slaughter of its era.

Turok 2: Seeds of Evil is an altogether more sophisticated game, emphasizing non-linear labyrinths rather than the traditional corridor crawls of other shooters of the era. However, it's probably best known today for its creative weaponry, especially the fearsome Cerebral Bore, which performs exactly the gory deed it says on the tin. Overall, these two shooters are fondly remembered for a reason, and they let you wreck some giant reptilians, so they're perfect for this list.

Monster Hunter: World

Sure, they're not technically dinosaurs, but it's hard to deny that the Apceros or Anjanath are based on real dinosaurs, even if some of the bigger beasts in the game aren't. In case you've let the series pass you by, Monster Hunter: World is pretty much what it says on the tin: you play a monster hunter, and you have a whole world teeming with fantastical creatures to identify, track, and bring down in cinematic boss battles. Once you've secured a kill, you can strip the carcass for resources, take them back to your camp, and craft tougher weapons and armor that will let you take on even bigger beasties.

Aside from the seductive power creep, Monster Hunter: World also boasts some of the best action RPG combat around. There's a huge range of weapon types, from standard sword and shield combos to more eccentric tools like the gun lance, and learning the move sets of each one promises to be a steep difficulty curve. If you're willing to put in the time – and we can help you a little with our Monster Hunter: World weapons guide – then this is probably the best dinosaur hunting game out there, even if some of its dinos have wings and breathe fire. Still not convinced? Read our Monster Hunter World review to see why we awarded this game an incredible 9/10 score.

The series is transitioning to PC more consistently now, so you can also check out our Monster Hunter Rise review and Monster Hunter Stories 2 review if you find yourself falling for these dino-inspired monsters.

Far Cry: Primal

Yes, for all you amateur archaeologists cracking your knuckles to type a lengthy comment, we know that Primal is set in the Mesolithic era, millions of years after the dinosaurs were wiped out by a cataclysmic event. However, if you're a fan of dinosaurs, then woolly rhinos, mammoths, and formidable cave bears are the next best thing, and Far Cry Primal has the lot.

Primal lets you hunt all of these creatures and tame some of them as well, so you can send them charging into battle on your behalf. And if you find yourself tired of all the mammalian slaughter, this is still one of the best open-world games around, and there are plenty of distractions and hidden quests to discover along the way. It's not the best Far Cry, but it better captures the feeling of prehistory than most games. Find out how the series has modernized (unfortunately without dinosaurs) in our Far Cry 6 review.

Saurian

This is a dino simulator with a difference – you hatch as a baby 'saur and must survive into adulthood, avoiding predators and scrounging for food every day. There's a huge amount of attention to detail going on here, with great effort to ensure Saurian's flora and fauna are as historically and scientifically accurate as possible – and yes, that means dinosaurs with feathers.

You're currently limited to playing as a Dakotaraptor with a fabulous feathery tail or the newly released Triceratops, but both are incredibly realistic. It's time to find out if you'd be able to make it as a dinosaur back in the day and survive the many challenges of Hell Creek.

Parkasaurus

No hunting, shooting, or wrestling with dinosaurs here – instead, we're going to put them in an adorable, brightly-colored theme park, pop a propeller cap and pair of shutter shades on their scaly little heads, and watch the money roll in. What's that? The unfeasibly purple T-Rex with the woolly hat has a visitor in his mouth? Oh dear. Oh, look, they're also on fire. Ah well.

Parkasaurus is a charming dino park management game where your job is to keep your dinos and guests happy and puncture-wound-free. While the concept is similar to Jurassic Park Evolution, the execution couldn't be more different. The game's shiny, low-poly style, user-friendly interface, and an array of silly hats set it apart from the more, er, realistic dinosaur games on this list, but with over 24 dinos to discover and care for, it's a must for dino lovers looking for a chill game to wind down with after a long day of chomping and stomping their way through the Mesozoic era.

Second Extinction

Second Extinction is an online FPS game that's now available on Steam. As mutated dinosaurs – such as the Electro Raptor – attempt to take over Earth, you are tasked with sending them back to where they belong. It's hard to say whether this game is for dinosaur lovers or haters, but if you want to traverse huge maps, shoot big guns, and hunt some majestic creatures – Second Extinction is the game for you.

That's your lot, the very best dinosaur games on PC. If you're looking to dig up more classic-feeling greats, then check out our list of the best old games. In the meantime, here are the best PC games you can play today.

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