Heitzman Bakery

I had heard of a butter kuchen and knew that it was a German treat that came into its own in the Louisville area, but I had yet to try one out.
Is it a doughnut? A croissant? A cookie? A cake? I wasn’t really sure but wanted a taste.
So I found my way to the Heitzman Pink Box Bakery on Old Shelbyville Road, and eagerly peered into its cases of baked delights.
And lo and behold, a butter kuchen is a 7-​inch pie like cake. So now you know too.
It’s filling like a chess pie, but it isn’t so sweet that it rots your teeth out. The crust is spongey, like a cake.
It’s a German, pie-​cake hybrid, if you will. And I’m now a fan.
Like I said, it isn’t so sweet that you feel like you’re going to go into a diabetic coma after taking a few bites. They have apple, cheese and cinnamon flavors of kuchen. Kuchen for everybody!
This Heitzman location also has donuts, cookies — I had to pick up some of those sugar-​y smiley face cookies — and it does wedding cakes. There is also a drive through.
It’s a great, all-​around bakery, with a local twist. Love it!

First: This Heitzman is a Pink Box Bakery Heitzman and has different ownership than the other Heitzman Bakery & Delis located in town.
My friend and her fiancé are getting married. They are both from Louisville and wanted a Louisville staple to make the cake for their wedding. Her fiancé grew up on Heitzman, so it was a no brainer when it came to cakes that this is the place they would go.
My friend called in advance and was informed she would have to pay for cakes for a cake tasting. I don’t know what exactly went on, but it was not well communicated that she had to pay for the cakes in advance by providing her billing information prior to a cake tasting visit. When we arrived, there were no cakes for us to taste since my friend hadn’t called back with info, so none were made for her yet. We got details about how they couldn’t stop production to make specific cakes for our friend with special flavors, and continued to receive multiple excuses that they couldn’t go chasing all individuals who wanted to come in for cake tastings unless they were serious. Her reasons were plausible, but her tone and attitude were condescending. We could not even try just plain white cakes or the basic flavors they had in the shop. We designed a cake with her for twice the amount listed with other equivalent bakeries (no fondant, 3 tiers). She also questioned my friend’s decisions and her fiancé’s ideas. We had a few cakes made for us and paid for them to do a cake tasting. The cakes were good, the icing left much to be desired. I still felt uncomfortable with getting my friend’s cake from there, with concern the cake would not be what she wanted for the wedding.
We met with the other Heitzman’s at a bridal fair, and they were very kind. A stark contrast to this one. My friends had a good cake tasting with the other location and better tasting cakes and icing. They also apologized for any treatment we received at this location. Call the other Heitzman if you want to get a quality cake.