Birthday Funfetti Cake by Milk Bar in NYC.
Birthdays are undoubtedly one of the best times of the year. Whether it’s your own special day or that of family and friends, a little celebration does the soul and body good.
With a new age comes great responsibility and many choices. If you’re having a party, will it be small or large? How will you decorate? Will you hire a caterer or create a special meal from scratch? One thing is for sure: you need an incredible, delectable birthday cake.
New York City is brimming with top-notch bakers, but some are particularly skilled at the birthday celebration. We’ve compiled a list of the best places to get birthday cakes in the city, so you can be sure you and the special someone in your life gets a face full of fun on their special day.
From chocolate to ice cream, cheesecake frosting, tiers and themes, these are the best bakeries whipping up birthday cakes in NYC.
See also: The 14 Best Cupcake Spots in NYC
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71-19 Eliot Ave., Queens / 718.639.9171 / Website
NYC Birthday Cakes creates extremely impressive cakes that taste as good as they look. Choose from a wide variety of birthday cake designs from sheet cakes to round cakes, tiered cakes and sculpted cakes. Willing to take on any birthday cake design, no matter how challenging, NYC Birthday Cakes prides itself on making “edible art.” Whether you want a Louis Vuitton purse cake for your best friend or an iPhone cake for your brother, there’s nothing NYC Birthday Cakes can’t do.
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Multiple locations / Website
Considering how delicious these cakes are, you’d never know that they are all gluten-free. By The Way Bakery creates delicious custom cakes in flavors such as latte layer cake, carrot, chocolate raspberry and vanilla bean. They also offer specialty flavors such as blueberry coffee cake and lemon poppy swirl for a less-traditional birthday cake. This bakery might skip out on the gluten, but they go all in on the flavor.
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167 Loisaida Ave. / 212.388.1801 / Website
Soma Cakes does many treats well, but the birthday cakes are especially spectacular. This East Village gem can bake any cake you could possibly want, but some of their greatest designs include the New York City skyline cake, a BMW-themed birthday cake, as well as customizable, tiered and colorful birthday cakes. Soma also specializes in all sorts of cake shapes, so let your imagination run wild.
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263 E. 10th St. / 917.409.0771 / Website
Chances are you’ve seen these adorable cakes all over TikTok, as they are as aesthetically pleasing as they are delicious. The cakes are crafted with seasonal ingredients and topped with fresh flowers, and we love the unique flavors. Be sure to enquire early, as this bakery tends to fill up its custom order slots fast.
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112 8th Ave. / 212.242.5858 / Website
Put simply, Empire Cake is not for shy birthday boys and girls. These custom cake experts will make your birthday cake as extravagant or simple as you want, offering everything from fully customizable decorated theme cakes to simple flavors with basic writing. Choose from flavors ranging from raspberry lemon to hazelnut, cookies & cream, bananas foster, salted caramel and more. Gluten-free flavors are available upon request, too.
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177 Lafayette St. / 646.864.2223 / Website
Flour Shop is famous for its impressive sprinkle-exploding birthday cakes. You've probably seen them on Instagram. The birthday celebration is guaranteed to be the party of the century with one of these gorgeous surprises. While explosion cakes usually come in cookies n’ cream or rainbow flavors, Flour Shop also has original cake shapes such as the “cara the unicorn cake,” “fairy bread” and even a “burger cake.”
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Multiple locations / Website
Billy’s Bakery is a beloved Big Apple institution known to offer every sweet treat from your wildest dreams. With tons of different cake flavors, you can choose classics like chocolate, vanilla and confetti, while also trying out something unique, like the crowd-pleaser bourbon salted caramel or banana cake. For a custom cake, decorations are available on all buttercream-frosted cakes with a choice of vanilla or chocolate.
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Multiple locations / Website
Another well-known NYC bakery chain, Milk Bar specializes in unique layered-cake flavors with cake balls piled on top. If you haven’t seen these picturesque cakes on Instagram - you'll notice them now. Choose from classic birthday cake flavor, red velvet, chocolatey classic and more variations. They even offer a gluten-free version!
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Multiple locations / Website
Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery offers some of the highest-rated cupcakes in the city, but the traditional cakes aren't far behind. Flavors include yellow cake, chocolate, red velvet, pumpkin, Oreo, lemon and pistachio. These cakes come with the icing of your choice and can be made as extravagant or simple as you wish. From no layers to several layers, round or in a sheet shape, you can have it your way. Specific decorations can also be made upon request.
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Multiple locations / Website
With several locations, Little Cupcake Bakeshop is on its way to becoming an NYC baking dynasty. Here, you'll find a variety of delicious layer cakes that can be customized with writing in the traditional birthday cake style. Original flavors are the standout, including Brooklyn Blackout, Blue Velvet, Golden Ganache, Dreaming Princess and Black & White.
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88 W. Houston St. / 212.209.7684 / Website
Ice cream cake lovers, this one’s for you. Morgenstern’s might be known for their ice cream, but their ice cream cakes are also incredible and include flavors such as bubble gum, cookie monster, banana salted chocolate and raspberry green tea jelly. None of those tickling your fancy? Opt for a custom ice cream cake and choose your flavors for the perfect birthday surprise.
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Multiple locations / Website
Last but certainly not least, Magnolia takes advanced orders for cakes and ships nationwide for those who want to wish loved ones a happy birthday from afar. Like Little Cupcake Bakeshop, Magnolia also bakes custom cakes in several shapes and sizes. You can even get a three-layer confetti cake. Magnolia also creates custom writing in the classic flavors of chocolate and vanilla.
With so many incredible bakers in NYC, you’ll end up with the birthday cake of your dreams. Cheers to you, and happy birthday to you or your loved one!
Photography by: Daniel Zuchnik
