Our list of the best cake shops in Melbourne goes like this.

Did someone say gelato? Look no further than Pidapipo for your weekly (or daily, we’re not judging) gelato fix. As well as offering every gelato flavour you could possibly imagine, their gelato cakes are what really set these guys apart. Made from scratch, on-site, in small batches only, owner Lisa Valmorbida has learned from the best gelaterias in Italy, and you can taste the difference. Their flagship store is also a lab for gelato flavour experimentation, and you can grab some Pidapipo merch in the retail store at the front.

It’s love at first sight when you enter this South Melbourne patisserie, where lavish desserts shine like works of art from within their glass displays. Penetrate the rich frosting to find a bounty of luscious layers, flavours, and textures, the kind which will ignite every last taste bud. While you can do no wrong at Bibelot, we think the Hazelnut Praline Crunch Cake is a must-try.

Sucre du jour is a humble bakery, patisserie cafe and cake shop situated in the bustling suburb of Camberwell Melbourne. Born from the dreams and hopes of a young couple trying to make it, both Eigen Ting and Josephin Tan have worked in notable establishments ranging from Michelin-starred restaurants to luxury hotels such as Joël Robuchon, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Raffles Hotel and Shangri-La Hotel just to name a few.

This place is all about cheesecake, offering a fun, Japanese-inspired twist to everyone’s favourite cheesy cake. Heralding from Otaru, Japan, LeTAO has only continued to expand, creating exquisite cakes and offering unique gastronomical experiences that blend nostalgia and modernism. No visit is complete without trying their most beloved cheesecake, the Double Fromage—it’s what all your cheese dreams are made of.

One of the best cake shops in Melbourne that also does a killer coffee, Le Bajo Milkbar is a North Melbourne institution. Offering an exciting and eclectic mix of classic Australian treats, delicious Japanese sandwiches, and pastries, they also bake their own bread and roast their own coffee. The cafe itself exudes a homey and friendly community milk bar vibe, complete with kitsch mugs and plates from grandma’s kitchen, which, paired against a semi-industrial interior, makes for the perfect setting to enjoy a cake and a cuppa.

Another Japanese-inspired eatery to satisfy your sweet tooth, Ichigo is known for its traditional Japanese drinks and a wide variety of fun, delicious desserts. What’s on the menu? These guys are serving up matcha shortbread, mango shortcake and shokupan, a Japanese milk bread whole loaf. Pair this with a kuro goma black sesame latte or a mango matcha iced latte, and you could very well be in the streets of Tokyo.

If you need a cake for a special occasion, whether it be a birthday or a wedding, Tidbit Cakes have got you sorted. Experts in creating bespoke, vegan cakes, they offer a range of beautiful handmade cakes for you to order. Just one peek at their Instagram was enough to convince us, their creations almost look too beautiful to eat!

Kudo is an artisan bakery and is loved by Melbourne locals and visitors alike, and we can see why. Husband and wife chef couple Felix Goodwin & Elena Nguyen use only local flour, indigenous grains, and the rituals of ancient bread-making. We’re suckers for their evolving selection of gluten-free bread, sourdoughs and Danish-style seeded loaves as well as sweet treats like madeleines, cookies and canelés.

What could possibly be better than crepes and cakes? Combining them, of course! At Millé and B, each cake is constructed with twenty layers of delicate thin crepes, and each layer is filled with its own unique and delicious filling. They also bake plenty of other cakes and shortbreads, and on Saturdays, you can also grab yourself some Shokupan.

Located right in the heart of the Melbourne CBD, Sweet Canteen is one of the best cake shops in Melbourne. They offer a refreshing mix of your favourite classics, like Portuguese tarts and strawberry sponge cake, as well as some exciting new sweets—think love-heart shaped tiramisu and strawberry cake with mini profiteroles plus seasonal fruits on top. Our suggestion? Try the mille feuille—the perfect balance of vanilla bean custard, light vanilla cream and puff pastry.

Chances are, you’ve seen Cremorne Street Bakers’ baked goods at many of Melbourne’s best cafes & grocery stores, and now you can order the same sweet goodies to have at home. Choose from a selection of cakes, brownies, lamingtons, savoury pies and many more—place your order online by 11 am for next-day delivery (up to 20 kilometres from Cremorne) to your home or business. They also offer gift hampers for the perfect, sweet, last-minute gift.

Cakes and tarts are the specialities at Le Petit Gateau, and there are no shortcuts being made here. Created on-site daily by a number of award-winning chefs, their creations use only original recipes, with something to suit every special occasion, birthday or celebration. Their cakes and tarts are known for their minimalist and contemporary feel, featuring fresh, distinctive flavours that everyone is bound to swoon over.

A classic French Patisserie serving up just what you’d expect to find from a corner store in the streets of Paris, Agathé Patisserie is the simple, unpretentious addition to the dessert scene that Melbourne needs. Choose from a lemon meringue tart, chocolate and raspberry cake, pear and chocolate tart and many more.

At Candied Bakery, you’ll find instant and indulgent classics, some of which skew the line between cake and pie. That’s certainly the case with the Red Velvet Cheesecake Pie, which features a crushed Oreo cookie crust and mounds of cream cheese frosting. Technicalities aside, we’re calling it cake and one of the best cakes in Melbourne thanks to that magic number.

Miss Trixie Drinks Tea was created by visionary Alice Bennett. A concept that was originally distributed as a blog, it was a way to show her family and friends her weekend baking. It turned into said family and friends drooling over her creations and phoning her at ridiculous hours of the night to satisfy their cravings. So, obviously, she started to box up her cakes and take them to the people who craved them. Starting Miss Trixie Drinks Tea, because you have to give the people what they want, and that does appear to be cake.

If the occasion calls for cake, then you best call this Melbourne cake shop. Not only do they make everything—and we mean everything—from scratch using local ingredients, but each custom creation must be seen to be believed. Large cakes are the name of the game and most of the ordering is done online or by phone, but there’s also a café-style retail store where you can grab a delicious slice and a hot cup of coffee.

Some dessert lovers might see terms like “vegan” or “allergy-friendly” and run for the hills, but they’d be missing out on one of the best Melbourne cake shops. From their custom birthday cakes to their decadent cinnamon buns to anything in between, Mister Nice Guys delivers textures and flavours so satisfying that eggs and dairy will start to seem downright superfluous.

Striking a perfect balance between French technique and Asian influence, LuxBite delivers flavours and textures that Melbournites won’t find elsewhere. If you’re going full cake, check out Endless Love, which packs lychee ganache, rose cream, lychees, and raspberries between two discs of baked meringue. Then we have the famous Lolly Bag cake, an opera-style matcha cheesecake that incorporates all kinds of wild ingredients. The playful possibilities are as endless as they seem.

Making everything in-house, this Malvern-based bakery remains best known for its French-inspired pastries and special-order cakes. Speaking of special order cakes, behold the mighty Lamington, which tops off layers of vanilla butter cake, chocolate buttercream, and strawberry jam with Italian meringue, melted chocolate, fresh fruit, edible flowers, shredded coconut, and gold leaf. Yum.

Monarch Cakes know a thing or two about making the best cakes in Melbourne. After all, they’ve been in the baking business for over 80 years. In fact, many of the recipes originated from the original shop in Poland where they were brought to Australia, being used here ever since. In the past, a cake was made from fresh, raw ingredients such as butter, flour, eggs, and sugar. Today many have sacrificed that old-fashioned flavour in order to bake more quickly and cheaply. Monarch Cakes would never dream of doing such a thing! Highlights include the Chocolate Kooglhoupf and 100-year-old baked cheesecake.

Choosing the best cakes in Melbourne is easy, who wouldn’t want to dedicate extensive research to the world of sweet treats? With that being said, Man of Many has taken into account a few factors when putting together our list. These include flavour first and foremost, but also the design of the cake, the range of cakes on offer from the shop, and the authenticity of the cakes themselves. The price point is a consideration, but we also realise authentic patisserie requires generational talent, so we’re not going out of our way to exclude the expensive cakes in Melbourne. Let’s take a closer look!