Top 20 Best Classic and Famous Cakes and Pastries

"Let them eat cake." - commonly attributed to French queen Marie Antoinette.

"All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much." - George Harrison.

"Let's face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me." - Audrey Hepburn.

CAKE is a form of sweet dessert that is typically baked. In its oldest forms, cakes were modifications of breads, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and that share features with other desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.

Typical cake ingredients are flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil, a liquid, and leavening agents, such as baking soda and/or baking powder. Common additional ingredients and flavourings include dried, candied, or fresh fruit, nuts, cocoa, and extracts such as vanilla, with numerous substitutions for the primary ingredients. Cakes can also be filled with fruit preserves or dessert sauces (like pastry cream), iced with buttercream or other icings, and decorated with marzipan, piped borders, or candied fruit.

PASTRY is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder, and eggs. Small tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."

Pastry may also refer to the dough from which such baked products are made. Pastry dough is rolled out thinly and used as a base for baked products. Common pastry dishes include pies, tarts, quiches and pasties.

Pastry is differentiated from bread by having a higher fat content, which contributes to a flaky or crumbly texture. A good pastry is light and airy and fatty, but firm enough to support the weight of the filling. When making a shortcrust pastry, care must be taken to blend the fat and flour thoroughly before adding any liquid. This ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and less likely to develop gluten. On the other hand, overmixing results in long gluten strands that toughen the pastry. In other types of pastry such as Danish pastry and croissants, the characteristic flaky texture is achieved by repeatedly rolling out a dough similar to that for yeast bread, spreading it with butter, and folding it to produce many thin layers.

Cake & Pastry News, Reviews & Resources

• 10 deliciously selfish cupcake recipes - "A lavish sugar hit that you don’t have to share? No wonder cupcakes are having a moment. These easy bakes will see you through from breakfast to dessert."
• 20 best easy cake recipes - "From Nigella’s birthday custard sponge to Meera Sodha’s miso take on a classic brownie, simplicity is the star of these recipes."
• 50 of the world's best desserts - CNN travel.
• A Chocolate Cake for the Queen of ASMR Eating - "A surprising online discovery leads to an unlikely friendship and a heartfelt cake recipe."
• A Chocolate Camp for Pastry Chefs - "In a Las Vegas strip mall, a master chocolatier is teaching cooks from all over the world how to create the perfect bonbon."
• A Cupcake Confident in Its Own Skin - The New York Times.
• A New School of Pastry Chefs Got Its Start in Architecture - The New York Times.
• AMUSE-BOUCHE - single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre.
• Bakeries are central to the French way of life. Now they’re fighting for survival - "In November, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, designated the French baguette as part of 'intangible cultural heritage,' owing to the specific knowledge and techniques needed to produce it, as well as the central role it plays in French daily life. But, despite their cherished status, many bakeries are struggling - and some are on the brink of closure - as energy prices and the costs of their ingredients have spiked."
• Basque cake made with a 280-year-old water mill - "In France's Basque country, a quaint bakery still uses old methods to make the region's beloved shortbread cake. The sights and sounds of the mill and bakery keep people coming."
• Before you slice your holiday pie, read this - "This is the dessert that explains America."
• Best Places to Order Cakes Online - "Cake makes everything better - all the more reason to get one delivered."
• Best Wedding Cakes - VOGUE.
• Biscotti So Good They Made Me Cry - "These chocolate biscotti, spiked with chiles and studded with cashews, possess the power to persuade even the staunchest doubters."
• Cake - Wikipedia.
• Cake Recipe That Was a Secret for Two Decades - "With an origin story out of Old Hollywood, chiffon cake is at once airy and rich. It is almost nothing, this cake, and yet so rich: angel and devil at once."
• Cakewalk3D lets your regular 3D printer decorate food - "The Kickstarter project lets you do fancy chef creations at home."
• Cannolo: The 'erotic' origins of Sicily's top pastry - "Making a trip to Sicily without indulging in a delicious cannolo pastry is akin to visiting Naples without tucking into an authentic pizza. Practically unheard of."
• Cheesecake Fit for a Maestro - "This simple recipe just might have changed the course of musical history."
• Chef Spotlight: Jessica PrÉalpato - "At only 33 years old, the pastry chef of Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée is a force to be reckoned with."
• Choux pastry - delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. Basic ingredients usually only include butter, water, flour and eggs (auxiliary ingredients and flavorings are also added).
• Coronavirus-Inspired Dessert Is Going ‘Viral’ In Prague - "This week, as new state of emergency gets under way in the Czech Republic to combat the spread of Covid-19, Prague residents are lining up to get a taste of a “virus cake” that has become the talk of the town."
• Danish pastry - Wikipedia.
• Denmark's limited-edition cream bun - "Fastelavnsboller: A Danish pastry for Fastelavn. Most seasons in Denmark have a cake or bread associated with them, but no other season's sweets have as much hype as the cream bun for the Fastelavn holiday."
• Doughnut - Wikipedia.
• Doughnuts: The fried treat that conquered the modern world - "Doughnuts travelled to the US with Dutch settlers and became a much-loved national snack - despite their invention as a hunger-busting austerity food."
• Easter treat uniting two religions - "Maamoul: A sweet celebration for Christians and Muslims. Maamoul is made at the end of both Lent and Ramadan, leading up to Easter and Eid al Fitr. But this year, the biscuit is extra sweet as both religions celebrate it at the same time."
• From Bourbons to Digestives: how biscuits got their names - BBC.
• Galette - term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat round or freeform crusty cakes, or, in the case of a Breton galette; a pancake made with buckwheat flour usually with a savoury filling.
• Have your cake & eat it: how to cut down on sugar - "As a doctor and baking columnist Tamal Ray was better placed than most to understand the pitfalls of his lifelong sugar crush. How can even the most sweet-toothed among us cut down?"
• How American-style cheesecake was born in ancient Rome - "It was nutritious, easy to prepare and great as a snack, especially when sprinkled with poppy flower seeds and served in cubes. The ancient Romans feasted on a delicious honey-crusted cheesecake called Savillum, which is believed to be the real ancestor of modern US-style cheesecake."
• How Japan took some of the world's tastiest cakes & made them even better - "7 popular Western desserts Japanese chefs have made their own."
• How long until I find out my wife is a cake? The viral videos dividing the internet - "The sight of knives slicing into cakes that resemble everything from fruit to toilet roll has driven some people to existential crises."
• How to make the perfect Sachertorte - recipe - "Soft but firm, delicately chocolatey, luscious with apricot jam - a ‘grown-up chocolate cake’ that gets better with age."
• How to turn spent coffee into a brilliant vegan dessert - "This plant-based tiramisu is a fantastic way to make your ground coffee go even further."
• I challenged Tom Cruise to send me two of his special cakes for Christmas. Did he deliver? Of course he did - "Every Christmas, the actor sends an extreme white chocolate coconut gateaux to close friends - by private jet, it turns out. This year, those friends include me. Twice."
• In search of lost toast: Paris show reveals origins of Proust’s madeleines - "Previous versions of French novel featured stale bread, toast and biscuit as trigger for author’s childhood memories."
• Isfeng: a crispy doughnut from al-Andalus for Hanukkah - "The treat shared by Jews & Muslims."
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• Kaiserschmarrn - (Emperor's Mess) is a sweet dessert that takes its name from the Austrian emperor (Kaiser) Franz Joseph I, who was very fond of this kind of fluffy shredded pancake.
• Kate Middleton's favourite indulgent dessert revealed - try the royal recipe - "Sticky toffee pudding."
• Kringle - Wikipedia.
• La baguette: secrets of France's most addictive food - "'Le pain qui chante,' or bread that sings, is an expression among French bakers, and is one of the hallmarks of a well-baked baguette."
• Last Crumb: The World’s Most Luxurious Cookie Launches New Platinum Collection - "If you’re a fan of cookies and super exclusive limited availability then Last Crumb is right up your alley. This LA-based cookie company is known for its cookie drops that sell out in minutes and the price tag on these babies is not cheap, yet they sell out time and time again - which is a true testament to how ooey, gooey, and delicious they are. Founded by longtime friends Derek Jaeger and Alana Arnold, Last Crumb launched in August of 2020 and almost instantly there was a waitlist to get ahold of these shareable cookies."
• Le Bec SucrÉ: The bakery that sells out in 2 hours every weekend - "Newport, Rhode Island isn't typically thought of as a home for authentic French bakeries. French baker Belinda Quinn is trying to change that with her deliciously delicate pain au chocolats at her bakery, Le Bec Sucré."
• Let them eat cake: New Zealand couple document luxury life in Covid-19 quarantine - "The pair’s blog about their enforced stay at an Auckland hotel, featuring high-class food and a mini-fridge full of treats, has caused envy worldwide."
• List of cakes - Wikipedia.
• List of pastries - Wikipedia.
• Meet The World's Best Pastry Chef: Jessica PrÉalpato - YouTube.
• Mooncakes galore for Mid-Autumn festival - "Chinese & Vietnamese people around the globe are celebrating the Mid-Autumn festival."
• Paris’s Best Macarons: A Guide - The New York Times.
• Pastry - Wikipedia.
• PASTRY AT AMAZON.COM'S GROCERY & GOURMET FOOD - as of January 8, 2023: 524 results.
• Petit four - small bite-sized confectionery or savory appetizer.
• Pies around the world - sweet & savory pastries to celebrate Pi Day - "March 14 is Pi Day in honor of the first three digits of the mathematical constant (3.1415...). But it's also a flimsy, yet delicious, excuse to celebrate an enduring culinary concept: the many edible varieties of pie around the world."
• Profiterole - cream puff (US), or chou à la crème is a filled French choux pastry ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or ice cream. The puffs may be decorated or left plain or garnished with chocolate sauce, caramel, or a dusting of powdered sugar. Savory profiterole are also made, filled with pureed meats, cheese, and so on. These were formerly common garnishes for soups.
• Sachertorte - Wikipedia.
• Slice of history: icing from Charles & Diana wedding cake sells for £1,850 - "Gerry Layton, a royal supporter from Leeds, bought the cake topping and marzipan base for his collection of memorabilia."
• Spit cake - European-styled cake made with layers of dough or batter deposited, one at a time, onto a tapered cylindrical rotating spit. The dough is baked by an open fire or a special oven, rotisserie-style. Generally, spit cakes are associated with celebrations such as weddings and Christmas. The spit can be dipped in a thin dough, or the dough can be poured or rolled on the spit.
• Sweet temptation: Istanbul's beloved 'brothel dessert' - "Halka tatlisi ('ring dessert' in English) is one of Istanbul's favourite and oldest street foods. Found on every corner and said to help restore one's vigour after hours spent walking the busy streets, the circular dough that's deep-fried to a golden-brown and soaked in syrup has long been associated with the city's seedier side. And it's that connotation that gave rise to its local nickname of the "brothel dessert". 'It's known as a 'natural viagra'.'"
• The Bakers Reimagining Traditional Jewish Pastries - "By transforming once-kosher recipes with new flavors, shapes and techniques, chefs are innovating on, and safeguarding, time-honored breads and desserts."
• The beloved 'snack of wealth' made on Delhi's streets - "Some vendors say moonlight and dew are the magic ingredients, but modern developments are moving this beloved sweet treat off the streets and into fine-dining restaurants."
• The contentious origins of England's famous pudding - "Sticky toffee pudding marries flavour, regional culture and history, but tensions around its origins remain."
• The destination for cake lovers - "Budapest's best cakes and where to find them."
• The erotic origins of Italy's most famous sweet - "Italy has a number of age-old pastries that resemble genitalia, like cannoli. But while they may induce a few giggles nowadays, their origins are linked to serious traditions."
• The gooey 'biscake' eaten by millions - "Alfajores are synonymous with Argentina - the biggest producer and consumer - where they are as central to the national culinary identity as steak and Malbec."
• The New York Bakery Where Frank Sinatra Liked to Buy Pastries - "Founded in 1894 and run by members of the same family ever since, Veniero’s is an icon of Italian American New York."
• The surprising truth about pavlova - "Australians and New Zealanders have long argued over who invented the pavlova, but the authors of a new book have found the dessert’s origins go back much further."
• The true origin of French macarons - "The French macaron shrouded in secrecy. The recipe for Macarons des Sœurs is only passed on orally to the succeeding pâtissier, who is the only one who makes the macaron, 'alone and away from prying eyes'."
• The War Over Chocolate Croissants - "Founded by the Romans, with three UNESCO World Heritage sites within its limits, and on the route of the famous Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage, the city of Toulouse is well known for its cultural and culinary prowess - think French cassoulet, duck confit and the Toulouse sausage. But what is less well known is Toulouse’s love of something called the chocolatine, what the rest of France calls the pain au chocolat, and what Americans call chocolate croissants."
• The world's oldest dessert? - "Although chickpeas and beans don't usually belong in a pudding, they are core ingredients in one of the oldest - and, some say, one of the most delicious - desserts in the world."
• These Cupcakes Are Pure Childhood Magic - "Yotam Ottolenghi’s cream-soda-and-raspberry cupcakes can’t heal the troubles of the world. But they help for a moment."
• This Cake Gives You a Moment of Warmth in the Middle of the Day - "Chamomile cake is just right at teatime, an excuse to give yourself and friends an hour to sit down and linger."
• This woman's creepily realistic cakes will freak you out - The Telegraph.
• Torte - Wikipedia.
• Tucci family's must-have snack - "For the Tucci family, a feast is not complete without one Italian staple. Zeppole are deep-fried doughnuts that Stanley Tucci calls 'addictively delicious.'"
• Twinkie - American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling".
• WATER CAKE: A DAIRY-FREE, EGG-FREE, MAGIC CAKE - "This magic cake that doesn’t use any milk, eggs or butter is perfect for self-isolation."
• What Cookies & Meth Have in Common - The New York Times.
• What is desseralitÉ & how it made Jessica PrÉalpato The World’s Best Pastry Chef 2019 - 50 Best Stories.
• What is turnip cake & why is it a popular Lunar New Year dish? - "Not all Lunar New Year foods are created equal. Some only make a brief appearance at the festival for auspicious purposes. Others are so delicious they grace dim sum tables around the world all year."
• Why Are So Many Cakes Named After Fabric? - "Silk, satin, lace, and fur, but make it cake. It was kind of a logical thing to use fabric because fabric is so visual and textural, as are a lot of cakes and cookies and pies and tarts.” Beranbaum points out that the crossover language between fashion and cake can account for texture, but also presence and persona."
• World cup of baking - since 1992. "Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie."
• world’s greatest dessert: 10 superb pavlovas - from peach melba to beautiful banoffee - "There are no end of delicious variations on the meringue, cream and fruit original, whether you’re a vegan, have a sweet tooth or like sophisticated pink peppercorns."
• Zuccotto - semi-frozen, chilled dessert made with alchermes, cake and ice cream.

Cakes & Pastries

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• Baumkuchen - is a kind of spit cake from German cuisine. It's also a popular dessert in Japan. The characteristic rings that appear when sliced resemble tree rings, and give the cake its German name, Baumkuchen, which literally translates to "tree cake" or "log cake".
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• Berliner (doughnut) - Berliner Pfannkuchen - German doughnut with no central hole, made from sweet yeast dough fried in fat or oil, with a marmalade or jam filling like a jelly doughnut, and usually icing, powdered sugar or conventional sugar on top. They are sometimes made with chocolate, champagne, custard, mocha, or advocaat filling, or with no filling at all.
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• Brioche - pastry of French origin that is akin to a highly enriched bread, and whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb.
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• CANALÉ - the canelé is about two inches high, and is made from sugar, milk, flour, rum and vanilla. Delicious at any time of the day, it is appreciated during wine tastings and can be consumed for breakfast, a snack or as a dessert. Although the production of the canelé began during the 17th century, the little cake became famous only in 1985, when canelé became a brand, deposited by the Brotherhood of the canelé of Bordeaux; and it is now the most eaten of all pastries in Bordeaux, France.
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• Cannoli - Italian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta - a staple of Sicilian cuisine.
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• Cheesecake - a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest, layer consists of a mixture of a soft, fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese or ricotta), eggs, and sugar. If there is a bottom layer, it most often consists of a crust or base made from crushed cookies (or digestive biscuits), graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake. Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked (and is usually refrigerated). Cheesecake is usually sweetened with sugar and may be flavored in different ways. Vanilla, spices, lemon, chocolate, pumpkin, or other flavors may be added to the main cheese layer. Additional flavors and visual appeal may be added by topping the finished dessert with fruit, whipped cream, nuts, cookies, fruit sauce, chocolate syrup, or other ingredients.
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• Cronut - croissant-doughnut pastry invented and trademarked by Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City. The pastry is made by frying a laminated dough in grape seed oil. The fried pastry is then sugared, filled, and glazed.
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• CUPCAKE - small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminium cup. As with larger cakes, icing and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, may be applied.
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• Doughnut - or donut is a type of leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty vendors. Doughnuts are usually deep fried from a flour dough, but other types of batters can also be used. Various toppings and flavorings are used for different types, such as sugar, chocolate, or maple glazing. Doughnuts may also include water, leavening, eggs, milk, sugar, oil, shortening, and natural or artificial flavors.
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• Dundee cake - famous traditional Scottish fruit cake with a rich flavour. Much favored by Winston Churchill. The cake is often made with currants, sultanas and almonds; sometimes, fruit peel may be added to it. The top of the cake is typically decorated with concentric circles of almonds.
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• Elizabeth's Cake Emporium - "Luxury Wedding Cakes." We create wedding cakes, celebration cakes and cupcakes that are adorned with the most realistic edible jewellery, sugar flowers, lace, pearls and gems.
• Experts rank the 15 best Dunkin' Donuts flavors - Thrillist.
• Gucci osteria cookies - "The cookies are designed to nourish the soul with sweetness and love, a small gesture that can light any moment. Season by season and all year round, chef Karime Lopez unveils the sweetest memories of childhood cookies for modern times. The cookies will be available exclusively from Gucci Osteria Florence and from our E-Shop."
• In Paris Bakeries, LibertÉ From Gluten - The New York Times.
• Is the World’s Best Croissant Made in Australia? - The New York Times.
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• Macaron - French sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food colouring. The macaron is commonly filled with ganache, buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two biscuits (cookies).
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• Madeleine (cake) - small rich sponge cake, baked in a fluted tin or mould and decorated with coconut and jam. Probably named after Madeleine Palmier, 19th-century French pastry cook, who was a cook in the 18th century for Stanisław Leszczyński, whose son-in-law, Louis XV of France, named them for her. Marcel Proust describes Madeleines as "a little shell of cake, so generously sensual beneath the piety of its stern pleating..." Read also: MADELEINE MOMENT.
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• Original Sacher-Torte - since 1832. "The world-famous original in the attractive wooden box - a sweet greeting from Vienna."
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• Panettone - type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Italy, southeastern France, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Malta, Montenegro, Albania, Eritrea, Georgia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and is one of the symbols of the city of Milan. Main ingredients: Flour, candied fruits, raisins.
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• Pastel de nata - is a Portuguese egg tart pastry, common in Portugal.
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• PASTRY - the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder, and eggs. Small tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."
• PASTRY AT AMAZON.COM'S GROCERY & GOURMET FOOD - as of August 5, 2020: over 1,000 results.
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• Pavlova - meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside, usually topped with fruit and whipped cream.
• Persian love cake - The Telegraph.
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• Profiterole - cream puff (US), or chou à la crème is a filled French choux pastry ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or ice cream. The puffs may be decorated or left plain or garnished with chocolate sauce, caramel, or a dusting of powdered sugar. Savory profiterole are also made, filled with pureed meats, cheese, and so on.
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• Puff pastry - in baking, a puff pastry is a light, flaky, unleavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in solid state at 20 °C (68 °F). In raw form, puff pastry is a dough which is spread with solid fat and repeatedly folded and rolled out. It is sometimes called a "water dough" or détrempe. The gaps that form between the layers are a result of the puff pastry rising as the water evaporates into steam during the baking process. Piercing the dough will prevent excessive puffing, and crimping along the sides will prevent the layers from flaking all of the way to the edges.
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• Sachertorte - since 1786. Demel, K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker. Vienna, Austria. Online store.
• Salad cakes are the latest weird food craze in Japan - The Telegraph.
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• TART - a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard. Tartlet refers to a miniature tart; an example would be egg tarts. Examples of tarts include jam tarts, which may be different colours depending on the flavour of the jam used to fill them, and the Bakewell tart.
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• Tarte tropÉzienne - dessert pastry consisting of a filled brioche. It was created in 1955 by Alexandre Micka, a pâtisserie owner in Saint-Tropez. The pastry was named by actress Brigitte Bardot while she was there filming And God Created Woman.