From Persian love cakes and chocolate vegan cakes with coconut milk ganache, to naked carrot cakes and gluten- and lactose-free cakes, these excellent bakers can answer all your cake-related needs.

Let Them Eat Cake (Waterkloof Ridge)

Angelique Lingenfelder is the queen behind this home-based cakery. Her signature cakes include vanilla syrup-infused cake, limoncello cake, chocolate and salted caramel cakes, as well as a delicious Persian love cake (Middle Eastern flavours with rose water, pistachio and orange blossom flavours). The cheesecake towers are becoming increasingly popular, and she also has pear, honey and polenta, and granadilla-and-lime gluten-free cakes. If you’re looking for dairy-free treats, the blueberry-and-beetroot cake is for you. Slices cost R35 each. Her passion is for creating cakes, cupcakes, macarons and edible works of art for special occasions, including weddings, christenings, baby showers, birthday parties and corporate events.

A wedding cake by Let Them Eat Cake. Photo supplied.

Cocovanilla Foods (Pretoria North)

Buttercream wedding cakes and celebration drip cakes are Cocovanilla’s specialities. They are also masters of macarons, gourmet meringues, over-the-top doughnuts and brownies. Lorraine Swanepoel is the baker behind this hugely successful enterprise, and she says their most popular cakes are the Nutella Ferrero Rocher mousse cake and the Turkish delight cake. The latter comes with chunks of home-made Turkish delight scattered amongst lashings of creamy buttercream. Also popular are the milk tart, vanilla cake and lemon cheesecake. A recent addition to the selection is a cassata cake packed with nuts, cherries and dark chocolate splinters. Each order is unique and the prices are determined per order, but their custom cakes start from around R450.

A naked cake by CocoVanilla. Photo supplied.

Afro-boer (Equestria)

This is an artisanal baker’s café with loads of hand-made, wholesome food and bakes available. The selection is vast, featuring white-chocolate cheesecake slices (R40), walnut coffee tartlets served with espresso (R30), delightfully moreish peanut butter and chocolate ganache cups (R20), savoury crustless banting quiches (R40), or 100% stone-ground rye bread (R35). Their wheat- and gluten-free options include apple-and-almond cake slices (R35), or the ever-popular chocolate macadamia cake for wheat, gluten, and sugar avoiders (R40). For special celebrations they offer a range of cakes such as the vanilla citrus cake with white chocolate ganache, raspberry cream, truffles, and berries (R550); or the naked carrot wedding cake (R750). They will also happily design something on special request, such as the chocolate vegan cake with coconut-milk ganache (R500). Their style is unfussy and generous, concentrating on quality and value for money to ensure a deliciously fulfilling sweet experience.

A chocolate and rose petal confection from Afro-boer. Photo supplied.

Cocu

Arlene Weber is the creative force behind Cocu, which specialises in extraordinary cakes for special events and celebrations. Her signature carrot cake, which is faultlessly moist, spicy and studded with toasty nuts, is a lot healthier than the pure decadence each mouthful would have one believe. She makes all her cakes from scratch. They range in price, but generally go for around R400 for a 20cm chocolate or red velvet cake, R450 for a large fridge cheesecake, and R340 for a baked cheesecake. She is a master at interpreting cakes for adults and crafting cake figurines, and her flooded Royal icing biscuits will give life to any themed party.

Biscuits by Cocu. Photo supplied.

Blooming Beautiful Bakes (Centurion)

Tanya Singleton specialises in cakes for children and weddings and, even though she has been at it for over five years, she says that she is still improving every day. She is meticulous about detail, and bakes and decorates every cake herself. Prospective clients can contact her with enquiries regarding specific flavours and prices. As all her cakes are bespoke, she rarely does the same cake twice.

A custom cake by Blooming Beautiful Bakes. Photo supplied.

Craft Cakes (Centurion)

At Craft Cakes, Naomi Lourens sees to it that they grasp each client’s vision in the end product. Their signature moist chocolate cake with a melted dark chocolate buttercream filling is definitely worth every kilojoule – every bite is rich, creamy and delectably moist. Clients’ orders are made and created by hand with love, from sourcing the freshest ingredients to creating the tiniest detailed figurines by hand. All dietary needs and special requests are taken into account. Their prices range between R600 and R3 500 depending on your choice of cake, filling, icing, decorations, figurines, servings and delivery.

A Minions creation from Craft Cakes. Photo supplied.

Carlton Café Delicious (Menlo Park)

This bakery remains the go-to place for decadent chocolate, cheese and special cakes. They offer no fewer than six different cheesecakes, including a gluten-free berry swirl cheesecake (R345) as well as a banting baked cheesecake (R380). Chocolate cakes are listed under a separate heading and include a single dark chocolate mousse cake, a double dark chocolate mousse cake, a chocolate ganache cake and a flourless dark chocolate cake. (A 20cm cake costs R280.) They also make a carrot caramel cake and a traditional deep pumpkin pie, both of which have secured a dedicated following.

A Carlton Cafe creation. Photo supplied.

Fine Feast – Fine Dining Catering Co

We can vouch for the fact that Leanne Roberts’s wedding and celebration cakes are delicious. Their Triple Chocolate mousse cake is very popular, else try the Amarula carrot cake or lemon poppy seed. The chocolate and carrot cakes are available gluten-free, and the lemon poppy seed cake is available lactose-free. Pricing works out to around R45 per head ie R450 for a one-tier cake for 10 people, or R4500 for a wedding cake for 100 people.

Fine Feast’s triple chocolate mousse cake. Photo supplied.

Little Treats (Centurion)

An up-and-coming catering company run by two pastry chefs with a mutual passion and love for food, Little Treats specialises in off-site catering for special events. One of the partners trained in Paris so they specialise in cakes, speciality bakes and confections. They offer a range of unicorn-themed products – one of their most frequently ordered bakes is the rainbow unicorn cake complete with a golden horn. Pricing ranges from R240 to R600.

A close-up of Little Treats’ unicorn cake. Photo supplied.

LunaBerry (Rietondale)

Héloïse Haupt’s keen eye for detail and perfectionism ensures that each cake is beautifully made from only the finest-quality ingredients. Her creative background helps her design over-the-top cakes for birthdays and special events. The offering includes cupcakes, classic and celebration cakes, sweet treats and pièces montées for special occasions. They focus on buttercream cakes with ganache drips, fresh flowers, textured buttercream and an assortment of edible toppings. Their most popular flavours tend to be vanilla and chocolate. The moist chocolate cake is made of imported Belgium chocolate with a decadent, melted chocolate buttercream. Other flavours are carrot, lemon-and-raspberry and blueberry. Their signature cake is iced in buttercream with a fabulous drip, loads of edible toppings like chocolates and macarons, and finished off with a few fresh flowers. Prices start at R580.

A LunaBerry creation. Photo supplied.