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It was during the pandemic that many of us unexpectedly found ourselves stepping into the world of baking. Suddenly, kitchen counters became workstations, social media feeds were filled with banana bread recipes, and people were proudly showing off everything from microwave mug cakes to elaborate multi-layered desserts. For some, baking was a way to pass the time. For others, it became a comforting escape during an uncertain period. And while many of us eventually traded our mixing bowls for busy schedules once life returned to normal, there are plenty of baking enthusiasts who never stopped.
Thankfully for the rest of us, they continue creating desserts that are almost too beautiful to eat. That said, finding all these delicious masterpieces in one place can be a challenge. Luckily, the folks over at the r/Baking community have done the hard work for us. We've gathered some of the most mouthwatering, impressive, and downright irresistible creations shared by bakers from around the world. So grab a snack (trust us, you'll probably get hungry) and scroll down to enjoy this scrumptious collection of baking brilliance.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Are These Apples? Nope! They’re Cakes
RELATED:
#2
My Croissants After Three Months Of Practice And Recipe Tweaks
#3
Everything I Made For My Momma’s Birthday ❤️
My mom’s 50th birthday! I decided to combine all of her favorite things, and most of these were baked. :)
Focaccia (pizza style with cheese, pepperoni, and sauce), roasted tomato, Parmesan, and basil quiche, dates with blue cheese and turkey ham, BBQ pork empanadas, caramelized onion and cheese croissants, shou zhua bing with a dip, sun-dried tomato scones with herb butter, mushroom, onion, and blue cheese bites, arugula, olive oil, and prosciutto toast, and chili dip.
For sweets: churro cookies, pastéis de nata (one of her favorites), torrejas, tres leches cupcakes, fresas con crema, and marquesitas.
And her birthday cake: an ube and white chocolate charlotte, her absolute favorite. This is the second year in a row that it's been her cake!
Imagine taking a bite of a rich, moist chocolate cake. The frosting is silky, the sponge is perfectly soft, and for a brief moment, all your worries seem to disappear. Sounds nice, doesn't it? That's the magic of desserts. For many people, sweet treats are more than just food; they're comfort, celebration, nostalgia, and happiness all rolled into one. A slice of cake can remind someone of birthdays, family gatherings, or special moments with loved ones. But while many of us love eating desserts, there's another group of people who find just as much joy in making them.
#4
We Loved The Colour Scheme Of This Birthday Cake. We Were A Bit Nervous At First That It Was Going To Look Odd, But Was Pleasantly Surprised!
#6
Fluffy Potato Bread With Cheesy Bacon Mashed Potato Filling!
In fact, Psychology Today beautifully explains that baking can be surprisingly therapeutic. Psychologists describe mindfulness as the practice of paying attention to the present moment without judgment. One of the most rewarding aspects of baking is that it naturally encourages this state of mind. When you're measuring ingredients, whisking batter, rolling dough, or decorating a cake, your attention is focused on what you're doing right now. In a world full of distractions, that's a pretty special thing.
#7
I Made A Chai-Spiced Aslan Tart
A sweet young couple at my church just had a baby boy and named him Aslan 🦁
I’m a big C.S. Lewis fan and have loved the Narnia books since I was a kid, so I couldn’t resist baking something special for their family. His mom once told me she loves spiced desserts, so I decided on a chai-inspired tart.
The crust and decorations are cardamom-cinnamon pâte sucrée, and the fillings are: 1) a crispy base layer of feuilletine with caramelized white chocolate and almond praliné, 2) tart apple compote, 3) chai-honey crémeux, and 4) a lightly sweet pectin glaze.
Upstaged75 14 hours ago
Growing up I knew a girl named Aslan. She was an awful person. 😂 This is beautiful artwork! I would never want to eat it.
#8
First Time Baking As A Teenager!!
I tried to make English Bulldog cupcakes that look like my pup. They don’t really look like too much of a bulldog lol, but pretty good overall. First time baking ever + made from scratch! :)
Research also suggests that baking and cooking can have a positive impact on emotional well-being. Beyond producing delicious results, these everyday activities provide structure, purpose, and a sense of accomplishment. According to psychiatrist and trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk (2014), repetitive and rhythmic movements (such as kneading dough, whisking batter, or rolling pastry) can help regulate the body and reduce stress levels. There's something calming about repetitive motions that allows the mind to slow down and reset. That's one reason so many people turn to baking during difficult or stressful periods in life. Even when things feel chaotic, following a recipe and creating something from scratch can provide a sense of control.
#10
A 19 Cupcake Bouquet Covered In Bright Tulips. Delicate Hands Were Needed For This One!
#11
It Bleeds When You Cut Into It And I Can't Stop Cackling
#12
April Fools “Grilled Cheese”
Don’t come at me. It’s actually angel food cake, sliced and put on the stove to make crispy and frosting with orange food coloring!!🤭
Baking is also a wonderful creative outlet. Unlike many daily tasks that follow strict rules and expectations, baking allows people to experiment, explore, and express themselves. Some bakers play with unusual flavor combinations, while others create stunning decorations that look like they belong in an art gallery. And creativity itself appears to have measurable benefits. In a 2016 study, 658 participants were observed over a 13-day period. Each day, they reported how much time they spent engaging in creative activities, along with their emotional state and overall sense of flourishing. The results showed that participating in creative activities daily was associated with greater positivity and improved well-being. In other words, creativity doesn't just produce beautiful desserts; it can make people feel better, too.
#13
Cute & Tasty: My Horse & Cow Bread Project
I lost track of time making these horse and cow buns! Let's be real, the process was boring and tedious, but man, were they good.
I shaped the dough, iced on their faces, and stuck on those little almond horns — so much love went into every detail.
It was totally worth the effort though. Biting into this soft, tasty little guy makes all the hard work disappear!😊
#14
Roll Cake.. Finally
Another thing that's been on my list forever that I finally got around to making!
Wish I hadn't waited so long though. It was absolutely delicious, and I really enjoyed making it.
The fillings are vanilla mascarpone cream and raspberry.
Now lets see if I get around to making anything else on that list 😄. Cinnamon buns and croissants are both contenders, so if anyone has a recipe or tips/tricks that they swear by, please share.
#15
Coconut Blackberry Cake
Then there's the social side of baking. Few things bring people together quite like food, especially when everyone helps create it. Baking with family members, friends, partners, or children can become a meaningful bonding experience filled with laughter and shared memories. Think about grandparents teaching their grandchildren how to bake holiday cookies, carefully passing down recipes that have been in the family for generations. Or imagine a group of friends spending an afternoon decorating cupcakes while chatting about life. The desserts themselves are wonderful, of course, but often it's the time spent together that people remember most. Long after the cookies are eaten, and the cakes are gone, those moments remain.
#16
Wife’s Amazing Homemade Cake
My wife made our daughter’s smash cake for her first birthday. Winnie the Pooh was the theme and the cake is Pooh’s honey pot. We are absolutely in love with it. She’s not a professional but baked cheesecakes and cookies for family all the time. Just wanted to show off her work. And it tasted great!
#17
17-Layer Chocolate Cake
Soft chocolate sponges, layered with silky chocolate cremeux, topped with a shiny cocoa glaze.
#18
I’m Free! 🎉
Upstaged75 14 hours ago
It needs to be on fire. 😂 Or is that just my personal experience of menopause?
Baking can also provide a genuine boost in confidence. A qualitative study exploring the experiences of 12 mental health service users found that baking offered participants an opportunity to learn new skills while creating something tangible and rewarding. Producing a finished product (whether it's a loaf of bread, a tray of brownies, or a beautifully decorated cake) gave participants a sense of achievement and pride. The study found that building new skills and confidence motivated many individuals to continue attending treatment sessions. Participants also appreciated the structure baking brought to their daily routines.
#20
Always Have Someone To Bake For Now!
This is my first time baking for cake4kids, they’re an organization that allows you to volunteer and bake for youth who don’t have access to treats on special occasions. My kid requested brownies and I had so much fun making them😄🙏. Definitely recommend signing up if you love baking, have the means and some extra time!
#21
My Lamb Cake Didn’t Win, But I Thought I Would Share Him Here Anyway!
I made the PreppyKitchen chocolate cake and I made both regular and black cocoa buttercream.
#22
Experimental Mahjong Matcha Butter Cookies 🀄
Matcha cookies with matcha cream cheese butter cream filling and thiccccck matcha ganesh in between, when you eat it freeze or frozen it's like an ice cream sandwich, still at an experimental stage, still need to fine tone the dough a bit, I would like it to have more structure and shape and less wonky when I get it out of the mold but also not too tough because it need to be freeze or frozen 😆 it still looks a bit rough, but it's so fun to make, and very tasty when you eat it cold.
Clearly, baking offers far more than delicious desserts. It can be a creative outlet, a stress reliever, a confidence builder, and a way to strengthen connections with the people around us. In a fast-paced world where many activities revolve around screens and deadlines, baking invites us to slow down for a while. Whether you're making an elaborate three-tier cake or simply baking a batch of cookies on a quiet afternoon, the experience itself can be incredibly rewarding. And as a bonus, you usually get something delicious to enjoy at the end.
#23
I Made Lemon Tarts
These lemon-elderflower tarts are layered with elderflower-mascarpone cream and elderflower lemon curd inside a buttery pâte sucrée shell, then topped with cookie daisies, butterflies and vanilla-white-chocolate Italian meringue buttercream.
#24
My Dad's 70th Birthday And The Dessert Buffet I Made
Five cakes, 420+ sweets and two weeks of work later...gone in two hours 😂
And honestly, posts like these are a beautiful reminder of just how talented and creative bakers can be. Some of these desserts look like they belong in a museum rather than on a plate. Others are so elegant and perfectly crafted that it's hard to believe they were made in someone's home kitchen. Whether you're an experienced baker or someone whose greatest baking achievement is a microwave mug cake, there's plenty here to admire. So tell us, Pandas—which one of these sweet creations had you drooling the most? And be honest: did any of them inspire you to dust off your mixing bowl and start baking again?
#27
My Take On The Iconic Minecraft Cake In Real Life
My take on the iconic Minecraft game cake. I assembled chocolate blocks to form a cube then filled with cake.
#28
Elmo Fire Meme Cake
I made this cake for my sisters birthday! Shes got a great sensebof humor! Its a vanilla cake with american butter cream.
#29
New Tip, Who Dis?
Grabbed a new tip while getting piping bags today. Thrilled. I’ve never used one this big and was nervous, but very happy with how it came out.
Chocolate cake, cinnamon soak, cherry preserves, dark chocolate ganache, black sesame frosting on the inside, green buttercream is colored with matcha, butterfly pea, and turmeric.
#30
Made A Massive Japanese Cheesecake
I’ve been making these for a while now, and I can’t get enough. The texture is really nice, it’s like biting into a cloud. Next time I will try to add some stronger flavors (this one is vanilla) like black sesame or pistachio.
#32
My Son Requested A Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake For His 16th Birthday 🎂
I found lots of different recipes and ideas but ended up sticking with the one below for the ganache & fresh strawberries throughout!
It is filled with Milk Chocolate Ganache and fresh diced strawberries 🍓 with a Fresh strawberry buttercream frosting!
#34
Some Of My 18yr Olds Creations Studying In France
Currently studying in France. Something she has dreamed of since she was 10. Wants to eventually open a small shop and also do catering focusing on French pastries.
She paid for school, her apartment, and everything else on her own. Was her goal to do this and come back when it’s all done with no debt. To say I’m proud of her is an understatement.
:update:
Wow so many replies and rewards. I’d love to respond to you all but that will be tough.
First thank you all so much. Second I’ll have to get names of each and try to update the captions. Lastly I’m gonna hold off on sharing location and school until she returns. Just cause the Internet is a bit weird and sketchy. Makes this dad nervous.
Oh and lastly, no scholarships for this. Three years of working in a bakery saving every penny, and HS graduation cash helped make this a reality. Dad and mom pay the day to day (groceries, food, etc) while in France, plus car payment, insurance, gas, etc here at home. This is a 2.5 month program and she is in France for 3 months. School was just under $20k, her apartment is right at $900 a month. This is not in Paris, but a smaller French city.
#35
Best Birthday Cake I’ve Ever Made
Featuring Beatty’s Chocolate Cake from Ina Garten — the only chocolate cake recipe I use anymore. I’ve stopped searching. It’s perfect.
Paired with vanilla ermine frosting, which might be the best icing out there: super fluffy, not too sweet, and loved by both icing people and “not icing people.”
Slightly more effort… but I’m officially never going back.
#36
For My Mom 🩷
Wanted to share all the birthday treats I've made for my mom since I started making cakes almost 4 years ago.
In order from most to least recent.
Pics 1-5 are this year's. I was going for a fairy house/cottage look. Bottom half was carrot cake, top was coconut. Filled with lemon cream cheese frosting and coconut mascarpone mousse.
6-8. Apple cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and caramel.
9/10. Banana coconut cream pie.
11/12. Vanilla and chocolate sugar cookies. Mom loves cows 🐄🥰
13/14. Vanilla cake filled with espresso diplomat cream. Coffee buttercream and salted carmel drip.
15-17. Marble cake filled with vanilla crème légère. Chocolate buttercream.
If anyone would like a particular recipe, let me know which and as long as I can remember what I used I'd be happy to share!
#37
I Baked A Cake For The First Time For My Daughter's K-Pop Demon Hunters Birthday
Sorry if box-mix is cheating. This derpy bastard took me all night! Ran out of time to add the bird. And of course I forgot to bring the big candle I had intended to put on his tongue. Had to borrow from the play-place and they only had pink T_T. He was strawberry, by the way, with buttercream frosting.
Upstaged75 14 hours ago
His official name is Derpy Tiger. My 6 year old niece is obsessed with K-Pop Demon Hunters.
#38
My Sourdough Sandwich Bread Has A Heart In The Middle
I just thought this was so cool and wanted to share with someone and make them smile :)
#39
"He Loves Taco Bell And He's Turning 17." Enough Said. Taco Bell Cake!
This was SUCH a fun cake to make!! I modeled it after the nachos bell grande.
No fondant, I made the bowl (and tomatoes) out of modeling chocolate.
Chips are sugar cookies (with cinnamon and nutmeg added, for flecks) rolled super thin and baked on crumpled parchment.
Meat is cocoa pebbles basically made into rice krispies, but with a couple chocolate chips thrown in for color and kneaded for texture.
Nacho cheese is white chocolate ganache, same with the sour cream but mixed with a little frosting.
The refried beans are made mostly from white chocolate ganache. I added a couple chocolate chips for color and then chopped some chocolate pieces and jelly beans for texture.
#40
Happy Trans Day Of Visibility!
I made trans pride calico cat cookies for my.roommate! I used the Sally's baking addiction sugar cookie recipe for these. Instead of vanilla I used strawberry extract! These were fun and so easy to make!
#41
Petit Fours.. Finally 😅
I say finally, because I've been wanting to make them for like 2 years and for whatever reason, never bothered to actually do it (anyone else do this?? What's the thing you keep wanting to bake but don't actually do it?!).
They're far from perfect but not bad for a first try! I hate the color that they turned out. But the taste makes up for it. They were so good. I used homemade lemon curd and raspberry filling.
Also sharing my other Easter treats here. I tried posting them last week but some of my pictures werent showing up properly, so apologies if anyone had to see some of these twice 😄
#42
Made Myself A GF Birthday Cake Today!
#44
Made Some Strawberry Poptart Cookies. Filled With A Ton Of Strawberry Jam Filling Cause That’s How It Should Be 🍓
#45
My First Guinea Pig Cake
#46
I Remembered I Have Free Will To Make What I Want. Hostess Cupcakes, Y’all
And guess what, they came out absolutely delicious. Better than any store bought cupcake ever would’ve been.
#47
Used The Tips From This Community And The Cake Turned Out Perfect
It turned out awesome! And it was SO easy.
The frosting I used was actually not very sticky so I actually had to push the parchment paper in on some parts and then I used a butter knife to push around the edges to clean it up.
Let me know if you have any questions from my experience! Thanks again for all the advice!
#49
Lemon Cheesecake
Ridiculously good. Even the family members who "don't like cheesecake" liked this one. Everyone scraped their plates clean 😄
#51
Made A Cake For The Ides Of March Tomorrow. Appropriately Enough, It Won't Stop Bleeding 🤣
#56
My Daughter Has Celiac’s. She’s 13 And It Never Dawned On Me. She’d Never Try Cheesecake. So I Started Fighting Back. Here’s To My Gluten-Free Cheesecake Era
#57
Pls Enjoy A Chuckle At My Pigeon Cake
She is in fact the actual size of a hawk. Insane looking, but delicious!
#59
Trust The Process!
I made this sea turtle cake for a friend's son just for fun. When they said he was having a party coming up I basically forced them to let me make him a cake because I knew it would be something I've never done before. Probably would have been more stressed if I was doing it for money haha but I could just have fun making it.
My daughter watched me do some of it, and she DEFINITELY didn't think it was going to look like a turtle. I kept saying "trust the process!" which I say to my art students a lot.
Chocolate cake (based off of the 'How to Cake It' recipe), chocolate buttercream (Sally's). Head and flippers were chocolate rice krispie treat and modeling chocolate, and then the shell was fondant. Shell didn't cover the belly enough and I didn't want to add more fondant to expose the naked cake, so I figured sand - but didn't have any graham crackers. I almost DoorDashed a box lol but then found an unopened box of waffle cone bowls in the back of the closet that was still good, so blitzed them up and used those.
#61
My Soon To Be Six Year Old Requested I Make This Exact Cake
#63
Plaid Cake!
My first time making a big cake! Decorating was hard but I liked the inside
#66
I Made A Tiramisu Cake For My Boyfriend’s Mom 🥰
The lily didn’t come out as pretty as I had hoped but it was my first time making a tiramisu cake and chocolate decoration so I’m a little proud of it! (One of the petals broke off after I took the first pic) I also forgot to add cocoa powder between layers so I sprinkled a bunch on top but it was still yummy!
#67
I Hosted A Home Café
I’ve been wanting to do this since seeing it all over Instagram lately. 17 types, savoury on one side, sweet on the other. About 2 weeks of planning and baking. My husband did coffees and helped me write out names of items and entertain the baby. My SIL helped to make matcha.
It was so much fun! Planning another one, but Asian themed. Would love some ideas!
#72
Two Foot Long Baby Shower Cake, My Favorite I’ve Done Yet🙌🏼
#73
Boston Cream Pie If It Was Cake Instead Of Pie
Cake recipe is the yellow chocolate cake from the broma bakery cookbook sweet tooth. Frosted with ganache and filled with pastry cream that are both just typical ratios/recipes I found online. With some whipped cream cuz I screwed up the bottom of the frosting when I moved it onto a bigger cake round. When I was a kid, my mom would always get us the ones from stop and shop that had a maraschino cherry in the middle and me and my siblings always wanted to be the one to get the cherry. So since it’s my cake I decided to put a cherry on every piece.
#76
Pistachio-Raspberry Cheesecake
Made everything from scratch, from the batter all the way to the raspberry compote on top. it was a great hit!
#78
I Made A Princess Peach Cake ☺️
This chocolate and coconut Princess Peach cake found its way to two adorable little recipients.
It had chocolate sponge with the YUMMIEST coconut white chocolate ganache filling. The topper is a multilayered sugar cookie sandwich filled with more of the coconut ganache and decorated with royal icing. I ganached the outside of the skirt, then did a pour-over of dyed white chocolate as the outer coating (something I’m not at all tempted to try again). The skirt decorations are mostly buttercream.
I’m in love with this coconut ganache filling I’ve been testing and will share it as soon as I have a bit more time.
#81
Whimsical Floral Cakes From This Past Month For My Social Media!
#87
I Finally Did It!
10 hours of decorating, 3.5 dozen cupcakes, 3 batches of SMBC and 2 bags of white chocolate later and I finally got to bring my vision to life for my birthday party! Honestly one of my proudest moments 😭🕯️
Anony Mouse 3 minutes ago (edited)
This is the worst picture of a beautiful bake, Click the link!
#91
Making Birthday Cakes For My Niece. It Escalated Quickly
Upstaged75 14 hours ago
You should check out the rest of the cakes they made on Reddit! (Use the link under the left side of the pic)
#93
The Trap Is Set! Final Batch Of April Fools Macarons - "Lemon"
It's done!!
Presenting: "Lemon" Banoffee Pie macarons
Made using French method and Sugar Spun Run's ratios
Components - Banana butter cream outer filing (butter, powdered sugar, banana pudding mix, vanilla, salt, splash milk) and dulce de leche middle
And in case you missed it: Strawberry and Grape
And again, allergens will be well-disclosed ahead of consumption, I'm not trying to end anyone (and this will remain the official party line)
I think these are my favorite out of the bunch - visually, anyway - will do a proper taste test once everyone's had a good time to mature
#94
Craved The Og Donuts But Not The Palm Oil And Other Junk…
Texture and flavor is excellent. These have a hard, delicious, dark chocolate shell (remember how Entenmann’s used to but now it’s soft?!?). The donut tasted great even without the chocolate.
#95
Brown Sugar Turned White After Brown Sugar Bear
At the risk of sounding like an idiot, is this what is supposed to happen? I added the bear about 24 hours ago and noticed this just now. I followed instructions, soaked for 20 minutes, patted dry then put in sugar.
Upstaged75 14 hours ago
No. You got the bear too wet and didn't dry it enough before putting in the brown sugar. I have one of these and I love it. It keeps your brown sugar from getting too hard and clumpy.
#101
Pro Tip: Stabilize Your Whipped Cream With Marshmallow Fluff
#103
As Is Tradition. My Wife's Easter Brownies
#104
As Someone With No Baking Experience, I Made A Birthday Cake For My Mom!
This was my very first time baking a cake, and luckily it turned out well :) My mother was very surprised!! :D I wanted to make a little pool on top (the store was out of blue/green jelly ;-;) with tiny fishes inside, but they ended up looking more like stingrays lol. I also make art but first time making an edible one! 😄
#105
Turns Out, You Can Replace All The Sugar With Jell-O In A Cake For Intense Color And Flavor!
This was popular in r/cakes so I thought I would post it here too! I tried swapping sugar for Jell-O because Jell-O is almost 90% sugar and they have some great flavors that would be really hard to find as extracts - key lime, island pineapple, apricot, strawberry etc.
The flavor is intense, the color is incredibly bright, and the cake smells wonderful. The texture is soft and a bit sticky, but still like a great pound cake.
I used 765 grams of Jell-O in place of my regular 800 grams of sugar (this ended up being about 3/4 cup less sugar in total). The outside browned more, I believe because of the acid in Jell-O.
Mile High Orange Jell-O Pound Cake
1 pound (4 sticks) butter, room temperature
27 oz orange Jell-O (4 family size boxes plus one regular box), not sugar-free
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 large eggs, room temperature
4 1/2 cups cake flour or White Lily All Purpose Flour
1 1/3 cup half and half, room temperature
Preheat oven to 300°F. Prepare Old Country Kitchenware square tube pan by brushing with pan coat (if using two piece pan, fit with a parchment paper square between the two pieces first). Beat butter and Jell-O in the bowl of a stand mixer until pale, light and sticks to the bowl (about 6 minutes at medium speed). Add extract, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 cup flour, beat until combined. With the mixer running on low, add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition until fully incorporated. Alternate beating in the flour until it just disappears and drizzling in half and half with the mixer running on low, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and beat for another 10 seconds. Pour batter into prepared tube pan and gently shake to settle the batter. Place on middle rack of oven with a baking sheet on the rack below it to catch any drips. Bake 2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool until the pan is comfortable enough to handle. (If using two-piece pan, place it over a metal can and press down to remove the outer piece first). Transfer the cake to a wire rack in two steps: first, turn the cake up on its side, then invert fully. Let cool completely.
#106
Lesbian Strawberry Pie
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Rose the Cook 13 hours ago
I so miss being able to make beautiful things like these but living in China it is impossible to get the ingredients needed. Even simple items can't be found or cost the earth.
Rose the Cook 13 hours ago
I so miss being able to make beautiful things like these but living in China it is impossible to get the ingredients needed. Even simple items can't be found or cost the earth.
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