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Sending a birthday cake or a gorgeous layer cake for the holidays can be a fantastic luxury gift. Or even just an excellent micro-luxury for you to arrange for your own delight. If you’re all in on this idea, what are the best luxury layer cakes to order by mail? Our ace correspondent has curated a list of the 10 best gourmet mail-order layer cakes to order online right now for birthdays, holidays and parties. Forks in the air!

What are the Best Luxury Layer Cakes to order by Mail?

You know what they say: let them eat cake. And even though Marie Antoinette may not be the best role model, we think she had a point. When the question is what do I need to do to lift my mood right now? Cake is always the answer.

the best mail-order luxury gourmet layer cakes online to buy by mail

What are the best mail-order luxury gourmet layer cakes currently online to buy by mail?

Maybe it’s your birthday, or maybe it’s someone else’s – or maybe it’s a normal day, and you just want a bite of something sweet and delicious. That when the best luxury layer cakes by mail can come to the rescue.

If your favorite local bakery has temporarily closed due to COVID-19, or if you’re sending a gift to someone out of town, or if you’re just up for something new and special, have no fear. From gourmet mail-order birthday cake to perfect dinner-party desserts, we’ve got answers. We’ve compiled a list of the ten best bakeries that do mail-order delivery of gourmet cakes. So  you can have your cake and eat it too. Even in the middle of a pandemic.

the best mail-order luxury gourmet layer cakes online to buy by mail

What are the best mail-order luxury gourmet layer cakes currently online to buy by mail?

The Best Gourmet Mail-Order Cakes Online Right Now

1. We Take The Cake

At the top of our list of the best luxury layer cakes by mail is our go-to online bakery of choice. Located in Fort Lauderdale, We Take The Cake has always been ahead of the curve. They began operations as a mail-order bakery, long before that became the secret ticket to success in this COVID-19 era.

They have grown enormously over the years, and are shipping their incredible desserts cross-country through Goldbelly. You can also find them on the Williams-Sonoma website.

Excellent options include their Spring Bouquet Cake, their Orange Creamsicle, their beautiful Red Rose Chocolate, or their signature Fresh Strawberry 4-Layer. Their holiday cakes are fanciful and fun, and really tasty. Every cake is moist and delicious, and topped with heavenly frosting – and of course they are all made by hand.

best mail-order cakes

 

We Take the Cake Fresh Strawberry 4-Layer cake.  BUY NOW $79.

2. Milk Bar

Milk Bar has come a long way since they opened the doors of their first bakery in 2008. They went from a small New York favorite to a household name for playful and inventive desserts. The festive look of their “naked cakes” is a crowd-pleaser every time.

In addition to the classics, the Birthday Cake and Chocolate Birthday Cake, Milk Bar is currently offering two of its best luxury layer cakes as special limited editions by mail: Strawberry Shortcake and Peanut Butter and Banana Chocolate Chip CakeEach has two fillings (crème fraiche and jam for the strawberry, and fudge and pudding for the peanut butter banana), and is topped with some delicious mini bites. These will definitely make anyone’s big day a whole lot sweeter.

 

best luxury layer cakes by mail

 

Milk Bar Peanut Butter and Banana cake. BUY NOW $58.

3. Cake Monkey

LA’s popular Cake Monkey offers a line of adorable miniature cakes. No, these aren’t cupcakes – they’re cakes, made small, mighty, and ready to ship for any at-home celebration.

There are fifteen exciting flavors, including Huckleberry Forest, Pecan Dacquoise, and Cake Monkey Crunch. With this Gift Box you can choose up to four of them, and you’ll get twelve super-cute mini cakes delivered to your door.

best mail-order cakes

Cake Monkey Miniature Cakes. BUY NOW $159.

4. Miette

San Francisco bakery Miette offers two of its best selling luxury layer cakes by mail, available to ship right now: the Scharffen Berger Cake and the Vanilla Tomboy Cake.

The Scharffen Berger is a decadent dome of dark chocolate, covered in a layer of bittersweet ganache (yum!). And the Vanilla Tomboy is a chocolate base, with an Italian meringue buttercream (double yum!). Both of them ship flash-frozen and packed in ice, leaving them fresh for whenever it’s time to blow out the candles.

 

the best luxury layer cakes by mail

 

 

Miette Vanilla Tomboy cake. BUY NOW $50.

5. Ovenly

Favorite Brooklyn bakery Ovenly is now shipping some of their most delectable cakes through Goldbelly.

So now, no matter where you are, you can spend your special day eating one of these five beauties: the Celebration cake, the Vanilla Salted Caramel, the Lemon Lavender, the gluten-free  Pistachio with Honey Buttercream. Or their signature, the Brooklyn Blackout. A stout cake with a salted dark chocolate pudding buttercream, this is the perfect cake for any chocolate lover.

 

best luxury birthday cake by mail

 

Ovenly Brooklyn Blackout cake. BUY NOW $79.

6. Maxie B

Located in Greensboro, North Carolina, Maxie B has a menu of more than thirty – yes, you read that right, thirty cakes available for shipping. And one of them is an awesome choice for a gourmet mail-order birthday cake.

Some recommendations? You can’t go wrong with their All American Chocolate Cake or their Hummingbird Cake. We are also big fans of their 7 Up Cake, which is flavored with key lime and orange juice, and iced with a cream cheese frosting. And of course, there’s always the super-classic Birthday Cake for all your at-home party needs.

Maxi B Birthday cake. BUY NOW $69.

7. Carousel Cakes

Nanuet, New York’s Carousel Cakes is legendary, having been singled out as one of Oprah’s favorite bakeries. It’s a great source for a gourmet mail-order birthday cake. Or really any kind of cake.

Though they have an enormous roster of sweets available locally, don’t worry:  all of their bestselling cakes are able to be shipped nationwide. It’s nearly impossible to choose between the Snowball Cake, the New York Blackout, the sprinkle-covered “Giggle” Cake, and Oprah’s selection, the Blue Velvet. So why not make your life simple and order all four?

 

 

 

Carousel Cakes Blue Velvet cake. BUY NOW $49.

8. Lloyd’s Carrot Cake

Lloyd’s Carrot Cake has been a Bronx classic for decades, and now it seems the rest of the world has caught onto the secret.

You can send their Famous Carrot Cake, with or without nuts and raisins, to anywhere in the United States. With its thick layer of cream cheese frosting – trust us, you’ve never tasted a carrot cake like it before. And for those who want something a little different, you can order their equally-amazing Red Velvet.

 

 

 

Lloyds Carrot Cake Red Velvet cake. BUY NOW $69.

9. Smith Island Baking Company

The beloved Maryland baking company Smith Island ships all of their cakes. Famous for its many layers, and its rich and fudgy icing, the original Chocolate Smith is also known as “the Cake that Launched a Thousand Ships.” It’s still the most popular dessert that the company offers today.

But if you’re looking to try something new, you can also order the Coconut Smith Island, the Red Velvet Smith Island, or the Lemon Cream Smith Island.

what to buy

Smith Island Baking Company’s Original Chocolate Smith cake. BUY NOW $60.

10. Magnolia

Magnolia is one of those rare bakeries whose recent ubiquity has not hurt their reputation. Even though their desserts are available in so many cities around the world, they’re still some of the best you can eat.

Three of their most iconic gourmet cakes are available  online now, for shipping anywhere in the U.S.: the Hummingbird, the Double Chocolate, and the Confetti. Any of them would make the best birthday cake you’ve ever had.

 

 

 

Magnolia Bakery Confetti cake. BUY NOW $65.

The Best Gourmet Mail-Order Cakes

That’s it! Our top 10 list of the luxury layer cakes to order online for birthdays, holidays and parties. Whether it’s a gift for someone else or an everyday luxury for you, the best cakes by mail deliver smiles and satisfaction in one pretty package. And what could be more luxurious than that?

Abbie Martin Greenbaum

Abbie Martin Greenbaum is a writer, reader, and pop culture connoisseur, who loves storytelling, coffee, and dessert. Her work has also appeared in Playbill.