This review is long overdue! My sister introduced me to Masse's as an option for our wedding cake last year and I instantly fell in love. Since I have a huge sweet tooth, we opted to do a variety of cakes rather than just one. Masse's cakes are also absolutely beautiful without any customization! We now regularly buy cakes from here just to eat as well as for special occasions and have always had a great experience. I also really enjoyed their small cakes, pastries, and cookies prior to the pandemic. Always looking forward to our next visit here! read more

Masse's Pastries - Selection of cakes at our wedding! - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

The cakes, cookies and croissants here are delicious, but unfortunately the older woman behind the counter is so rude, nasty, condescending and passive aggressive, it's not worth it. read more

Beautiful and tasty but pricey! Tomorrow is my birthday and I felt like treating my self so I headed down to masse's and see if they lived up to their Yelp reputation. They seemed to have gone through their morning rush already but they still had a decent selection of small cakes to chose from. I ended up getting a small chocolate and hazelnut cake, a small chocolate ruffle cake and something with lemon curd and marscapone because my friend likes tart things. They also had an interesting selection of macaroons. I saw flavors like pistachio cherry, salted caramel and strawberry balsamic. Maybe next time :) There are no price tags or descriptions so their employees are forced to be good at product descriptions which is kinda nice if you have questions. I would go back if I needed more special occasion cakes :) they're really cute. read more

Masse's Pastries - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Got the mango mirror mousse which was alright, a bit pricy for what it is. Not sure if anything else is good, but for me, it's hard to give bakeries or pastry shops super high ratings when most of them are pretty standard and not that impressive overall. read more

I am on the hunt for the best chocolate croissant (pain au chocolat if you will) in the Bay Area, and Masse's has THE best one I've ever tried. Automatic 5 stars. The buttery flakiness is like no other, I once had a French woman echo the same sentiments(a high compliment!), no other croissant has compared. Paul and Marsha own this lovely little shop and I've come here many times and tried a variety of things!Here are my favs: *The macarons are the best I've ever had-try the salted caramel, the chocolate, and the strawberry ones! *Around the holidays they have this apple tart, it's soooo good and a wonderful dessert to bring to a gathering. *Morning buns-can never go wrong! *Their mini chocolate cakes are delicious, very rich and moussey-so you will definitely need to share(I suggest this for all of their cakes) Their hours can fluctuate at times(it's a family owned small business) so it's good to walk by and check their window for hours. You can feel the attention to detail with the artistry of the goods but also in the decor. This cute little cafe is worth checking out! read more

Have been getting cakes from Masse's for birthdays and special occasions for the past 5+ years. We've pretty much eaten every cake on the menu and love them all! The owners are super sweet to us every time we come into the bakery or order for pickup (during Covid times). Their mochas are also tasty along with the French macarons. Would definitely recommend this place if you're ever in need of a cake. read more

Masse's Pastries - Strawberry Charlotte - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Quintessential French bakery. Delicious elegantly decorated cakes, pastries, and cookies, etc. Tasty coffee, too. Have been ordering/getting cakes here for many years. My favorite is the Caramelia (sp?) cake with a half pear in the middle. We've thoroughly enjoyed all the cakes from here, including the chocolate cake, Tiramisu, hazelnut, raspberry, etc. The petite size cakes are fun and are great when you want cake but not a whole cake. read more

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Picked up a Tiramisu cake for my boyfriend's quarantine birthday. I saw all the pictures and had high expectations for the cake. THIS CAKE DID NOT DISAPPOINT. This Tiramisu cake is the best I've ever had and looks like it came straight out of the British Bake-off show. Worth every penny. Also, the owners were super nice! :) Fill out the order form on their site and call your CC ahead in advance to pay. I will be coming back here for all my special occasion cakes. Support this bakery during these difficult times! read more

Masse's Pastries - Tiramisu cake for a birthday! Absolutely gorgeous. - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

20 years ago we ordered our wedding cake from Masse's Pastries. 20 years later we ordered the same flavor. Nothing's changed. Still the same great taste. read more

Masse's Pastries - Tiramisu cake. 9/1/2021 - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Beautiful and expensive cakes. In the past I was willing to pay the high price for exceptional quality. Unfortunately post-Covid, every cake we have purchased continued to look beautiful but the sponge cake was always dry. Embarrassing when you bring it as gift! Will no longer purchase from them. read more

A wonderfully great bakery. I've tried everything they make and it's all good. Get there early for the best selection or order in advance. read more

Came here for the first tine after craving sweets around Berkeley. Very great service and a lot of fruity flavored options for those who like fruits. Very interesting combination of flavors which made me really want to try all of them! I got the strawberry meringue thing. It's a nice layered shortcake with strawberry mousse in the middle. The highlight is the green thing on top that tasted like marshmallows! I really want go try the yuzu one next time. Overall a good experience but the macaroons look very tasty as well. read more

Masse's Pastries - Iced chocolate and strawberry meringue cake - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

The cakes are decadent and delicious but you pay for it! Don't get me wrong the cake is worth $60. I got the summer strawberry cake for my moms 70th birthday party and it was filled with delicious buttercream and fresh strawberries. I will definitely go back for the next big celebration. The process for ordering is a little old school (I put an online order than call to give your card number to pay, but it's a small bakery so they do what they can. Still worth it. read more

Last minute I needed a chocolate cake for my sweet neighbors birthday. I went on their website and saw they needed a 24 hour notice. I knew that it might not be possible since I wasn't within that window. But I put in an order and put in the notes that I totally understood if it was not possible but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. Early in the morning, they gave me and call and made my day! They said they would be able to make the chocolate cake. It was AMAZING!! And the best chocolate cake I've ever had. I couldn't recommend the more highly read more

Masse's Pastries - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Gorgeous birthday cake, the strawberry Charlotte, for my daughter who absolutely loved the flavors and decor of the cake. Pricey, but for a special occasion it's worth it! read more

Masse's Pastries - Yummy and pretty cake! - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Im upset I just tried this place today. I love me a good chocolate cake and la farine has been my go to in the east bay but ill be adding masse's to that list! I got the chocolate walnut mocha (? I think), incredibly delicious and not too sweet price for this was $7.50 which is more than Id usually like to pay for a small cake but honestly it was so good it was well worth it! read more

Masse's Pastries - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

We tried the sufganyot they offer for Hanukkah (seasonal item ) - they had two flavours - lemon and raspberry . They were both excellent ! The dough felt airy and was yummy , the filling was just in the right amount and was not too sweet . One of the best sufganyot I have ever had in the US. We also tried the chocolate and the raspebrrry macaroons - they were ok+ . Not at the same level these sufganyot were at. If you're in the neighbourhood and have a crave for sufganyot (aka jelly doughnuts ) this is a great place to have them read more

Bought my sister-in-law a mango birthday cake. It was beautiful and tasty--although also EXPENSIVE! I also bought a dozen cookies because I couldn't resist--the sorts of cookies I'm always looking for, full of almond and hazelnut and chocolate. They were good, but again, expensive and I had hoped for just a little more from them. We spent quite a bit of time trying to guess what the little red berries were on top of the cake. A little disappointed that the mango on top was underripe. but sis-in-law was happy and that's what was most important! read more

The cakes and eclair are beautiful and tasty. We got a variety of mini ones and they were all delicious. Save your money on the cookies though, none of them were all that good. What bothers me most about this place is there's no signage anywhere. I have no clue what's in the case or how much any of it costs. The owners are happy to explain everything to you, but it's difficult to retain an entire menu or fully understand what's being said through a mask. Because of that confusion I ended up with a cookie I didn't want. We still ate it so fine I guess, but frustrating none the less. I'd come back for the cakes and eclair but for the love of god, put some signage up. Somewhere, anywhere. read more

Masse's Pastries - Cakes and eclair were delicious, skip the cookies. - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

If you're in need of a cake (for any reason at all), Masse's is the place to get it! Absolutely impeccably excellent and creative cakes. Always mind blowing my phenomenal. The textures are perfection, the flavors are divine. Just do yourself a favor already and treat yo' self with a Masse cake! (They make itty bitty personal-sized cakes and regular-sized cakes!) read more

Masse's Pastries - Almond meringue with roasted hazelnut buttercream, and almond cake with a black current mousse and glaze - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

1.28.17 MATCHA OPERA CAKE! My favorite cake of all time! Matcha + opera cake = Love. Apparently, they only serve this cake for Lunar New Year and had to make the trip out here to give this dream cake a try. PASTRIES: We ordered 2 Lunar New Year Special mini cakes: + Matcha Opera cake $6: the appearance looked very elegant and appealing. The matcha "ganche" however was too hard. It was actually a little difficult to eat since the fork had a hard time making it's way through the cake. The matcha flavor was there, although was primarily from the ganche rather than also the sponge cake. Wish the matcha taste was a little stronger. + Matcha Black Sesame Cake $6: a sponge cake mixed with black sesame surrounded by a layer of matcha mousse topped with a thin layer of glaze and 3 species of decor chocolate. The matcha in this cake was too subtle for me. And the black sesame was more of an added texture than flavor. + French Macarons $1.50/each: for the price it's actually a really good deal! Most specialty shops sell them for $2+ each. The Rose Lychee and Pandan Coconut were too sweet for us and lacked authentic flavor as well. However, the Kumquat and Vietnamese coffee macarons had good flavor. Otherwise, the texture of the macaron was perfectly chewy. In addition to pastries, they also serve drinks (coffee, mocha, etc) SERVICE: Very friendly and knowledge of all pastries and their ingredients. AMBIANCE: Small cozy interior with few seating and self served water. VERDICT: Although, their flavors could use some work. I added an extra star for their creativity in their flavors and pastries :) read more

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This is my bestie's favorite dessert place in Berkeley, so when she was in town, she insisted on coming here. Masse's is a tiny bakery with gorgeous desserts. This one Asian gentleman who worked there was very kind to answer all our questions about what was in each of the desserts. Since we came during the Lunar New Year holiday, they had desserts especially made for the holidays. I ordered a green tea cake, and a sponge cake baked to look like a firecracker with a bit of gold leaf atop it. We also bought six macarons, which were $1.50 each: Lychee Rose, Green Tea, Salted Caramel, Black Sesame, and Vanilla. My personal favorites are the Lychee Rose and Green Tea. The one complaint I have about this bakery is that it's very small, with a limited seating area. But the desserts are beautiful and delicious without being too sweet. read more

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Was recommended to Masse's by a friend when I was searching for a birthday cake. I ordered the chocolate banana cake 2 days in advance, called in to pay, and pickup was seamless. There is parking right outside the storefront. Was spoilt for choice with the flavors but birthday boy made the decision - it was a huge hit! We are so, so particular about cakes (and to be honest, are very hard to please). The chocolate banana cake was a dark chocolatey, light cake - not too sweet which allowed the cocoa flavor to come alive, and set off the slightly sweet banana mousse beautifully. It was decorated artfully and skillfully with tons of tempered dark chocolate. The thin crunchy base was a wonderful addition, although we would have preferred some kind of praline crunch layer that seems to be non-existent in East Bay bakeries. Suffice it to say, we will be turning to Masse's for future birthday needs! read more

Lovely passion fruit cake i prefer the cake part to be lighter drier and fluffier like asian style but thats ok will be back for their mango mousse they close at 4 so you have to go early to get a seat before they pack up lots of flavors to choose from and cakes are huge and priced well read more

I'm so glad I found this gem! I ordered a customized birthday cake for my dad and omg, it was so good! I got the chocolate hazelnut cake which was so moist and perfectly sweet! We all loved it and it was gone before I even knew it. The staff was very accommodating as well. So excited to try their other cakes. read more

Masse's Pastries - Customized chocolate hazelnut cake - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Masse's made us a gorgeous cake for my birthday. The owner was absolutely awesome! She was so friendly and kind, and the cake was one of the best I have ever had! To top off the positive experience, the cake was stunningly beautiful! I'll be buying another cake from Masse's the next time my birthday rolls around. read more

Masse's Pastries - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Deliciously out of this world cakes and pastries! I have recommended them to all my friends in the Bay Area and always ordering from them to them. This establishment has been here for ever and thru meaning of a mom/pop business owned. read more

Cute shop with pretty and delicious cakes and pastries. Has been consistent for the past 15+ years since I first started going here. This weekend I ordered a tiramisu cake for the first time and it did not disappoint - all the guests wanted to know where it was from! read more

One of my favorite places in Berkeley. All the cakes that i tried so far are all hits. This is my go to place for every occasion. Everything made with freshest ingredients and so yummy and pretty. I love the vibe at this patisserie. I would recommend this place for coffee, hot chocolate, morning pastries as well as desserts. read more

Masse's Pastries - Birthday cake for my sister-in-law - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Amazing flavors and textures! And great variety. One of the best pastry shops in the area.

Tried out this place first time and I loved their pastry very nice very great taste just like European pastries very fresh and nice ingredients read more

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Macaron aficionado here. I love me some Macarons. When I see Macarons, I buy (well, if the macaron size & price match). Chocolate, peach saffron, strawberry balsamic, yuzu, cassis, pistachio, & salt caramel were the flavorflavs ordered @ $1.25 each. Each macaron tasted like the said flavor. Chocolate, peach s, strawberry b, pistachio, and salt c. YUM. Yuzu and cassis on the other hand...were foreign flavors, but they tasted 'licious ;D Consistency? Nice crunchy exterior shell, soft and chewy interior middle. They were on point! Service was topnotch. Friendly lady behind the counter notified us of the most popular flavorflavs and recommended others. When my friend and I sat down to enjoy our macarons from the paper bag, the lady bought over little plates and glasses of water for us (w/o us even asking). Now that is going above and beyond. I would definitely walk here from the Bart station again. Teehee. read more

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Cute little bakery by all the shops and commotion. Great place if you want to satisfy a sweet tooth craving. After having savory slices of Cheese Board pizza, I really was starting to crave something sweet and macarons definitely sounded good. I found that this bakery was close by so we made a quick stop here. They have beautiful cakes as well as mini cakes. They have select flavors for macarons and then a few other baked treats. The only downside is that they don't label what the treats are so you are left wondering what is in them. Thankfully, one of the workers there was nice enough to walk us through each treat. I decided to go with a vanilla macaron as well as a pear macaron. Unfortunately, the macarons were a complete miss for me. The exterior shell was crisp but the inside was too airy. There was no chewiness to the shell so you were left with a crumbling mess. Furthermore, the filling was not set at all. The consistency reminded me of cake batter. It was overflowing and in addition to the unstable shell, the macaron did fall apart in my hands completely. The vanilla has specs of black which makes me think that they use vanilla bean. It did have a fragrant vanilla flavor to it, but the filling that flowed like a river was awful. The color of the pear macaron was beautiful, but I did not get a very strong feel for the pear. If it wasn't labeled as "pear," I probably would have thought that the macaron tasted like nothing. On the bright side, I tried some of their other treats. I got their coconut macaroon which was a bit on the sticky side but still delicious. The coconut is of course the star of the show. I also tried a pecan thumbprint cookie with an apricot center. It was on the crunchier side, but still soft enough to bite into. I really enjoyed the pecan flavor and how it wasn't overly sweet. The apricot center was pleasant and added that extra sweetness when you got to the center. Lastly I tried the linzer cookie which was beautifully made. The cookies were stacked perfectly on each other and the filling was smooth and even. I liked the cookie base, which reminded me of shortbread. The powdered sugar dusting added some sweetness and the raspberry jam inside was a great match. They seem to take pride in customer service here. The lady who helped me was very kind and patient, and gave great recommendations. I also noticed that when you order a cake, they take the time to wrap it up beautifully. They really care for their customers. The prices are fair and actually lean on the cheaper side. For the five items I ordered, it was less than $6. Quite a steal for so many treats! I would return for the other treats, but not the macarons. read more

Masse's Pastries - Linzer cookie, apricot pecan thumbprint, macaroon, and pear and vanilla macarons - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Masse's is the best place to buy cakes in the East Bay - there's no competition. I've been buying cakes from them for 15 years, and I've never had a Masse's cake that wasn't amazing. The shop itself is charming and the owners are great. It's odd how many Californians have decided to take the owners occasionally brusque comments personally- they are people too and their tiredness has to do with you. Get over yourself. read more

Cute & cozy dessert place that's perfect for two old friends to catch up on good old days. At least, that's what I thought saw whenever I walked into this place. I saw an elderly lady & dude sitting at the nearby the window chatting away enjoying their sweets. & I think to myself "Aww..how sweet. Either they're a couple or just old pals. Either way, lovely!" This place offers a good variety of different pastries ranging from macarons to lil pastries to big cakes. I picked out 4 different macarons & a chocolate mousse cake. Macarons: black currant (pretty purple color//lightly sweet w/ a tidbit of sourness), pistachio (pretty look//yummy), hazlenut (my fave of all of them//soo yummy & dense), & the last one i really couldn't tell what flavor it was but it was cream colored w/ sprinkled brown powder. Then the chocolate mousse cake...it looked better than it tasted. The decor of the place is very cute. The plates & cups that they have for sit-in are so freakin cute (it's decorated in like stripes or polkadots) Then they had this vase of very pretty yellow flowers (mums). 3.5 stars. If I come back, it would most def be for the hazlenut macaron & to try their other pastries, but not the chocolate mousse cake. read more

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The cakes at Masse's are simply divine. No other bakeries in the area can rival the originality and beauty of their cakes, the lightness packed with unique flavor while balancing sweetness (not too sweet). The pomegranate and passionfruit cakes live rent free in my head. Took 2 stars off because the woman owner is very rude. Wonder if it's only toward people of color as most of the reviews who had the same experience aren't white. read more

I bought two desserts for Thanksgiving: a pumpkin pie and the guava cheesecake. Our guests were so impressed with both the flavor and appearance of these. I ordered ahead of time online and the pickup was very organized and fast. The woman in charge was so nice and easy to talk to. This will be my bakery from now on. read more

I came here this past Friday to pick up some freshly made macarons. The best part is that they're only $1.40 each! Flavors are rotated daily. On this particular day, they had vanilla, coffee, caramel, raspberry, blueberry, and pistachio. I opted for the coffee, pistachio, blueberry, and raspberry macarons. The cookie was light and airy and the filling was flavorful and not overly sweet. Masse's also offers other yummy baked goods as well as tarts and cakes. Everything is presented beautifully. Every order is boxed and carefully tied with a yellow ribbon. Definitely stop by if you're in North Berkeley. It's a short walk from Cheeseboard Pizza. read more

Masse's Pastries - $1.40/macaron - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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One of my fave bakeries in Berkeley! Had a taste of the goodies from this place after my BF brought me some macarons. Since then whenever i'm in the North Berkeley area to get Cheeseboard of Tigerlily I end up coming here for dessert. The place itself is so cute and well maintained. There's some seating inside but since it's a small shop it's best to just take your stuff to go imo. There's a lot in the area/CVS as well so you can always find a spot to park. Honestly the only thing i've gotten here are the macarons so I can't really comment on anything else. I've had a mix of pistachio, lemon, chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel, vanilla - basically all of their flavors. My faves are definitely the pistachio and salted caramel. It's more expensive than some places but the quality can't be beat. read more

Masse's Pastries - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Masse, it is love at first sight!! As soon as you walk in, you are delighted to find that they do regular 8 inch cakes and also mini cakes that are perfect for those of us Libras who cannot decide. So we got the mini mango mirror and ricotta cheesecake with guava fruit glaze, strawberry balsamic, and pandanus coconut macaron to go and a seasonal grand macaron which was pistachio macaron filled with fresh sweet strawberries, and pistachio cream inside to consume right then and there. If I have to choose a favorite, the mango mirror is the one that shines through...how fitting with the grand macaron coming in a close second. But they all were good so do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a Masse sweet. For a first time novice like me, they were so patient in explaining every single one of their mini cakes to me that makes me already thinking about my next time back!! read more