After weeks of enduring an ever-growing craving for red velvet, I stumbled upon Smallcakes while…read morecasually grabbing coffee nearby. Upon entering the shop you are quick transported to a whimsical dreamland full of sprinkles and tiny pleasures. The lady at the counter was warm and welcoming, patient as I made up my mind. As I ogled the beautiful case full of perfectly iced creations, the choice was clear. Red Velvet. I was given my chosen cake in a cute box, a great touch I believe! The cupcake was moist, appropriately textured, but not too moist, for it would fall completely apart. When you break open the cupcake it remains intact, and doesn't crumble or lose integrity, this is key. Frosting was perfectly sweet and balanced, with the deep notes of the cream cheese. If you seek a perfect cupcake, come here and try a few flavors. You will not be disappointed!!

My son n law stopped here for birthday cupcakes for my daughter. Wowza! Good sponge. Icing was…read moredense, flavors well balanced and rich as they all stated. One had peanut butter topping with chocolate cake, another one with vanilla cake and peppermint flavor with peppermint icing and a coconut macaroon on top. This must have been a special they made . The birthday girl was very satisfied.

Pro tip: We always order a big box of cookies and brownies and they keep very well for the whole…read moreweek if we transfer them to an airtight container. Everything here is amazing. I ordered a personalized cake recently and requested they leave it plain/ugly bc I had bought decorations I wanted to use. Darn them, they still gave me a gorgeous cake!!!! It was a large cake for two people (especially when one doesn't like chocolate) but my partner was brave and destroyed it in 2 days. EVERYTHING is delicious. Try it all.

So my husband and I were nearby enjoying lunch when I decided I needed to end my meal with…read moresomething sweet. I did a search for nearby dessert spots and came across Bull City Bake Shop. Firstly, it smelled delicious, and secondly, we were greeted by the nice young man behind the counter. While there were many cupcake options, the cake slices drew my attention. I'm a chocolate gal so I knew I had to try the chocolate on chocolate cake slice. My husband, who is also a cake snob, immediately noticed that it looked moist, so hopefully it would be. I waited until our 50 minute drive to try a little bit. Well, I almost ate the whole thing! Let me tell you, this cake melts in your mouth. The frosting is perfect and not too sweet. Just the right about of chocolate flavor. I had to fight with myself to have the rest after dinner for my treat. We have found a new dessert spot when we're in Durham. Do not sleep on this bakery! We will be back! No pic since I wouldn't do it any justice since I ate half!

We had been here years ago and I was in the neighborhood at Costco and decided to stop by. I…read moreunderstand it is owned and run by an actual French baker although when I stopped in most of the staff appeared to be Latino. The location is a little hard to find but just GPS it. There were several patrons sitting and eating but there aren't many tables. I got a croissant and sourdough loaf to go. Croissant was good but the sourdough tasted more like refined white bread than the rustic kind that we prefer. We're not in this area too often but I'll need to remind myself this place is here.

The bakery itself is cute, clean, and always a joy to visit. The food is delicious and the…read moreemployees are super friendly and polite! I love coming here even though it's a bit out of my way, it's worth it! Can't wait to try what we got this time! The pastries are great and the mini quiches and cookies are tasty too!

I stopped by favor desserts to pick up some cupcakes. All cupcakes are $2.75 on Wednesdays. I…read moregrabbed a strawberry, double chocolate and carrot cake to share and we enjoyed them all. The staff was nice and the shop is so pretty

Long story short, the Love Cake legit had me falling in love. Long story a little longer, I had…read morebeen following Favor Desserts for quite some time, but didn't actually get a chance to try them until an event I attended. I loved it so much that when I was close, I made sure to reroute myself to purchase several slices. The pineapple cake tasted like summer. The Italian Cream cake tasted like a hug. My daughter said the chocolate cake was the best she has ever had. And how I started my review is how I will end it...the Love Cake legit had me falling in love. I turn 50 next year and I already know who I'm going to for my cake!

Sweets by Shayda is one of my fave bakeries in Durham Shayda knows my face now. I purchased two of…read moreher AMZING chocolate croissants. Always a 10/10. She has so many great desserts to choose from and is known for her macaroons. They offer coffee and tea as well. They are so sweet and welcoming. It's such a cute shop, with pink and white decor.

This bakery is amazing! I stopped by here on a random weekday and loved the strawberry and cream…read moremacaron and it was SO delicious I had to come back for a box! Truly, these are the most delicious macarons I've ever tasted, and I've had way too many! These have a great bite to them, slightly chewy texture and the smoothest, TASTIEST filling ever. I tried the Bridgerton themed Early Grey one to the double chocolate and black sesame, my favorites are the nutella (not too sweet but tastes heavenly) and strawberries and cream. I think everyone in the rtp should try these at least once!! I know it's going to be the hostess gift I grab whenever I visit friends from now on. They've got also a great selection of baked goods and the chocolate crThey've also got a great selection of baked goods and the chocolate croissants are perfectly flaky and delicious!ssiants are perfectly flaky and delicious!

What I recommend: The brown sugar oatmeal cookie…read more Little Barb's Bakery is a small but mighty spot inside the Durham Food Hall. My go-to item every single time is the brown sugar oatmeal cookie. It's thin, crisp, and baked to the perfect level of brittleness while still keeping that classic oatmeal sweetness. When you get the right one, it's absolute perfection. As always, staff is very friendly, and since it's located right at the food-hall, it makes for a perfect spot to grab a sweet treat after your meal.

Love the choices at Littje Barb's Bakery. Got a vegan bar for a friend. Then s'mores bars,…read morecheesecake bar, chocolate chip cookie and a sugar cookie to share. Staff always helpful and nice. Easy to get to in the food hall.

Love the ice cream at Pincho Loco. The staff is always friendly. I love the decor of the parlour…read moreand it is just all around fun. I love the ice cream cakes and flavors available, the smoothies and sweets are also just so good! I do also love that they have to go containers of ice cream!

It was everything we wanted out of a late-night ice cream run! We got their mango ice & lemon lime…read moresorbet. The lemon lime sorbet was especially delicious. Wish that they had had a vegan ice cream (instead of just vegan ices, popsicles, or sorbets), but what they had was good, so I can't complain too much! Service was fast, the inside was cute, and there's a bench outside to sit on if it's a nice day.

Beautiful, unique, delicious chocolates! Go! They made a lovely gift and we had so much fun trying…read morethe flavors!

Miel Bon Bons is a cute little artisanal chocolate shop and bakery nestled within Brightleaf…read moreDistrict! We got a pack of 8 chocolates (admittedly they did cost a pretty penny haha), which ranked from my most to least favorite are: 1. Horchata: So good, the horchata essence hit me as soon as I took a bite. Very cinnamony, very milky & creamy. 2. Passionfruit: I'm a sucker for anything passionfruit. The curd-like filling did not taste artificial at all. 3. Almond cardamom: Topped with a real almond, but more cardamom forward, reminded me of chai. 4. Hazelnut sassy monkey: Distinguished more coffee than banana, but it was there. Also liked the layer of crunch. 5. Raspberry lychee: The raspberry jam was strong and tasty, the floral essence from lychee was subtle. 6. Sesame matcha: Surprisingly citrusy? I did taste some bitterness from the matcha and appreciated the earthy sesame crust. 7. Ube: Sadly did not detect much ube flavor. 8. Earl grey lavender: Definitely the prettiest, but tasted like what I imagine soap would taste like. In terms of whether the chocolate is worth the price: I've never had this experience of trying such diverse and interesting chocolate flavors before so it was for me. Ambiance is nice, I think there was only outside seating. There's good parking nearby in the Brightleaf lots or on W Pettigrew St. Service was fast and friendly. 8/10 would recommend!

I needed to get cupcake gift cards for a family birthday, so stopped in for a late lunch. Still the…read moresame fast, friendly service, and amazing food! They have added tents to the back lot (less parking, more seating, gotta make choices!). It adds a garden vibe to the back area they have been updating since COVID. It's still nice and open and airy inside. And the food is still just as fresh and delicious!

Mad Hatter is an iconic establishment in Durham. On the corner in the Whole Foods shopping center…read morenear the Duke campus. I moved back to the area a couple of years ago and came here for the first time after many years. It hasn't changed much which is good. Order at the counter and get a number and they'll bring your food to you. The bakery case has lots of delicious choices including large cookies and scones. Service is fast and friendly. I got an avocado toast. I prefer fresh avocado to the creamy kind that comes out of a package but the bread was good as was the presentation and generous fruit garnish. I got an iced tea but I'm sure their coffee is good. It's kind of noisy because it has that industrial, almost cafeteria type vibe but it's a good place to go alone or with a friend because it's so consistent and reasonably priced for the portions.

Came here for a post-dinner sweet treat! We got two cupcakes:…read more - Carrot Cake: Definitely my favorite of the two- loved the crunchy bits of carrot that provided textural diversity and the strong cinnamon essence. Also loved the cream cheese frosting. - Chocolate Blackberry: I wish this had more blackberries- the sour contrast & freshness of the berry was very much needed for (& delightful with) the heavy cupcake, but one berry was not enough. Other than the fruit on top, I couldn't really distinguish the berry flavor in the buttercream icing. Are these the best cupcakes I've ever had? Not really. Did they satisfy my craving for sugar? For sure. Their lattes & shakes actually sounded really good, will definitely try those if I come again. There's plenty of outdoor seating (with some inside seating) & parking. Really nice ambiance, fast service. 7.5/10 would recommend!

We decided to check out this bake shop on a random Saturday afternoon after seeing some great…read moreflavors on their website. I'd say the overall experience was meh. The girl at the register was lovely, super sweet and friendly. The lady making the coffee drinks seemed to be in a bad mood. I was excitedly asking if they had any food truck events coming up soon and no one really said anything, the girl at the register apologized for not having more info. The cupcakes themselves were okay. The gluten free cupcake was super grainy and gritty, not good. The regular cupcakes were better but had way too much almond flavoring. I thought about getting a dole whip instead but it was over $7, which seemed really expensive. The best part of the visit was the coffee. Their iced coffee is awesome! I would come back just for a coffee but I will skip the cupcakes next time.