Best Bakeries to Celebrate National Chocolate Cake Day

Celebrated annually on January 27th, Chocolate Cake Day honors one of America's most beloved desserts. The first chocolate cake recipe appeared in 1847 when a Philadelphia cookbook suggested adding melted chocolate to a traditional cake batter. By the 1900s, chocolate cake had become a symbol of American baking, found in every corner bakery and home kitchen.

Today, each bakery across the country puts its own spin on this classic dessert. From traditional layer cakes to innovative creations, chocolate cake continues to evolve.
Here are some of America's most noteworthy destinations for chocolate cake enthusiasts.

Veniero's Pasticceria & Caffe, located in the East Village, has been making Italian desserts since 1894, making it one of the oldest continuously operating pastry shops in America. The Veniero family still uses original recipes imported from Italy, and the storefront retains its 19th-century facade with tin ceilings and antique mirrors. The bakery's marble counters offer dozens of pastries, but the chocolate cake recipes have remained unchanged since Antonio Veniero first opened the doors.

Highlights:
Italian Chocolate Layer Cake: Seven layers of chocolate sponge with chocolate mousse
Chocolate Truffle Cake: Dense chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache
Black Forest Cake: Traditional recipe with fresh cherries and chocolate shavings
Chocolate Cheesecake: New York style with dark chocolate swirls
Mini Chocolate Mousse Cakes: Individual-sized chocolate cakes filled with mousse

Recommendations:
Try their signature Italian Chocolate Layer Cake with an espresso from their vintage machine. For a complete Italian experience, pair it with their cannoli or sfogliatella. During summer, they serve the chocolate cake slightly chilled with fresh whipped cream. Take-out boxes are available for bringing treats home.

Mindy's Bakery - Chicago, Illinois
James Beard Award-winner Mindy Segal reopened her beloved Hot Chocolate restaurant as a bakery in 2020. Located in Bucktown's historic Flat Iron building, the space now focuses on pastries and cookies. The Mindy’s Bakery keeps the original exposed brick walls and vintage tile floor, but added a glass-front pastry case that stretches the length of the counter. Each chocolate cake is made in small batches using Valrhona chocolate exclusively.

Highlights:
Classic Chocolate Layer Cake: Made with three types of Valrhona chocolate
Hot Chocolate Cake: Inspired by their famous hot chocolate drink
Chocolate Brownie Cake: Dense and fudgy with chocolate pearls
Dark Chocolate Celebration Cake: Four layers with salted caramel filling
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake: Spiced with cinnamon and chile

Recommendations:
Order their signature Hot Chocolate Cake with a cup of their famous hot chocolate - they use the same chocolate in both. During weekend brunch, try the cake with their house-made marshmallows. For special occasions, their Celebration Cake needs 48-hour advance notice. Don't leave without trying their chocolate chip cookies, which made Food & Wine's "Best Cookies in America" list.

Photo Credit: instagram.com/mindysbakery/

This modern dessert laboratory on Sunset Drive brings European pastry techniques to South Florida. Unlike traditional bakeries, dbakers Sweet Studio features a demonstration kitchen where guests can watch pastry chefs airbrush chocolate cakes and craft sugar decorations. Their signature touch is using edible metallic paints and chocolate transfers to create mirror-glaze finishes. The clean, white space with floor-to-ceiling windows contrasts with their colorful, artistic cake displays.

Highlights:
Mirror Glaze Chocolate Cake: Dark chocolate cake with shiny metallic finish
Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake: Three layers of different chocolate textures
Chocolate Explosion Cake: Filled with chocolate truffles that spill out when cut
Ferrero Rocher Cake: Chocolate hazelnut cake inspired by the candy
24K Gold Chocolate Cake: Decorated with edible gold leaf

Recommendations:
Their Mirror Glaze Chocolate Cake pairs perfectly with their artisanal coffee drinks. For celebrations, order the Chocolate Explosion Cake - it creates a dramatic effect when served. During summer, try their chilled chocolate mousse cake with one of their house-made gelatos. They require 48-hour notice for custom cake orders.

Sugar Mama's Bakeshop, started in a food trailer, turned a former tattoo parlor into a neighborhood dessert spot in 2008. The space keeps its quirky vibe with local art installations and mismatched vintage plates. Owner Olivia O'Neal experiments with flavor combinations in her glass-walled test kitchen, often incorporating local ingredients like Texas pecans and bourbon from nearby distilleries. A chalkboard wall lists daily specials and which local farms supplied their eggs and dairy.

Highlights:

The "Keep Austin Weird" Chocolate Cake: Dark chocolate with local coffee buttercream
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake: Spiced with cayenne and cinnamon
Texas Sheet Cake: Traditional recipe with candied pecans
Bourbon Chocolate Cake: Made with Treaty Oak bourbon
Chocolate Lavender Cake: Using lavender from Hill Country farms

Recommendations:
Start with their signature "Keep Austin Weird" cake, served with locally roasted coffee. During summer months, they make ice cream sandwiches using slices of their chocolate cake. Weekend special includes their chocolate cake flight - small slices of three different varieties. Call ahead for whole cakes, especially during SXSW festival season.

Photo Credit: instagram.com/sugarmamasbakeshopatx/

What makes this Cherry Creek bakery special is its mountain-inspired recipes. Converting an old bookshop in 2011, sisters Maggie and Molly kept the original wood shelving to display their cakes. They adjust each recipe for high altitude baking, a technique they learned from their grandmother. During winter, the shop's large front windows steam up from continuous baking, and the scent of chocolate draws people in from the snowy streets.

Highlights:
Mile High Chocolate Cake: Extra-tall layers adapted for altitude baking
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Cake: Dark chocolate with chocolate-covered nuts
Hot Cocoa Cake: Rich chocolate cake topped with torched marshmallow
Snowcap Chocolate Cake: White chocolate ganache over dark chocolate layers
Alpine Mint Chocolate Cake: Dark chocolate with fresh mint buttercream

Recommendations:
Their Mile High Chocolate Cake is best enjoyed with their house-made hot chocolate. During ski season, they pack "slope-side" boxes of cake slices that stay fresh in backpacks. Weekend special includes the cake flight - three mini versions of different chocolate cakes. For altitude-sick visitors, they recommend their Rocky Mountain cake, saying the dark chocolate helps with adjustment.

Step into a piece of South Philly history - since 1921, the terrazzo floors and original wooden cases have remained unchanged at this Italian Market landmark. Three generations of Terminis have used the same marble tables to hand-temper chocolate, and their vintage copper pots still steam daily. Giuseppe Termini's original chocolate cake recipe book, brought from Sicily, sits framed on the wall. The aroma of chocolate and espresso mingles with the sound of paper-and-string being wrapped around signature white boxes.

Highlights:
Traditional Italian Chocolate Cake: Four layers with rum-soaked sponge
Chocolate Ricotta Cake: Family recipe using house-made ricotta
Sicilian Chocolate Torte: Dense chocolate cake with almond paste
Chocolate Opera Cake: Coffee-soaked layers with chocolate ganache
Chocolate Rainbow Cake: Seven layers with chocolate buttercream

Recommendations:
Start with their Traditional Italian Chocolate Cake and a cup of espresso from their 1940s machine. Locals know to come early for the Chocolate Rainbow Cake - it often sells out by noon. During holidays, pre-order their Chocolate Opera Cake, which comes in a special gold box. Don't leave without trying their chocolate-dipped cannoli, made fresh throughout the day.

Photo Credit: instagram.com/termini_bros/

Bakery Nouveau is a pastry shop on Capitol Hill that looks more like a French chocolate laboratory than a bakery. Behind a glass partition, visitors watch chocolatiers temper chocolate on marble slabs and pastry chefs build intricate cakes. Owner William Leaman, who won the World Cup of Baking in 2005, brought back techniques from his training in France. The shop houses a small chocolate production facility where they make their own couverture chocolate from raw cacao beans - one of the few bakeries in America to do this.

Highlights:
Classic Chocolate Cake: Six layers with house-made chocolate
Double Chocolate Mount Rainier: Dark chocolate cake shaped like the mountain
Chocolate Praline Crunch Cake: Layers of hazelnut feuilletine
Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake: Three different single-origin chocolates
Phoenix Cake: Dark chocolate cake with spiced ganache

Recommendations:
Try their signature Classic Chocolate Cake with one of their drinking chocolates. During colder months, the Mount Rainier cake comes with a dusting of white chocolate "snow." Weekend visitors should arrive early - their chocolate cakes often sell out by mid-afternoon. For special occasions, they need 72-hour notice for custom cake orders.

Flour Bakery + Cafe, created by James Beard winner Joanne Chang, showcases her journey from a Harvard mathematics degree to pastry making in this Back Bay location. The bakery combines a scientist's precision with French technique—each chocolate cake recipe has been tested hundreds of times to achieve perfect chemistry. Behind the open counter, bakers weigh ingredients to the gram on digital scales. The space features original Pullman train station tiles (it was once a railway cafe) and still uses the building's vintage copper hood vents.

Highlights:
Midnight Chocolate Cake: Triple-layer cake with 70% dark chocolate
Chocolate Cloud Cake: Flourless chocolate cake that "falls" like a souffle
Boston Cream Pie Chocolate Cake: Classic recipe with chocolate ganache
Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Cake: Inspired by Chang's time in Paris
Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake: Mathematical precision of three distinct layers

Recommendations:
Start with their Midnight Chocolate Cake and their famous sticky buns. The Cloud Cake pairs perfectly with their cold brew coffee. During summer, try the Boston Cream Pie version slightly chilled. Pro tip: visit after 4 PM when they often discount remaining cake slices, though selection is limited.

Sweetpea Baking Co. is an industrial-chic place on Stark Street pioneered vegan baking in Portland when it opened in 2008. Inside a renovated mechanics' garage, owner Lisa Higgins turned repair bays into baking stations. The bakery's secret is using beet juice and avocado in their chocolate cakes for moisture - techniques Lisa developed over years of experimentation. Oregon hazelnut milk and locally-grown beets feature prominently in their recipes. The garage's original roll-up doors are still used on warm days.

Highlights:
Classic Vegan Chocolate Cake: Made with beet juice for extra moisture
Double Dark Chocolate Cake: Using local craft chocolate
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake: Features Oregon hazelnuts and milk
Black Forest Cake: With local cherries and chocolate shavings
Chocolate Avocado Cake: Rich, fudgy texture from avocados

Recommendations:
Their Classic Vegan Chocolate Cake pairs perfectly with their house-made oat milk lattes. For gluten-sensitive customers, try the Chocolate Avocado Cake which uses alternative flours. During berry season, they add fresh local fruit to their chocolate cakes. Weekend tip: they offer a cake flight featuring three mini slices of different varieties.

Photo Credit: instagram.com/sweetpeabaking/

Tucked away on the corner of Guerrero Street, Tartine Bakery draws lines around the block every morning. Founders Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt, James Beard Award winners, transformed an old laundromat into this bakery in 2002. The chocolate cake revolution started here when they installed a dedicated chocolate room, with precise temperature controls for tempering. Through Tartine's steel-framed windows, locals watch bakers pipe ganache and dust cocoa powder on marble-top workstations.

Highlights:
Devil's Food Layer Cake: Valrhona chocolate with coffee buttercream
German Chocolate Cake: Made with house-toasted coconut and pecans
Chocolate Soufflé Cake: Baked to order, falls dramatically when served
Dark Chocolate Eclipse: Signature flourless chocolate cake
Chocolate Rye Cake: Using locally milled rye flour

Recommendations:
Come early for Tartine's Devil's Food Cake - it's often gone by noon. Pair any chocolate cake with their famous hot chocolate, made from the same Valrhona chocolate. During peak hours (8-11 AM), use their app to pre-order. Local tip: visit after 4 PM when the lines are shorter, though selection is limited. For whole cakes, order 48 hours in advance.