If you’re looking for an amazing birthday cake in Los Angeles, you’ve come to the right place. The City of Angels is increasingly regarded as one of the best culinary cities in America, and this is especially true when it comes to bakeries and celebrations.
Like New York City, Los Angeles is a place where you can find a wide range of cake makers who specialize in crafting everything from tasty, traditional birthday cakes to kind of over-the-top sculpted cakes made famous by TV shows like Cake Wars and Ace of Cakes.
Competitive cooking shows aside, Los Angeles is also uniquely positioned as a relatively “healthy city”, a place where “beach bods” and “juice cleanses” are regular topics of public discussion.
This propensity for healthy eating has even made its way into the baking arena, as L.A. is a great place to get gluten-free, vegan, and artisanal birthday cakes for those who try to avoid traditional baked goods.
As a result, there’s truly something for everyone– at every price point. From super famous 3-D cake masters to niche paleo bakeries, here’s where to get the best, coolest birthday cakes in Los Angeles.
Bookmark this list for easy reference later.
Happy birthday to you and yours!
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Charm City Cakes (World Class 3-D Cake Makers)
Cake world icon Duff Goldman brought his Baltimore-born cake business, Charm City Cakes, to Los Angeles in 2011. Since that time, he has made birthday cakes for everyone from Ozzy Ozborne to Stormi Jenner.
As the star of the hit cake decorating reality show Ace of Cakes, Goldman is now the veritable go-to favorite for Hollywood celebrities and tastemakers.
These cakes, of course, are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Charm City Cakes is the best in the business when it comes to 3-Dimensional cakes. And it’s easily the best place in Los Angeles to get a bespoke, one-of-a-kind birthday cake, as well.
Goldman’s insanely creative, over-the-top cakes up the anti when it comes to imagining what it is possible to make out of cake and frosting. (Yes, everything you see in the picture above is edible.^)
To date, Charm City Cakes have been featured all over the Food Network, NBC, and in partnership with hundreds of other brands and charities, from Hershey’s and Crayola to the White House and the Make A Wish Foundation.
Basically, Goldman is a legend. Order your custom cake online here.
Sweet Laurel Bakery (The Healthiest Cakes in LA)
Sweet Laurel Bakery is a grain-free, dairy-free, whole-food dessert shop that’s famous for it’s rustic, jam-filled layer cakes. With a new brick-and-mortar bakery on Sunset Boulevard, the once online-only bakery offers organic, dairy-free, gluten and refined sugar-free baked goods.
They use ingredients like almond flour and maple syrup to achieve delicious, creative allergy- and wellness-friendly birthday cakes unlike any others in the city. (And no, they don’t use any gums or stabilizers like those you often find in gluten-free or paleo baked goods. In fact, most of their desserts feature five ingredients or less.)
For the quintessential experience, order their classic vanilla coconut jam cake. (Years ago, I interviewed bakery co-founder Laurel Galluci as she assembled one of these bad boys with fresh flowers on top, and it was a thing of beauty.)
Paleo folks also love Sweet Laurel’s chocolate keto cake and the rich, equally minimalist mocha cake. If you’re looking for a paleo birthday cake in Los Angeles, this is the best bakery for it.
Be advised that here, cakes are assembled with an effortless, chic style that is as satisfying to eat as it is to look at. They don’t do cake writing, “decorations” or “themes”, per se. Rather, all of their cakes achieve beauty in the form of rustic simplicity.
We also like that they don’t overload their birthday cakes with frosting. (This is a real #nakedcake establishment.)
FYI Sweet Laurel also makes grain-free cookies, brownies, muffins, and ice cream sandwiches in their lovely pink shop. Don’t miss their delicious wellness lattes, teas, and healthy twists on blended drinks like the Mocha Keto Frappe. (We dig the coconut cream pie and the chocolate ganache tart, as well.)
Hansen’s Cakes (The OG “LA” Birthday Cake Bakery)
Hansen’s Cakes has been around for seven generations, which is an eternity in Los Angeles. Since 1920, they’ve been making beautiful celebration cakes for weddings, birthdays, graduations, and more. Today, they are the OG birthday cake maker in LA and Southern California.
Known in Calabasas as “Kim Kardashian’s favorite birthday cake maker”, Hansen’s Bakery does real French buttercream artwork accented with Danish “whip cream.” They never use fondant in their birthday cakes.
^ This means every single Hansen’s design is made exclusively from buttercream. (Suffice it to say, that’s harder to do– but it definitely tastes better.)
The flavors here are pretty standard– chocolate, red velvet, marble, vanilla, lemon, carrot, etc. But the art and ability to customize are the real draws. (FWIW, Kim loves the vanilla cake with chocolate chip filling. She calls it “the best cake ever.” And we’re only mentioning this because she has enough money to know her options.)
Hansen’s skilled cake artists will help you choose between a free-standing cut-out birthday cake, piped-on icing, tiered birthday cakes, birthday cakes with style scenes, or a more simple standard floral design.
And unlike some of the other boutique birthday cake makers in Los Angeles, they offer options to fit every budget. Standard birthday cake templates are here.
For custom cake orders, you can email the Hansen’s team at [email protected].
The bakery also offers gluten-free birthday cakes, which can be special ordered. The cupcakes, which also come in gluten and gluten-free varieties, are famously excellent. Find them stacked in colorful rows behind the old-school bakery counter.
Also, the bakery showrooms in Los Angeles and Tarzana offer complimentary cake tastings. Check out their celebrity birthday cake gallery here.
Coco Bakes (for Artisanal, Gluten-Free Birthday Cakes)
Alternative bakery Coco Bakes makes adorable organic, gluten-free, dairy-free cakes with fresh ingredients in Santa Monica. The online-only business is also well known for their excellent grain-free bunz— but that’s another story entirely.
Cake-wise, they are an excellent option for clean eaters and those with severe allergies. (Coco Bakes passes the cross-contamination test for celiacs, as well.)
Most of all, we love the seasonality of this niche LA bake haus. Each cake looks so effortless fresh!
For a Fall/Winter Birthday, try the organic, gluten-free, dairy-free Sweet Potato Cake with Pumpkin Spice Frosting. Or opt for something richer, like the chocolate Blackout Cake. (This grain-free, vegan, paleo cake features a rich chocolate cake layered with decadent vegan chocolate truffle ganache. It’s insane!)
Coco Bakes is a small operation, so their flavors are seasonal and largely responsive to demand. Since going operational they have done various iterations of unicorn cake (vanilla cake with raspberry jam center, chocolate ganache, and fresh market fruit), as well as quadruple berry cake and peanut butter and jam cake. (<— This a very “LA” naked cake.)
They also do vanilla caramel cake, poppyseed cake, and various local citrus cakes.
Order all layer cakes at least one week in advance. They offer local pickup between 10 AM and 2 PM Monday, or Tuesday + Wednesday from 10 AM to Noon. Local delivery is also available for an extra fee. Check the cake page of their shop for the latest menu of options.
No matter what is available when you order, the cake is sure to delight, nourish, and inspire birthday folks of all stripes. So good!
Magpies Soft Serve Ice Cream Pies (for Birthday Cake Softserve Pie)
Magpies Softserve in Silverlake and Tarzana make vegan and dairy soft serve ice cream pies unlike anything else you can get in LA. Rose Schwartz and her team make everything from scratch, and the flavors are so unique and deliciously incorporated– there’s creaminess, crunch, flavor, and texture. It’s better than any ice cream cake we’ve ever tried. (Which is saying something.)
The soft serve pies here are so good, in fact, that a Food + Wine critic once said that L.A. Magpies “are so perfect it pains us.” Enough said. There’s a reason why soft serve pies are so rare– because they are hard to execute.
Fortunately, at Magpies, this is not a problem (it’s one of the most famous soft serve joints in America, after all). Get a magpie in lieu of a birthday cake and your foodie friends will never look back.
For the quintessential experience, order the Birthday Cake Softserve Pie. It features birthday cake soft serve with a chocolate cookie crust and funfetti cake layered under a whipped topping and rainbow sprinkles.
We also love the Fried Vegan Softserve Pie, made with corn almond soft serve layered with vegan fudge and honeycomb, topped with non-dairy whipped cream and fried candied cornflake streusel. (I know. It’s insane!)
Place your ice cream pie order here.
Cinderella Cakes (For Bespoke Layer Cakes)
Cinderella Cakes has been family owned for over 65 years. Today, they are known for their decorated layer cakes which have been featured extensively on the Food Network. (Let’s just say they’ve won a few televised cake-making competitions.)
The big draw here is how specific Cinderella Cakes allows you to get with your order. When they say “custom”, they mean it.
The team here can create a completely custom birthday cake for you– but they’re also willing to significantly tweak standard-themed cakes to suit your specific tastes and preferences. This helps keep costs low while still allowing you to craft a bespoke-looking cake.
Their website is super interactive, so you can set detailed specifications for your cake without ever having to talk with anyone. (Which, depending on your personality and time constraints, can be a plus.)
You can also order various intriguingly-flavored signature cakes in multiple sizes. Also, there’s no extra charge to write a personalized message on a fondant banner.
All told, Cinderella Cakes is a great birthday cake bakery for children. They do beautiful, colorful donut drip cakes, rainbow cloud cakes, and unicorn cakes for kids. Personally, we love their adorable Petit Flamingo Cake made with tempered pink chocolate.
Cinderella Cakes also affords the option to get matching themed cupcakes to go with any themed cake, which is ideal for birthday parties. Order birthday cakes from Cinderella Cakes online here.
Cinderella Cakes’ online shop now serves Costa Mesa, Beverly Hills, Anaheim, and Laguna Niguel via Door Dash. So, no matter where you are in or around Los Angeles, your cake can come to you.
SusieCakes (For Homemade Taste)
SusieCakes is another Los Angeles bakery franchise that does consistently great custom cakes. Like many of the bakers on this list, they specialize in custom cakes, but the homemade taste sets them apart. The flavors here can really kick. It’s a great bakery for traditionalists.
As a prime example, SusieCakes’ 6-Layer Chocolate Cake is absolutely divine. (That’s a picture of it, above.) Their Funfetti changes color with the seasons but is always whimsical and bright.
Meanwhile, their signature Banana Chocolate Chip Cake makes you wonder why other bakeries don’t offer this as a standard flavor. They also do a mean Chocolate Guinness Cake with Irish Cream Buttercream, which is understandably a popular flavor combo for March birthdays around St. Patrick’s Day.
Try their understated Cinnamon Bun Cake if you’re looking for a unique flavor that’s not too sweet. Otherwise, this bakery makes what is easily the Best Chocolate German cake in L.A..
They also make cool champaign and mimosa cupcakes, which are great for parties. Order custom birthday cakes online here.
Erin McKenna’s Bakery (For Gluten-Free & Vegan Birthday Cakes)
This colorful spin-off of Erin McKenna’s original NYC gluten-free cake bakery is a good place to get gluten-free, vegan, kosher, and/or allergy-friendly birthday cakes in Santa Monica and Larchmont.
The LA outposts of Erin McKenna’s Bakery also does excellent cookie cakes (which are also gluten-free and vegan,) as well as charming themed cakes. (Like this cute fox cake or understated pink ombre rosette cake).
They also have an amazing selection of gluten-free, vegan, and kosher brownies, cookies, and donuts. Plus, Erin McKenna’s Bakery delivers birthday cakes anywhere in Los Angeles, which is key in this city. If you can get your cake and eat it, too– all while avoiding traffic! That’s a win for everyone involved.
Top Tier Treats (Fun and Funky)
Though their birthday cakes sometimes fly under-the-radar, Top Tier Treats has a ton of “fun and funky” birthday cake options in every shape and style. From license plate cakes to purse cakes to cakes that look like burritos, pancakes, pineapples, or books: if you can dream it, they can make it.
Generally, their bespoke birthday cakes are slightly cheaper than some of the other veterans on this list. But the finesse and quality here are just as good.
They can also customize buttercream colors and add seasonal flowers to cakes upon request. Check out their cake design gallery here.
Additionally, they, too have vegan birthday cake options. We love their Cookies-n-Cream cake and the Chocolate Peanut Butter cake. (The latter is filled with a peanut butter mousse and topped with a peanut butter buttercream. It’s awesome!)
Check out their standard flavors and prices here.
Roobina’s Cake (Cute Layered Birthday Cakes for Kids)
We love Roobina’s charming layered birthday cakes, which have been made in every child-friendly design imaginable.
From princess castles to Star Wars fortresses to alien hamburgers and Mickey Mouse dolls, if your kid has a favorite show or mascot, Roobina’s can make it into a themed cake. It’s so charming! As a result, this bakery is easily one of the best places to get a child’s birthday cake in LA.
They do, of course, also make celebration cakes for adults. As with their children’s cakes, Roobina’s designers work with you one-on-one to create the custom cake of your dreams. Thus, every cake is one of a kind.
Fill out the cake inquiry form here for more information and to get pricing.
Cake and Art (For “Celebrity” Sheet Cakes)
Cake and Art is another Hollywood/celebrity go-to that has been serving edible art since 1976. At this point, they specialize in “celebrity cakes”, which is why you’ll see everyone from Ariana Grande to Lil Wayne posing with their own birthday cakes from this bakery.
Their cakes have been made for everyone from Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Rihanna to Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Clinton, Justin Bieber, and many others. At some point, you’ve probably seen their work on a talk show.
Cake and Art tends to focus on sheet cakes, sculpted cakes, and cut-out cakes for commemorative events. You could even have them make a 3D cake rendering of your dog. Yes, the design aesthetic can be a little “mid-90’s”, but this is the standard place to get solid photo cakes in L.A..
Overall, this is a reliable place to order birthday cake for a crowd. Plus, they’re quick on the turnaround.
Also, because their celebrity cake gallery is public, you could literally order the exact same birthday cake as, say, Buzz Aldrin or Dolly Parton. (It’s kind of creepy but a cool option for die-hard fans.) This is Hollywood, after all.
~ Honorable Mention ~
Just sayin’.
Loria Stern’s Pressed Flower Cakes
California’s original pressed flower baker also makes cakes on special commission, usually for weddings and big events. Loria Stern‘s inimitable style yields whimsical, fresh-from-the-field baked goods that delight the senses. (Though they do come at a price– cakes start at $500!)
Above shown is a rare glimpse inside one of her pressed flower olive oil cakes filled with chunky raspberry rose jam and frosted with raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream.
The outside is decorated with hand-pressed edible flowers grown mostly at her home garden in Montecito, California. (She sources from other local farms when necessary.)
Loria Stern does cake drop-offs within 100 miles of LA, but you need to order well in advance by emailing [email protected]. For more information or to scroll through the cake gallery, go here.
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Related: These are the 10 Best Brunch Spots in LA.
Need a cool birthday cake in another city? Consult our beautiful American Birthday Cake archive, here.
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