We came. We gawked. We tasted. Then tasted again. And we left feeling very full- and it was totally worth it! Together, our expert tasters’ picks (thank you to event planners Angie&Co and Le Petite Prive) paired with our reader judges, helped us pick the best cake in Bergen County. We didn’t cut any corners and savored every single delectable and delicious layer, stacking some pretty amazing cakes against tough competition. Who’d we love? Read on for the winners of our Bergen Mama Cake Off – and thank you to all who participated!
Best Overall in Taste and Design - We Knead the Dough (Garfield NJ, 201-888-2222)
The light, slightly lemony, vanilla cake layered with perfectly sweetened and equally light vanilla buttercream delighted our panel and earned this cake our best overall- it was just that good. One judge even commented "I could eat this cake all day long", and when we counted our votes, this was the clearcut overall favorite of the day. Congrats to baker Lori from We Knead the Dough.
Best Overall in Taste and Design (runner up): Sweet Grace Cake Designs (Haworth, NJ 917.533.7425)
Wow-worthy design from this sweet bakery in Haworth, whose Mother's Day brunch concept stood out on our presentation table. A "pie" cake and coffee mug filled with pink champagne cake and a strawberry buttercream frosting made from scratch in their commercial kitchen, that any mom would love.
Best Taste: Whole Foods Bakery Paramus (Bergen Town Center, Paramus NJ, 201-226-1244)
Layers of chocolate and vanilla cake with flavored buttercream and fresh banana made up this award winning cake from Whole Foods Market, that pleased our panel of judges. And the bonus: Whole Foods Bakery uses only natural food coloring and sweeteners so you never have to worry about any of that icky stuff spoiling your special occasion.
Best Taste (runner up): GoodieBox Bake Shop (Cliffside Park, NJ 201-282-4344)
Any mom would be overjoyed when biting into a piece of Goodiebox's three layer cake, filled with moist layers of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry cake layered with buttercream icing. And if you're looking to jump on the drip trend bandwagon, this is your baker.
Best Design: Millers Bakery (Tenafly and Cliffside Park, NJ, 201-943-0400)
Gardening was the theme for this Mother's Day cake from Miller's and it brightened our judges morning with edible sunflowers and lillies. A chocolate crunch layer served as the "dirt" and also was included between layers of cake in this pretty garden box.
Best Design (runners up/tie)
La Promenade (Tenafly NJ, 201-567-2500)
A Mother's Day inspired watering can filled with flowers garnered "oohs" and "ahhhs" from our panel and the taste didn't disappoint which earned La Promenade a runner up spot for design.
Erie Bakeshop (Rutherford 201-460-0073)
After stalking their Instagram, we knew Erie Bakeshop would come to impress. And impress they did. Our judges loved the handpainted detail and the macaroons on top that were super yummy- and the fresh strawberry compote filling was so delicious, it left us wanting more.
