A viral dessert is taking social media by storm heading into the summer months — “dot cakes.” Those curious will be able to taste one in Pittsburgh.
It’s exactly what it sounds like: a cake with frosting, but fully speckled with dots (aka sprinkles). Bethel Bakery, with locations in Bethel Park and Canonsburg, started selling them on Friday, said Natalie Lacek, the marketing coordinator there, and they will be available until June 20.
Dot cakes are a new viral TikTok trend, offering a colorful take on traditional cake. The dot cakes are covered fully with designs made of sprinkles, Food & Wine reported.
Specifically, Food & Wine said dot cakes use spherical sprinkles, which are often called nonpareils, in the designs that fully cover the frosting of each cake.
“We saw the trend online, and some of our staff were excited about the trend,” Lacek said. “We started experimenting a little bit and just thought that it would be fun.”
Bethel Bakery, which has been around for more than 70 years, is making them with confetti batter cake, a thin layer of its signature French buttercream and rainbow nonpareils, she said. The $6 creations can be seen on its social media page.
“We thought this would be a fun way to hop on the trend and see if our customers would want them,” said Lacek, and people have definitely been showing interest. “We’ve already got a few preorders for them.”
Preorders can be made on Bethel Bakery’s website, she said, and must be made 72 hours in advance.
“All of our in-store items are first-come, first-served,” Lacek said. “We bake them fresh. We could run out in the stores just per day; ordering online guarantees your product in store for pickup.”
The Baked Bean & Bakery in Mt. Lebanon also announced that dot cakes would be available while supplies last.
The original dot cakes come from The Dotcakes, a bakery based in Roslyn, N.Y., according to People magazine. They’re technically referred to as Dotcups — small cups of either classic white, chocolate, vanilla chip or red velvet cake topped with a layer of frosting coated in rainbow nonpareils.
Some are more elaborate than others, and some are homemade.
TikToker Anna Sitar made her own chocolate-flavored dot cakes. The video has garnered over 2.8 million views as of Monday.
@annaxsitar MY NEW FAVORITE DESSERT UNLOCKED.
Another TikToker, Ashley Markle, posted a dot cake recipe video on her treats account that now has 20.7 million views.
@ashleymarkletreats so we can officially make the viral dot cake at home and it’s my new favorite little treat ???????? Ingredients: 1 box @Funfetti cake mix 3 eggs 1 cup water 1/2 cup oil funfetti vanilla frosting rainbow nonpareils sprinkles Instructions: In a large mixing bowl, mix cake mix, eggs, water, and oil until well combined and transfer to a greased square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes, covering with foil halfway through. Allow to cool completely, then press greased ramekin into the center and twist to remove. Allow mini cake to slide out of ramekin and slice through the center to create 2 layers. Place bottom layer back in ramekin, top with a layer of frosting, then place top layer of cake with another layer of frosting spread evenly to the edges. Cover in rainbow nonpareils, allow to chill and slightly harden in the fridge, then take a center bite and enjoy! ???? #cake#recipe#baking#dessert#creatorsearchinsights♬ original sound – ashleymarkletreats
Bethel Bakery already sells rainbow nonpareil cakes in all sizes year-round, Lacek said, and it can be ordered with whatever flavor batter people want.
“The only difference between that and this is these are in little cups to go with (the) trend,” she said. “We’re just really excited and definitely a colorful way to start the summer season — definitely good for kids, too.”