Some of the most decadent (but daintily decorated) slices of cake in the city can be found at both the Leslieville and Yonge/Lawrence locations of this pastry stop. Flavours include the ever-popular chocolate and chocolate hazelnut topped with chocolate curls, as well as carrot, salted caramel, and plenty of gluten-free options.

This little shop near Bay and Dundas is both a homeware store and cafe, so you can stock up on everything from kitchen supplies to pantry staples. The bakers use all-natural ingredients and free-run eggs in their impressively-decorated chiffon buttercream cakes that come in flavours like s’mores and “Matchamisu."

This petite Bloorcourt bakery, nestled next to the Dovercourt entrance of Ossington station, is operated by a local creative who learned the art of baking and pastry at George Brown College. The shop is famous for numerous desserts, including flavourful cakes you can get by the slice like carrot, cheesecake, birthday, chocolate banana, pumpkin, and lemon.

Cake offerings change on the regular at this Kensington bakery cafe, but you can always be sure they're baked from scratch on the premises. Though the place is named for pie, cheesecakes and classic options like German chocolate or carrot cake can’t be beat. If you want something more adventurous, try the Coconut Cloud Cake or Harlequin Cake.

For a true European-style pastry shop experience, head to the Dufferin Grove neighbourhood on College Street. Though Barbershop Patisserie is the brainchild of noted Frech-trained pastry chef Jill Barber, you won’t have to overseas to indulge in her classic delicacies, like chocolate fudge, lemon meringue, and strawberry cheesecake.

The bakery and “cake lab” in Scarborough is one of five locations in Ontario, owned by season seven winner of MasterChef Canada, Christopher Siu. DaanGo is known for thoughtful flavour combinations and intricate styling, best seen in the comical “celebration pig” which looks like a roast but is, in fact, made of raspberry chocolate mousse.

This mom & pop business in the Danforth East neighbourhood is run by a husband-and-wife team who met at George Brown. It’s a traditional bakeshop, proud of its self-described “simple” and “honest” comfort foods, including a rotating selection of ready-made cakes in classic flavours like salted caramel, double chocolate raspberry, and red velvet.

Dundas West’s women-operated halal cafe is the physical location of virtual baking business Pastel Bakes, known for its artfully-decorated cakes. In person, you can grab some of the cake art by the slice, with all sorts of fun flavours to try, like Mango Passionfruit, London Fog, and Cherry Chocolate Cake.

This Japanese plant-based cafe in Little Italy is known for a variety of vegan and gluten-free desserts. Their popular cakes include delicious (and unusual) flavour combinations, like Blueberry Basil or Miso Caramel.