Over the past few weeks, the food section of social media has been hijacked by dot cakes. The viral treat sells at Butterfield Market in Manhattan for $11 a cake and comes from The Dot Cakes, a bakery on Long Island.
What exactly is the dessert? Well, it’s a cake in an individual portion cup with a layer of frosting and tiny sprinkles on top. Even though the treat is simple, the gorgeous look of the colorful sprinkles is what has people lining up around the block at Butterfield.
If you don’t live in New York but are still captivated by the trend — or if you simply do not like cake — here are a few variations you can recreate at home.
Dot Sundae or Milkshake
Earlier this month, Shake Shack released a Vanilla Dot Cake Shake and Vanilla Dot Cake Sundae at their West Village Shack. Unfortunately, the two items were only available for one day, but TikTok creator@_gloyoyo created the perfect ice cream sundae recipe. Using a Funfetti cake mix, thinly spread the cake batter on a cookie sheet to bake. Once cooked, scoop a circle of cake into the bottom of a round glass. Then, layer with your choice of ice cream. Finish by putting sprinkles onto a plate and dipping the ice cream-filled glass to create the dot aspect.
Dot Cookies
Emily Juju created the perfect cookie recipe for those who prefer a crunchy cookie over the soft texture of a cake. Mix and bake your cookie dough, let cool, then cover the cookies with icing and sprinkles. You can also buy pre-made sugar cookie dough and icing from your local grocery store if you don’t want to spend your time baking from scratch. For a gluten-free, vegan version, try Sweet Loren’s cookies instead.
Dot Donuts
User @bb.esthetique turned a simple boxed cake mix into donuts. Whisk your cake batter and pour the mix into a piping bag. Tip: You can fold a Ziploc bag in half and cut a small tip at the bottom to create one. Pipe the batter into a donut mold, then let it bake. Once cooked and cooled, pipe frosting onto the donut and dip the dessert in sprinkles. The baker created the perfect donut recipe that anyone can make at home.
Dot Bagels
Are you a dessert-for-breakfast person? Well, dot bagels are the perfect match for you. User @hhbagles filmed a quick video to show the internet how to create a sprinkled bagel. The best part is that you only need three ingredients: bagels, cream cheese, and tiny sprinkles. You can also swap the bagels for any type of bread, from toast to a baguette.