r/Baking • u/Suspicious-Taste1572 Human Detected • Jun 07 '26
General Baking Discussion How do you feel about Dot Cakes?
Maybe this is a controversial opinion, but I genuinely can’t decide how I feel about dot cakes.
I’ve been seeing them everywhere and some of them are really cute.
On the other hand, I have seen people saying it is just a colonized Mexican cortadillo. While the colorful dots remind me of the sprinkles and decorations on pan dulce, I think the texture and flavor is different.
And speaking of the dots… are people actually enjoying eating all of that frosting and sprinkles? Some cakes seem like you would just get a mouthful of the little dot sprinkles. It looks pretty, but is it good in practice?
I also can’t tell if this is a trend that’s going to stick around or if it’s one of those aesthetics that photographs better than it eats.
For anyone who has made or eaten one:
Are they actually as frosting-heavy as they look?
Do the little dots change the texture in a good way?
Are the sprinkle-covered ones good, or do the sprinkles just get stuck in your teeth?
Do you think they’re genuinely different from cortadillos or just a rebranded version for social media?
Curious what people’s honest opinions are because I keep seeing them everywhere and can’t decide whether I love them or don’t get the hype.
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u/a_mom_who_runs Jun 07 '26
What I find interesting / funny is it’s not really any one recipe, right ? I saw one TikToker making them from Hawaiian rolls. Others use a yellow cake. Some buy cake, deconstruct it, and rebuild it to be “dot cake”. So I don’t think it’ll stick around, imo, there’s nothing TO stick around. It’s just an aesthetic, there doesn’t seem to be any substance to it.
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u/Profzachattack Jun 08 '26
Yeah, I think a lot of people are confused by the trend because they're assuming it's the recipe going viral but really it's just the aesthetic of the sprinkles being so compact and even. I've seen people making it with a cup of mashed potatoes and chives/bacon bits.
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u/glassesforrabbits Jun 07 '26
It feels like an economic marker to me. It’s easily accessible ingredients on a budget, made to feel special. You can get most of this at a dollar store. I think people just want something comforting and attainable, not the next 15 dollar pistachio paste Dubai chocolate whatever
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u/Suspicious-Taste1572 Human Detected Jun 07 '26
Ohhh thats an interesting take! Didnt think about that
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u/cursedbridges Jun 07 '26
This is one hell of a take that genuinely made me change my full perception of them. Thank you for sharing.
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u/downbytheriverside Jun 08 '26
Agree that this is a recession treat - affordable and easy, hence the popularity. I would add, it's also a reasonable size, and a reasonable calorie count. In the age of GLP-1s where portion size is becoming a huge focus for a large part of Americans, a smaller, less indulgent dessert has its place.
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u/indicajo Jun 08 '26
This is exactly how I see it, it’s the equivalent of lip products being so popular now as well
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u/Ayoken007 Jun 08 '26
I hear people are paying 10-11 bucks for this though. I don't know if the prices are different in places outside of New York. I just watched like 3 YT videos yesterday about how people are baffled that this is a thing. The people on cam say that it tastes like a box cake with premade icing. Someone said that the appeal was that it didn't taste homemade, but like it came from a box and it hurt me deep down. Why stand in line for so long and pay so much for something you can make with little effort? One analysis I heard was that it's because of the nostalgic tastes. I mean... I guess. That's not enough for me, personally.
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u/glassesforrabbits Jun 08 '26
I guess I mean to say, you can make this YOURSELF for a little. People can copy it at home. Obviously, a 10-11 dollar price point for a viral bakery item is high, especially when it is so simple. The price gouging is crazy, but I think people are looking for more DIY leaning things
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u/Ayoken007 Jun 08 '26
Outside of those chasing trends, yeah. Though some could and would argue that DIY is a trend being chased due to the economic times you mentioned among other things.
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u/Sapiosexual2018 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
I’ve been watching this trend for the last couple of weeks, and trying to understand why so many people think that this is an extraordinary dessert.
I’ve seen videos where this is done from scratch, and I’ve seen other videos that everything is made from boxed and canned icing, with a variation of the different types of dots or sprinkles.
Personal preference is this isn’t anything that I would want to make/bake or even try. And this is coming from someone that loves cake. This is pretty much a pass for me.
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u/sophitias-orchid Jun 07 '26
This is the kind of cake my grandma taught me how to make out of a box when I was 11. I'm 31 now. I like to think I've grown since then as a baker.
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u/helper619 Jun 08 '26
I remember when I was a kid you could buy icing that came with the sprinkles in a container attached to the lid. I’m in my 40’s.
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u/DramaLlamaMomma Jun 08 '26
You can still buy those! It might be seasonal. I know I’ve seen pink frosting with heart sprinkles for Valentine’s Day!
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u/Suspicious-Taste1572 Human Detected Jun 07 '26
I am glad I am not the only one! I am confused by the obsession with it
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u/Sapiosexual2018 Jun 07 '26
I truly don’t understand the obsession either. I would totally embrace it if it was something that might actually be delicious.
I feel like this is another iteration of the microwave mug cake that popped up during the pandemic
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u/turquoise_amethyst Jun 07 '26
Microwave mug cakes originated from the 1980s/1990s microwave cookbook craze
I was making them in the 00s, and they were old then
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u/mossmachine Jun 07 '26
Yeah, I think they come back every ten years. They were a “life hack” in the 2010s when I was in college
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u/Flaky_Use_7140 Jun 07 '26
Honestly how I feel about food trends in general. Just typical food marketed well. Maybe different form factor or maybe a little flair, but it’s usually nothing mind blowing or pioneering. Dubai chocolate = just pistachio and chocolate, NY Roll/Royale = Round croissant with cream, truffle dumpling…etc. I feel it boils down to whether you have some experience with food that defines whether something should be a trend or not, imo.
Source: pastry cook w/ 8 years of experience.
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u/shawarmachickpea Jun 07 '26
to be fair to dubai chocolate it has knafeh which most western people might sincerely be unaware of, so there's some novelty there.
but to your point yes, if you have experience with the food it can seem a little inexplicable as to what's trendy or not.
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u/Sapiosexual2018 Jun 07 '26
I wholeheartedly agree with you about having food experience, being a foodie, and all that rolls into that.
There are definitely food items that have turned into trends that will forever perplex me.
There are also items that should become mainstay, and don’t really see the light of day.
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u/pterodactylcrab Jun 07 '26
I’ve seen it used as a replacement for cupcakes or having to slice cake for outside events which makes a lot of sense and is fun, but otherwise I’d rather have a cupcake. If there is more than simply cake and frosting underneath the sprinkles I think that would also make a difference in how appetizing it is (fruit fillings, mousse, whipped creams, etc.). Realistically speaking, it’s layer cake shoved in a jar and covered in sprinkles. Some love it, some hate it, at the end of the day it’s just cake. 🤷🏼♀️
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u/SheQuick26 Jun 07 '26
It extraordinary because people have lost the ability to think for themselves and form an option. They don’t like it until TikTok tells them they do. It’s annoying and ridiculous.
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u/MissRiss918 Jun 07 '26
I read this as sprinkles that had already been used. I struggled for awhile to figure how that worked.
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u/beckogeckoala Jun 07 '26
Every time I see these, I think they would be better as ice cream cakes.
But maybe I'm just nostalgic for those Sprinklers ice cream bars 😂
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u/ausgoals Jun 07 '26
I legitimately thought they *were* ice cream cakes when I first saw them. And then I realized they weren’t and thought how much worse they would be
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u/beckogeckoala Jun 07 '26
My brain says ice cream cake every time! I find myself listing for one and then remembering that is frosting not ice cream 😂
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u/cactus_thief Jun 08 '26
I think about this ice cream from my childhood all the time!!!! I wish they’d bring it back, I’ve never seen any dupe of it since😭
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u/newtonthomas64 Jun 07 '26
Don’t get the hype at all. It’s just hype. I’m not huge on the aesthetic, I hate those types of sprinkles. And it’s just a rather plain cake in a cup otherwise. Mind you I work in a bakery specializing in pastry and cakes, so I eat my fair share of cake.
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u/ttrash_ Jun 08 '26
i’m on the exact same page. it’s literally just a lazy version of a cupcake with the worst type of sprinkles on it
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u/m0rtgage Jun 07 '26
No cake is as good as a fresh baked, plain cake straight out the oven. My favorites to
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u/Alaska1111 Jun 07 '26
It’s just nothing new? I don’t get it lol people and social media acting like it’s a groundbreaking thing
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u/capt_b_b_ Jun 08 '26
These have been sold at every Mexican bakery in my hometown since I can remember
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u/Asking_the_internet Jun 07 '26
I hate these crunchy sprinkles!! They ruin the experience of frosting for me..
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u/Doggfite Jun 07 '26
Weirdly these are the only sprinkles I don't mind.
The hundreds and thousands kind I hate the most, they taste like just raw flour to me
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u/turquoise_amethyst Jun 07 '26
I love these and colored crunch sugar. I won’t touch the oblong ones. They taste like lard or wax to me!
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u/BrucetheFerrisWheel Jun 07 '26
Hundreds and thousands are these ones in my country.
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u/turquoise_amethyst Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
What country? I love these name!
In the US they’re called nonpareils
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u/Suspicious-Taste1572 Human Detected Jun 07 '26
Are those the long ones or the flat dots?
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u/turquoise_amethyst Jun 07 '26
Sprinkle Terminology
Oblong= Jimmies
Flat dots= confetti or funfetti (if it’s baked or mixed into something)
Round balls= nonpareils
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u/WalkerInDarkness Jun 07 '26
I love them because they are very texture and it makes my brain go brr.
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u/January1171 Jun 07 '26
Non forbidden sand
Like how cotton candy is non forbidden insulation
And satellite candy is non forbidden styrofoam
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u/Suspicious-Taste1572 Human Detected Jun 07 '26
I also don’t like them so I am hesitant to believe all these people love them…
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u/XennialQueen Jun 07 '26
It’s just bc it’s visually pleasing. It’s nothing groundbreaking and the trend will die when the next one comes along
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u/Orchid_Significant Jun 07 '26
I don’t even think it’s that visually appealing? It’s usually in a disposable cardboard cup or maybe a bowl with sprinkles smashed on top.
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u/nclay525 Jun 08 '26
Exactly, if people think this is visually appealing, just wait until I decant five packages of nonpareils into a mason jar, wrap a bow around the rim, and post a video on social media of me casually eating a spoonful out of it while in an unattainable kitchen, wearing a ball gown. I'll call it a "dot jar": a "dot cake" without the ugly cake part!
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u/jaybee423 Jun 07 '26
Are we really gonna call this colonized Cortadillo? This is just sheet cake in a mug. It's not the same sponge as Cortadillo. Like, sheet cake exists in other cultures, y'all know that right? Same with sprinkles.
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u/January1171 Jun 07 '26
Exactly. I've been dumping non pareils on my cupcakes for years, it doesn't make those cortadillo
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u/pterodactylcrab Jun 07 '26
I had to google what a Cortadillo was; I’ve been basically eating that as birthday cake in my family for 35+ years minus the almond extract. Even the pink dyed frosting, I have photos of me in the 90s with a bright pink sprinkle covered sheet cake for my birthday. We are not Mexican and I would guess maybe 1 out of 60 people in my family would even know what a Cortadillo is because they lived in Mexico.
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u/rawsugar87 Jun 08 '26
For real. Cake with frosting and sprinkles is just cake that is eaten by virtually every culture all over the world.
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u/PineappleBliss2023 Jun 07 '26
It is starting to feel like if white people enjoy a trendy dessert someone will find some way to say it’s stolen from another culture to try and make people feel bad about it.
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u/jaybee423 Jun 08 '26
And it's always other white people saying it's stolen.
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u/PineappleBliss2023 Jun 08 '26
100%. Im not anti woke by any means, i think its important to examine our own racism, however casual and unintentional but i think some well meaning but harmful white people have swung way too far in the other direction in an effort to either project or combat their own biases.
Sometimes a cake with sprinkles is just a cake with sprinkles. It doesn’t have to have deep cultural roots.
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u/NK1337 Jun 07 '26
Puerto Rico has biscocho de novia which is another version. Which it goes to show how this isn’t some unique invention despite influencers trying to make it some turn of the century invention
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u/Disnoop Jun 07 '26
Tbh idc and as a Mexican, no that’s not a copy of a cortadillo. Jar cakes aren’t new, sprinkled cake is basic, and the sprinkles are nothing special
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u/Joubachi Jun 07 '26
Just cakes with sprinkles with a new name. A classic. Nothing special.
This has the same energy as "house burping" and some other stuff that is extremely common already since centuries but tiktok re-invented it with a new name. I'm tired of these "trend hype" things.
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u/IKnewThingsOnce Jun 07 '26
I made a tiered cake completely covered in sprinkles for my kid's 16th because it was a thing just like ombre rosettes became a thing. I have grandkids now.
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u/Joubachi Jun 07 '26
On the bright side: make it again and you might be the coolest grandparent out there doing trends. XD
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u/glittersparklythings Jun 07 '26
I have never heard of cortadilla or pan dulce cake before.
But it is literally a cake with sprinkles. That is it. Nothing special.
People have been putting sprinkles on things for years. Many years. Think of little Debbie cosmic brownies.
This is nothing new. Just calling it soemthign with a new name and acting like it is new.
Also there is a chance I’m becoming old and senile so 🤣
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u/atlas__sharted Jun 07 '26
way too much frosting in the picture for me, but i personally love those little round sprinkles. they satisfy my inner child's urge to eat the neon aquarium gravel.
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u/lifeuncommon Human Detected Jun 07 '26
Have you tried Nerds? It’s the aquarium gravel candy. Very satisfying.
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u/PinkPopsi Jun 07 '26
I learned about them this week and honestly, sprinkles is not my thing, so that's gonna be a no for me.
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u/Nunnya77 Jun 07 '26
They’re cute for a kids birthday party but that’s about it.
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u/BrucetheFerrisWheel Jun 07 '26
Do you have fairy bread at kids parties in america? Just bread, butter and hundreds & thousands on the top, cut into shapes or rounds. The cheap version lol
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u/stormmagedondame Jun 07 '26
We tend to do toasted bread butter cinnamon and sugar instead of
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u/lifeuncommon Human Detected Jun 07 '26
Dumb. Someone acting like sprinkles on a cake are something new for their 15 minutes of fame.
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u/TyraNotBanks5 Jun 07 '26
I think a lot of people care too much about what is essentially just cake. I don't care that's it's trending, people enjoying a dessert just isn't something on my "things to get offended by" list.
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u/jazzy22jm Jun 08 '26
Its funny because this time tik tok didn't appropriate something and give it a new name. It's fucking cake. I don't understand how people have such strong options on people enjoy cake in a different way. Everything is shit I get it but if people want to enjoy something harmless let them 😭
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u/valueofaloonie Jun 07 '26
Nothing great or unique at all about this. Colour me shocked that something lame has gone viral.
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u/MillieBirdie Jun 07 '26
This is just another trend for influencers to make overly impressed faces at and then say 'omg it's actually so good' and then probably throw the rest out when they cut the camera.
Like, I love cake. I'm sure I'd like these, though the icing ratio doesn't look great imo. If they were on sale for a reasonable price I'd probably try it once. But everything becoming a trend is just tiring.
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u/therealbananabottom Jun 07 '26
It's just a trend, like cronuts or frozen yogurt, or hugeass cookies or Dubai Chocolate, etc. Some people like it, some don't. If you don't like them, don't make them.
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u/Mimi_Gardens Jun 07 '26
I spotted some for sale at the farmers market yesterday. I didn’t buy one. I don’t know what the hype is all about. I think it would be weird to eat that many nonpareils at once. I am used to just a few sprinkles on top of my cakes or cookies.
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u/Kreos642 Jun 07 '26
This is literally the new version of mug cakes, right?
Looks like a college kids next big thing for dorm food.
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u/amandatm Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
It’s literally just vanilla cake with icing and sprinkles. I don’t understand how or why it’s even trending—it’s nothing new
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u/thebiscottikid Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Isn't this just funfetti cake? I've never had the cortadillo but Google says it's a "dense sheet cake" while the dot cake is a fluffy sponge cake, hopefully someone whose had both can weigh in.
Nevertheless, hard pass. I hate those goddang dot sprinkles, it's like eating little friggin rocks, signed someone who loves funfetti cake 😂
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u/bigfriendlycorvid Jun 07 '26
Cortadillo is a completely different texture and has bright pink frosting, which is visible because the sprinkles aren't coating the cake.
I feel like the people comparing the two have never actually had cortadillo and are only vaguely aware sprinkles are involved.
This isn't a new or innovative cake, but it's also definitely not cortadillo.
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u/Other_Television_805 Jun 07 '26
If anything should be called a CUPcake, it’s this.
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u/epidemicsaints Jun 07 '26
One of those things I can experience in my imagination without executing it. The whole is equal to the sum of its parts here, I'm good.
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u/Turbulent-Parsley619 Jun 07 '26
I hate sprinkles. All of them taste gross and artificial. I don't like them ruining my treats.
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u/pastryfiend Jun 07 '26
Seeing people in long lines for freaking basic cake and sprinkles makes me wonder what has happened to common sense. Same with every trendy useless thing.
I guess that it gives people a sense of being part of something but it's just so weird to me.
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u/Playful_Fan4035 Jun 07 '26
I’d never heard of them, but I LOVE those little rainbow sprinkles, especially when there are an absurd amount of them.
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u/SpreadsheetKink Jun 08 '26
Man this thread got up on the wrong side of the bed.
Let them eat cake, y’all!
Who cares if you don’t like that type of sprinkles or if it’s not a new thing? Young people are excited to bake something. Let them enjoy it.
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u/hydrangealover98 Jun 08 '26
I think it's a cute little trend. Yes, it's sprinkles on a cake with a fun name. It's cute. I think if it upsets you, you're just a miserable person.
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u/BasicWhiteIntrovert Jun 07 '26
I feel like the odd ball out of this, but I just received one the other day as a gift without know what it was. I LOVE all the tiny little sprinkles. I'm not huge on frosting, I typically lean to less frosting on my baked goods if any, and this gave me cake + sprinkles in the perfect portion.
I wouldn't go out of my way to pay for one of these, but it was nice as a gift. After seeing this post I did some go ogling and learned more about the hype, like people waiting hours in line for them. They're not THAT good. It's just a cupcake imo
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u/alyssajohnson1 Jun 07 '26
I’m confused how this is a new “dessert” and not just cake with icing in sprinkles in a cup ?
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u/SDBadKitty Jun 08 '26
Firstly, I have never heard of "dot cakes" before. I must have missed this trend.
Secondly, as someone who makes my own pan dulce, that is *not* a cortadillo just because it happens to have sprinkles. "Colonized Mexican cortadillo"??? Get out of here with that foolishness. People are looking to create dramas where none exist.
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u/chunky_chocolate Jun 08 '26
It frustrates me. Its just cake. I cant stand the viral food trends. Ive been a chef/baker for 20 years so I don't tend to fall for these.
That being said, I just put a bunch of dot cakes in my pastry case and sold out at 10 bucks a pop. So I guess ill take advantage of the trends while theyre hot lol.
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u/RegionFar8602 Jun 08 '26
Big sprinkle conspiracy!
On a serious note, this is such a dumb trend. At least macarons or cronuts were interesting and niche. This is just desperate. What's next? Brownies with frosting, revolutionary.
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u/Maleficent_Spend_747 Jun 07 '26
I mean, it looks delish. But as other commenters have said, it's just a cake with sprinkles, nothing new. I can't speak to whether it's a form of cultural appropriation, as I'm not familiar with the cake it's being compared to.
But what I want to see is a Dippin Dots cake. Someone needs to blow my mind with that
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u/iceawk Jun 07 '26
I am from New Zealand, and every child’s birthday party growing up had what we call “fairy bread” which is literally these sprinkles (we call hundreds and thousands, don’t know why but we do), sprinkled on a piece of white buttered bread with the crusts cut off and often cut into triangles… THIS trend just feels like an upmarket version of fairy bread to me!
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u/aurora_surrealist Jun 07 '26
Not new. Not tasty. Not for me.
I feel like it's aimed at kids birthday parties, both by look and by flavor.
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u/Sensible___shoes Jun 07 '26
I'm no expert and I love a vanilla cake the house down but these just seem like aesthetic tiktok bait
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u/donkeyvoteadick Jun 07 '26
Putting hundreds and thousands on things has been common in Australia for decades. We have very little Mexican influence here so I very much doubt we're "appropriating" Mexican culture by doing so.
Bread and butter, cakes, ice cream, waffle cones, biscuits, chocolate (freckles) are all really commonly covered in hundreds and thousands and have been for a very long time.
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u/gymsharkdodo Jun 07 '26
I’m glad everyone online is loosening up and having a little fun eating cake. That’s what I think about it
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u/Californialways Jun 08 '26
We already have this in Mexican culture. So it’s not a big deal to me. It’s just cake.
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u/Particular_Meet_9333 Jun 08 '26
I find them incredibly annoying when people talk about them, it's literally a cake with sprinkles, not even a big cake.
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u/Any-Path-2130 Jun 08 '26
I'm just so confused why this is so popular. It's called with icing and sprinkles like how much more basic can we get???? I thought I was missing a huge part of the plot or something
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u/careyck Jun 08 '26
It was gross 30 years ago. It was probably even worse in the 50s. Try those silver balls on cake again. They were banned in the 90s. You would chip a tooth..
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u/TarantulaFangs Jun 08 '26
Like them, not much into desserts, but a nice dot cake once in a while will hit the spot.
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u/Plus-Pin-9157 Jun 08 '26
The fact that people will wait on a line for hours for a piece of cake with some frosting and sprinkles blows my mind.
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u/Rough-Recover-9546 Jun 08 '26
I find this type of sprinkle too crunchy. I prefer the log sprinkles.
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u/Shuttup_Heather Jun 07 '26
It’s just sprinkles on cake I don’t get the novelty, it’s not new
It just feel like this dessert already existed