13 Bees, Fortitude Valley: This contemporary bakery, operating out of a hole-in-the-wall in the aptly named Bakery Lane, is perhaps best known for its spectacular decorated cakes and mouth-wateringly gooey cookie pies. But its team has plenty of other delightful desserts up their sleeves with a rotating menu of cheesecakes, brownies, gelato flavours and palacinke (Serbian-style crepes).

Bake It Bakery & Cafe, Underwood: Korean-inspired bakery and cafe Bake It is fronted with self-serve cabinets filled with delicious treats – both sweet and savoury – from salted-butter rolls and corn-and-cheese buns, to American-style levain cookies. It also serves an incredible spread of all-day breakfast and specialty cream coffee. But its hottest ticket item is the signature chubby donuts stuffed with cream in flavours like Earl Grey, Nutella, Oreo, tiramisu and strawberry.

Batch Cookie Bar, Brisbane City: Batch Cookie Bar is the handiwork of Ginger Mendoza, who has built a mini dessert empire on the back of her esteemed range of cookies from ube velvet crackle, caramel milk chocolate chip and funfetti-coated birthday cake cookies to the ultra-decadent triple-chocolate cookie. If you’re hankering for a sweet treat you can find these at Ginger’s bricks-and-mortar store at Uptown or Batch’s many market pop-ups.

BCC Dessert & Cake, Runcorn: Each delightful creation at BCC Dessert & Cake (formerly La Casamia) is made on-site by the owner-slash-head-pastry chef. The shop offers a wide range of sophisticated cakes such as Tiramisu on Glass (an Italian-mascarpone cheesecake), Valrhona chocolate torte with orange liqueur-infused chocolate filling, and coffee creme brulee made with Vietnamese-ground coffee.

Brooki Bakehouse, Fortitude Valley: Not much needs to be said about Brooki. The virally popular baked-goods dispensary usually has lines out the door, which means that if you’re a sweet-treat lover you’ve likely already joined the queue. Cookies are king here, but Brooki also makes macarons, cupcakes and cakes to order.

Butter&, Woolloongabba: There’s a secret ingredient in play at Butter& and discerning readers may already have their suspicions as to what it is. The homemade dessert hounds credit the use of high-quality French butter as the reason for the richness of the taste in their signature butter bars, Basque cheesecakes, freshly baked croissants, cookies and crookies (it’s a croissant with cookies in it. Thank us later).  

Cakes & Shit, Paddington: Sweet and sassy, Cakes & Shit has reached cult-favourite status for its chuckle-worthy, crude confectionery and strictly not-safe-for-work sweet treats. In its colourful Paddington space you can partake in coffee, slices, brownies, tubes of cookie dough and brownie batter, cakes (including some shaped like boobs, others like boners) and cookies (including the ever-popular bags of dicks and boxes of Misfortune Cookies). 

Chouette, Underwood: Korean-inspired dessert cafe Chouette is a beloved secret to Logan locals. With a mixture of familiar classics and Asian-style goodies there’s something to suit every sweet tooth, from generously-filled macarons, adorably cube-shaped cruffins, and best-selling snow rolls. 

Darvella Patisserie, Bulimba: Much has already been said about the primo pastries at Darvella, but did you know that it’s also a killer spot to pick up a cake? The patisserie’s cabinets are frequently stocked with baby cakes of all flavours – the perfect sweet treat to mark a celebration.

Docli Sapori, Clayfield: Brisbane pasticceria Dolci Sapori has been delighting customers in Clayfield since 2001 with its traditional Italian recipes, just like nonna used to make. From pasticcini to pastries, ricotta cannoli to traditional Italian birthday cake, immerse yourself in an authentic slice of Italia. 

Fluffy Souffle, South Bank: This store may be small but you’ll be able to spot it from the long line of punters it’s usually trailing out its front door. Serving southsiders their daily souffle fix, the menu is short and sweet – souffle pancakes with select toppings (seasonal fruit, brown sugar bubbles, creme brulee, pork floss) and an array of creme brulee, milk and fruit teas to wash it down. You can also grab a cheeky dorayaki (a small pancake sandwich-style snack) to go.  

I am ARI Dessert Cafe, Fortitude Valley: Adorable is the first word that comes to mind when considering I am ARI dessert cafe, from its cute and colourful fruit sandos to its doggone delightful crookies decorated with a little puppy face. The second word is delicious, like its Korean-style moist and chewy cookies (available in flavours from matcha velvet to corn and cheese) or matcha gateau. And when you combine the two, you get sizeable custom order cakes topped with novelty candles sold in store. 

Icing Hill, Fortitude Valley: An artisan cake patisserie and cafe, Icing Hill serves up show-stopping custom cakes for special occasions like birthdays and weddings. But truly, isn’t every special enough in its own way to justify cake? Icing Hill has your back, with a delicious daily cake selection up for grabs in store everyday, which may include durian crepe cakes, matcha double cheesecakes, or chocolate and banana mousse.

Jacorey Dessert Cafe & Patisserie, Fortitude Valley: A tiny cafe and patisserie tucked into the ground floor of an apartment building in The Valley, Jacorey’s wares are all made fresh on-site, from mini-brownies (available in dark chocolate, matcha, Lotus biscoff, and black sesame) to flaky croissants, real egg tarts and bite-sized cheesecakes. While you’re there check out its specialty cream lattes and seriously satisfying savoury sandos. 

Krazy Dessert Restaurant & Bar, Ascot: A dessert cafe may be a common enough concept, but what about a dessert bar? Inside Krazy Dessert Restaurant & Bar’s fluoro-futuristic aesthetic interior, you can treat yourself to souffle pancakes, bubble waffles, crepes, ice cream, shaved ice, fondue, cakes and more, while sipping on a Nutella martini or boozy Biscoff banoffee, served to you by their adorable robot waiter, Bella.

Milki Desserts, Sunnybank: Milki’s Asian-inspired desserts burst with vibrant colours. Rich purple ube and bright green pandan pop in their popular soft serve parfaits and fabulously fresh and fluffy bingsu (a Korean shaved milk ice dessert with sweet toppings). The sister-owned joint also slings waffles, mochi, adorable fish-shaped taiyaki and a sip-sational range of fun-flavoured lemonades and teas.

Mountain River Patisserie, Runcorn: One of the most widely beloved dessert spots on this list, Mountain River Patisserie is lauded for its picture-perfect offering. Patissier Sing Ho has reverse-engineered recipes of his favourite desserts, including pillowy Hokkaido cheesecakes (available in flavours like hojicha, matcha, black sesame and dark chocolate), castella (honey-infused sponge cake that originated in Nagasaki) and caneles (caramel-coloured treats with a crispy outer and seductively soft centre). You’ll also find strawberry and soaked-cheffy black forest cake, Hong Kong-style cream puffs and fluffy souffle cheesecakes on offer.

Pick a Cake, Hamilton: If you are looking for desserts with a bit of difference you can’t go past Pick a Cake Bake Studio. This Thai-owned bakery is serving up custom-decorated cakes that look as good as they taste (pretty damn good) alongside mouth-watering morsels you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere, like ube and taro chiffon cakes, triple-chocolate marshmallow cookies and Pung Sung Ka Ya (Thai pandan custard toast).

Small Cake Place, Runcorn: Good things come in little packages – take Small Cake Place, for example. Its artisanal baked goods fuse French and Japanese flavours and techniques, made from scratch with the finest ingredients and a little bit of joy mixed in with every bite. With their clean minimalist lines and bright eye-catching colours, the results are almost too pretty to eat.

Souffle Japancakes, Greenslopes: A sweet pink-hued cafe on Logan Road, Souffle Japancakes doesn’t just serve up the wiggliest, jiggliest, fluffiest stacks of souffle pancakes laden with decadent toppings like creme brulee, berry cheesecake, matcha and Oreo – it’s also a spot where you can get a gluten-free fix of these delicious treats. Sit out in the sun with your stack and pair it with extra goodies like a matcha latte or mochi gelato – yum!

Tea Station, Eight Mile Plains: Run by a Korean-Taiwanese couple, Tea Station is inspired by childhood memories, hometown flavours and the aesthetic of a really sweet train station. Serving the full suite of bubble teas, Tea Station’s dessert specialty is waffles. Korean waffles, Belgian waffles, croffles-on-a-stick… you name it, the Tea Station’s got it – dressed with all kinds of tasty toppings from fresh cream to injeolmi and special apple jam. 

Teaffe, West End: Self-styled as the “home of soft and chewy mochi in Brisbane”, Teafee is rightfully proud of its pillowy mochi and customised cakes. A cosy West End cafe, Teafee stays open late from Wednesday to Saturday enabling you to get a fix of the sugar you crave when you crave – be it giant, gooey cookies, sweet slices of cake and other baked goods or towering parfait sundaes. 

Veganyumm Dessert Bakehouse, Everton Park: Brisbane’s first all-vegan bake house Veganyumm is dedicated to providing plant-based alternatives to all your favourite sweet treats. From brownies, cupcakes, pies, cheesecakes, slices, and tarts, they’ve got them all as well as beautiful custom cakes available to order, providing to-die-for vegan sweets at any special events. 

Honourable Mentions: There are even more divine dessert spots that deserve a mention. If you’re looking for specialty cakes keep an eye out for Sweet Hands, Tico Bakery and Cafe Blue Sugar. Those looking for a high tea experience stacked with sweet treats can try Forget Me Not Cafe in Graceville and The Magnolia Kitchen in Ascot. And a special shout out has to go to the suburb of Runcorn which is a veritable cornucopia of dessert options  at the moment with 123 Dessert, The Wheat House and more!

Think there is a spot we missed? Send your recommendation to [email protected] and we’ll be sure to check it out as soon as we can!