The Cake Bake Shop is an extraordinary and enchanting dining experience! The gorgeous bakery and restaurant is the fanciest spot around to enjoy Afternoon Tea, a fabulous brunch, pretty cocktails, and a decadent slice of cake! From the moment you walk in you’ll be dazzled by the sparkling chandeliers, whimsical decor, antiqued mirrors, French-inspired furniture, beautiful teapots, and the aroma of freshly baked pastries and cakes.
Whether on a romantic date, a girl’s night out, brunch with mom, a birthday celebration, or just because a reservation opened up, The Cake Bake Shop is the #1 choice for a special dining experience. It is five-star food, five-star service, and five-star ambiance every time. With the highly anticipated opening of The Cake Bake Shop Disney, there will be 3 locations to visit and enjoy a slice of heaven!
The Cake Bake Shop
Gwendolyn Rogers, president and owner of The Cake Bake Shop, is a self-taught baker and resilient entrepreneur. In 2014, Gwendolyn opened her first shop by transforming a fixer-upper house in Broad Ripple, Indiana, and decorating it with items from her own home. Five years later, she opened a second shop in Carmel’s City Center and it is a huge hit. Now, a third location will be opening, bringing exquisite dining, delicious Afternoon Tea, delectable desserts, marvelous champagne, and fanciful cocktails to Disney’s BoardWalk at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida!
The Cake Bake Shop is The Best!
We aren’t the only ones who love this woman-owned business! In 2022, The Cake Bake Shop was awarded the Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award, ranking them among the top 10% of restaurants listed on Tripadvisor! The Cake Bake Shop was also awarded as one of the Top 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America in 2023. Their accolades and awards list is never-ending, but The Cake Bake Shop is also one of the Best Brunch Spots, with the Best Hot Chocolate, Best Cake, and Best Ambiance. Reservations usually book out 3 to 6 months in advance, so plan ahead if you want to spend a special occasion here.
The Cake Bake Shop Menu
At The Cake Bake Shop, you will find a Lunch & Dinner Menu, a Drinks & Bar Menu, and a Desserts Menu. There are also special Afternoon Tea menus.
Lunch & Dinner Menu
On the Lunch & Dinner Menu, there are hors d’oeuvres including truffle pomme frites, crab cake with remoulade, and a charcuterie board. For salads, choose from the lemon Caesar, warm goat cheese, blackberry avocado, or the green goddess. Both the broccoli quiche and the ham, rosemary & goat cheese quiche come highly recommended. For soups, the chicken velvet soup is an L.S. Ayres classic.
The sandwich list is extensive with the croque-madame, the New Orleans shrimp po-boy, and the French ham & brie sandwiches as standouts. For entrees, fill up with steak frites, chicken piccata, or angel hair with basil & tomatoes. A children’s menu is available for kids 12 and younger. In addition to the standard grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches, kids can also choose salmon sliders, hamburger sliders, or buttered noodles.
Drinks Menu
The list of fancy drinks is impressive! Each pot of Dammann Freres tea serves 2 to 3 people. There are coffee & espresso drinks and a French Press coffee pressed table-side in the traditional French style. Try the rose cappuccino, bumblebee latte, sparkling lavender lemonade, pixie pop, or the petunia punch. For a special little birthday, order the unicorn hot chocolate! You won’t be disappointed!
Bar Menu
On the Bar Menu, you’ll find unique cocktails like the Aperol Spritz, Graceful Swan, and Kir Royal. Topping the signature cocktails list is Gwendolyn’s Famous Cosmopolitan followed by The Cake Bake Shop Shake Up which you can opt to be served in a souvenir porcelain swan cup. The Cake Bake Shop’s Rose Bubbles was created by Gwendolyn in partnership with Jean-Charles Boisset. It is grown, bottled, and labeled in France.
Desserts Menu
All desserts at The Cake Bake Shop are hand-made daily with the highest quality ingredients. Gwendolyn’s Famous Earl’s Court Chocolate Cake received awards for the ‘Best Chocolate Cake’ at the London Cake & Bake Show in 2012. Oprah’s ‘O’ List Mint Chocolate Chip Cake was featured on Oprah’s ‘O’ List in the April 2018 edition of ‘The Oprah Magazine.’ In addition to cake, there are several pies, cheesecakes, french pastries, ice cream, sundaes, cookies, brownies, and bars to choose from. It isn’t easy, and you might have to plan a trip back to try something else next time!
Although the menus at all locations are similar, not all offerings are available at every location. Check The Cake Bake Shop website for a full menu list for each location.
Afternoon Tea & Children’s Afternoon Tea
Afternoon Tea is a beautiful tradition that began in nineteenth-century England. The Cake Bake Shop honors the tradition by providing guests with a one-of-a-kind experience. Dine in the beautiful shop, sipping tea, eating finger sandwiches, and decadent desserts, and feel like royalty. Afternoon Tea is $65 per person and is served Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and reservations are required.
Children’s Afternoon Tea is served to children 12 and younger. The Children’s Afternoon Tea is $45 per child and the menu consists of homemade scones, finger sandwiches, and patisseries (like French macarons, chocolate truffles, and a raspberry jam crumble bar) served with hot chocolate, lemonade, or French tea.
3 Gorgeous Cake Bake Shop Locations
The Cake Bake Shop Carmel City Center
800 South Rangeline Road Suite 260, Carmel, IN 46032
The Cake Bake Shop Carmel City Center is the largest and arguably the most glamorous of the three shops, with hundreds of Swarovski crystals glistening on chandeliers above and grand French doors welcoming you in. Featuring indoor seating in several different rooms, outdoor patio seating, and an enclosed all-seasons patio, the Carmel location is great any time of the year. There is also a swanky bar with bar seating and a whimsical store to visit while you wait to be seated. Peruse the cakes, pastries, macarons, cookies, brownies, and candy behind the glass or splurge on tea sets and ornaments.
Once seated, you’ll continue to appreciate the attention to detail on every table, wall, chandelier, and in the attire of the servers. While most people look forward to the desserts at The Cake Bake Shop, I always order a pot of tea that comes in the most elegant teapot with beautiful teacups and saucers. You also can’t go wrong with the chicken velvet soup, quiche, or any of their salads and sandwiches.
Located in Carmel’s City Center, you can make a whole day out of your visit to The Cake Bake Shop Carmel. Park for free in the Veteran’s Way Garage right next to the shop, and visit Kits & Caboodles Classic Toys, Bath Junkie, Linden Tree Gifts, 317 Home, Oliver’s Twist Paper + People, Out of the Blue Polish Pottery & Gifts, Hey Diddle Diddle Baby + Child, Baseline Social, and Addendum. Pop over to Hotel Carmichael for live music in the lobby bar or walk down to the Center for Performing Arts and catch a show at the Palladium and Tarkington Theaters. If you want to burn off those dessert calories, walk the Monon Trail to Midtown Plaza Carmel for free some outdoor fun.
The Cake Bake Shop Broad Ripple Village
6515 Carrollton Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46220
Step into a magical fairy tale when you visit The Cake Bake Shop Broad Ripple Village. Whether you are looking for a place to celebrate your birthday with your family, have an elegant lunch with friends, or dine in an enchanted willow rose haven for a romantic date night, the beautifully decorated shop in Broad Ripple is the perfect place. There is a small outdoor patio lined with flower boxes and an extra large community table inside perfect for a small event, baby, or bridal shower.
Everything on the menu is house-made from scratch daily with the commitment to the highest quality and ingredients. Delicious three-layer cakes, as well as cheesecakes, pies, cookies, and other desserts fill the elegantly designed display case and are served daily. For the savory side, you’ll find an expanded lunch and dinner menu featuring some traditional dishes as well as the signature quiche or chicken salad. The menu and decor change seasonally to ensure every experience is a new one.
While smaller than the shop in Carmel, The Cake Bake Shop Broad Ripple bursts at the seams with charm and personality. Transformed with care by Gwendolyn herself from a fixer-upper house on Carrollton Ave., the original location was Gwendolyn’s first shop after teaching herself to bake. She brought in items from her own home to decorate the shop, including ornaments, holiday decor, and stuffed animals that belonged to her children. Today, it exudes romance and elegance from the flowers to the bar to the chandeliers to the enchanting decor.
After your visit to The Cake Bake Shop Broad Ripple Village, meander through the heart of Broad Ripple over to the Monon Trail. Take a stroll on the Monon Trail north towards the White River and cross the bridge for a wonderful view. Stop at the Indianapolis Art Center on the way back to stroll through their gardens and appreciate the art installations in nature. There’s plenty of shopping in the area as well. Hit up Broad Ripple Vintage, Good Earth Birkenstock, Newman & Co resale & consignment, Indy CD & Vinyl, Shop Tibet, Pitaya, or The Bungalow Inc.
The Cake Bake Shop Disney
Disney’s BoardWalk at Walt Disney World Resort
The Cake Bake Shop Disney is coming soon to Disney’s BoardWalk at Walt Disney World Resort. The highly anticipated opening will be The Cake Bake Shop’s third location and will feature both a bakery counter and a table service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon tea, desserts, and cocktails in an exquisite atmosphere filled with magic and wonder while you take in the views of Crescent Lake at Disney’s BoardWalk.
The restaurant will be located in the former ESPN Club location. You can expect the same elegance and sophistication as The Cake Bake Shop’s other locations, with cakes on platters topped with glass domes, chandeliers and crystals, fancy teapots, whimsical decorations, and flowers galore. Walking into The Cake Bake Shop is like walking into a magical fairy tale, so it’s only fitting that a Cake Bake Shop should operate in the land where dreams come true!
Shop The Cake Bake Shop Bakery & Gift Shop
The Cake Bake Shop offers a walk-up bakery and gift shop where you can purchase cakes, cheesecakes, pies, lemon bars, cookies, macarons, candy, truffles, Pixie Jam & Jelly, quiche, and scones. Peruse the selection while you wait for your table to be ready and stop back in after your meal for goodies to go. The Cake Bake Shop gift shop bags are gorgeous, which is a plus!
Commemorate your experience with an ornament, cake toppers, or a tea set to bring home. If you have someone in your life who loves The Cake Bake Shop, you can purchase cake toppers, dolls, bracelets and charms, porcelain swan cups and bowls, assorted ornaments, tiaras, cake stands and domes, baseball caps, cutting boards, candles and candle holders, champagne flutes, dinner plates, cups and saucers, teapots, and t-shirts in the gift shop and online.
Plan Ahead for an Enchanting Dining Experience
Reservations
You definitely want to make reservations early if you want to visit The Cake Bake Shop. While they do accept walk-ins based on availability, they usually book out months in advance. So if you have a special occasion or a large group, hop on Open Table and reserve your seat early. All Afternoon Teas require advanced reservations. Make sure you note the special occasion as they will print a beautiful card to stand on the table for the guest of honor!
Photo Opportunities
There are a ton of photo ops at Cake Bake! So dress up and get there early to take advantage of the gorgeous setups. At The Cake Bake Shop Carmel, there is a sweet wooden chair swing on the side of the shop which is a neat shot by yourself or with a loved one. The windows have changing whimsical scenes as well. Around the holidays, there is even a mailbox to drop off letters to Santa! The storefronts of all of the shops are a wonderful backdrop to any photo.
Once inside, there are many places that make a great backdrop, like the fireplaces, the gift shop, the bakery shelves, the giant swan in the Carmel shop, the swanky bars, the seasonal decor all around, and just sitting at your table. The plates, teapots, cake, and pastries are so pretty!
Special Events
The Cake Bake Shop is a wonderful place to host a baby shower, wedding shower, anniversary dinner, birthday party, or ladies’ tea. The shops are divided into several different spaces (not just one big open floorplan), so a gathering in the shop will feel intimate no matter how busy they are. Call the stores directly to plan your perfect party!
Do you love dessert? Do you love fancy tea shops? Looking for other places to host a gathering? Check out IndyWithKids.com for more great ideas on things to do and places to go! If you’re in Carmel, there are a ton of other great restaurants and date night hot spots. In Indianapolis, check out these family-friendly restaurants, and places to grab an adult boozy dessert drink.
What are your favorite menu items at The Cake Bake Shop? Share your comments and pictures with us below or tag us on social media using #PLAYindy. Follow Indy with Kids on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest for all of the best ideas and things to do with kids in Indy!
