Cookies, brownies, lemon bars, mini pies, and all other manner of delights reign at the Frosted Fox Cake Shop, but this Mount Airy bakery’s custom cakes really — well — take the cake. Designed to to reflect even your heart’s strangest whims (a Guy Fieri-inspired cake, anyone?), Frosted Fox is the go-to for all celebrations, big and small. Custom orders can be made by phone or stop by the shop to pick up treats of the more handheld variety.

All kinds of sweet Colombian treats are available at La Caleñita Bakery in Olney. Whether you’re interested in pan de queso, panderos, or pastel de maiz, you’ll find a tantalizing array of pastries and desserts alongside sandwiches, arepas, and empanadas.

This old-world German bake shop in Mayfair has been pumping out the same apfelknodel (apple dumplings), bienenstich (bee sting cake), and butterkuchen (butter cake) since 1930, and after three generations in the family has changed. German sweets are the specialty, of course, but don't sleep on the Washington cake — a Philadelphia tradition dating back to the 1700s.

At Stock's, pound cake is the name of the game and there isn't any better in the entire city. A bite of the pillowy cake turns to an almost fudge-like consistency, and the icing on top is good enough to eat alone. Try the marble cake, too.

Noelle Blizzard is a true wizard of baking: At her cottage bakery New June in Fairmount, Blizzard can make everything from a beautiful wedding cake to a wonderful tart, all decorated and dressed up immaculately. Her custom cakes in flavors like clementine and chocolate and cardamom pistachio will make any occasion feel extra special. Custom orders can be placed through New June’s website.

At the Kettle Black in Northern Liberties, husband-and-wife team Marc Basile and Claire Ogilvie make traditional French viennoiserie and breads that are genuinely wonderful (plus, their dedication to the expression “wake and bake” is endearing). And while it seems like it couldn’t be done, the bakery’s croissants, pain au chocolat, and cinnamon buns have just-as-good vegan counterparts. Don’t sleep on the bubbly bagels!

Bakers and chefs Kyle Cuffie-Scott and Joe Loupe bake and sell giant brownies, iced cakes, and other treats alongside lunch and brunch options at Darnel’s Cakes in Northern Liberties. Not only are the baked goods great, the mission of Darnel’s is worth supporting, too: The bakery raises money and awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

After Jezabel Careaga relocated her Fitler Square cafe to her West Philly coffee shop, bakery, and studio, Jezabel’s is still Philly’s top spot for Argentine sweets like alfajores and sweet custard-and-quince vigilantes. Order a chef’s selection pastry box on the weekends and you’ll get a king’s ransom of sweet goodness.

If you have leftover space in your stomach after inhaling a roast pork sandwich from Porco’s, the sandwich shop next door to Small Oven Pastry Shop (both owned by chef Chad Durkin), there are more than enough treats to fulfill your post-pork sweet fix. Precious petit fours, chai cinnamon buns, and and a “cannoli 2.0” with a baked cinnamon shell are all on the menu to entice visitors to the popular Graduate Hospital hot spot.

The ricotta cookies and filled-to-order cannoli are unbeatable at Isgro, a century-old shop you can smell from two blocks away. Be prepared to wait in a long line around holidays, when it seems like everyone in South Philly is stopping in for a box of assorted butter cookies.

The pastry counter at Fitz & Starts in Queen Village is a thing to behold: morning buns, croissants, colorful fruit tarts, marbled brownies, and more keep neighborhood locals coming back daily. (The lunch and dinner service are great, too.) Try them all with a to-go latte — or skip the coffee and just get the unbelievably good monkey bread and savor it by itself. Pastry special orders can be made online in advance, too.

Elegance is in high supply at Cake and Joe, the Pennsport pastry and coffee shop started by longtime friends Sarah Qi and Trista Tang. The French pastries on offer are magical: airy, light mousses in dreamy colors and fruit tarts so delicate they feel almost too perfect to eat. Almost.

Known for its killer cannoli and long history in Philadelphia, the flagship Termini Bros. location is still a necessary destination for Italian treats of all kinds. Need someone to translate pignoli, musticiolli, imbutitti, scumetti, and quorasemali? Don't worry, the friendly staff is there to help.

Husband-and-wife team Andre Chin and Amanda Eap have been in the pastry-and-bread business since 2002, and though the buzz has died down in recent years (due in part to the countless new spots opening in the Passyunk Avenue corridor), the bakery’s standard offerings still hold up. Show up for the flaky pistachio croissants, stay for the crunchy banh mi.

Sisters Rhonda Saltzman and Mercedes Brooks are the geniuses behind Second Daughter Baking Co., an artisan bakery that crafts beautiful wedding cakes, elegant tarts, and fudgy, gooey brownies inside the Bok Building. The brownies, as you’ve likely heard, are award-winning and not to be missed. Orders for local delivery and pickup can be made online, and luckily you don’t have to be in Philly proper to enjoy many of Second Daughter’s treats: Saltzman and Brooks ship non-perishable goods like brownies, focaccia, and cookies nationwide.

When the retail cafe outpost of the Machine Shop pop-up opened in the beginning of 2022, there were instantly lines out the door. Eager Philadelphians gathered at Bok Building to get a taste of pastry chef Emily Riddell’s quince kouign-amman, twice-baked almond croissants, lemon tarts with toasted meringue, and sourdough breads. Every pastry at Machine Shop is worth the wait. Just get there on the early side — Riddell frequently sells out.