The 5 Best Whole Foods Cakes, According to Our Editors

When it comes to convenience, grocery store cakes take the top prize. If you need a last-minute dessert for a birthday or are having friends over for dinner and don’t have time to bake something sweet, these ready-to-eat creations are undeniably the easiest option.

Yes, you could opt for boxed cake mix, but that still involves turning on the oven, washing some dishes, and frosting the finished dessert yourself. We always love supporting locally owned, independent bakeries — where you’re likely to find the most moist, flavorful, and stunning cakes — but small businesses sometimes need several days to make a cake to order, and their prices might not be accessible for every consumer.

It’s reasons like these that prompt so many of us to turn to grocery store cakes, and going to the supermarket doesn’t have to mean settling for an inferior treat. Picking a grocery chain with a top-notch bakery department can be the difference between a dry, flavorless dessert and a cake that’s so good it stays in everyone’s memory.

The Whole Foods bakery is known for consistently providing quality products, from sourdough to its brown butter chocolate chunk cookies, and the cakes at the Amazon-owned chain are where its bakery really shines. Customers often share rave reviews of the creations online, specific Whole Foods cakes have become viral sensations, and our own Food & Wine editors are fans of several desserts from the store. 

We sampled a wide variety of seasonal and permanent cake offerings from Whole Foods to find out which ones you should pick up for upcoming party needs. These five frosting-coated confections impressed us the most.

Chocolate Eruption Cake

If you’re looking for a reliable chocolate cake, this one meets the criteria. Our photo editor, Doan Nguyen, describes it as “a good, moist, basic chocolate cake,” and that’s exactly what it delivers. The crumb is tender, it’s covered in a light chocolate buttercream, and chocolate mousse is sandwiched inside. 

The Chocolate Eruption Cake is best suited for milk chocolate lovers, as it lacks the intensity of a more bitter dark chocolate flavor. A simple glaze and chocolate curls sit on top of the whole cake — this is your reminder that you can get individual slices of most Whole Foods cakes when craving a personal sweet treat, giving it an elegant, party-ready appearance.

Figgy Foggy Chantilly Cake

This seasonal cake offering is unlike anything you’ll find at other grocery stores. As its name implies, the Figgy Fogg Chantilly Cake features figs and the flavors of a London fog — a creamy Earl Grey tea latte. Tea lovers will be happy to see that it lives up to its promise, with a rich Earl Grey frosting piped onto a simple chocolate cake. 

A fig spread set in the center of the cake layers provides a pleasant tangy acidity, while crisp chocolate pearls on top add textural contrast, mimicking the crunch of fig seeds. Special projects editor Lucy Simon notes that “the Earl Grey and bergamot add depth and complexity. I like the earthy fig jam and the crunch of the chocolate pearls.”

Carrot Cake Slice

It might be less convenient for a party — unless you pick up a few individual slices for a girls’ night or small dinner — but the individual Carrot Cake Slice was popular with our editors. (You can snag a whole carrot cake at Whole Foods too, but the recipe may vary somewhat depending on the store location. The slice will be made with the same recipe at any Whole Foods.)

The cake is moist and well-spiced, topped with a generous layer of creamy cheese frosting, which everyone agrees is the best part. Simon describes it as having “a nice balance of sweet and spice and tangy cream cheese,” the three qualities we’re really looking for in a carrot cake.

Gateau Basque

As someone who enjoys rich flavors, dense textures, and desserts that aren’t overly sweet, the Gateau Basque was undeniably my favorite “cake” from Whole Foods. The confection is really more of a cross between a cake and a pastry. A tender, crumbly dough scented with almond hides a thick layer of buttery pastry cream. The flavor is reminiscent of an almond croissant, which is a major bonus in my book.

Whole Foods offers full-sized Gateau Basque that are simply decorated with an apricot glaze and berries, but you could easily add more fresh fruit and a few edible flowers to make this look like an elegant dessert fit for any celebration. Like the Figgy Foggy Chantilly Cake, this item will only be around during the holiday season.

Berry Chantilly Cake

It’s impossible to write about the best cakes from Whole Foods without mentioning the wildly popular Berry Chantilly Cake — it’s so beloved that when the chain briefly changed the recipe in 2024, customers rioted online, prompting the supermarket to reverse course — and it deserves its spot on this list.

The light, airy cake is a crowd-pleaser that isn’t overly sweet and features an airy Chantilly cream frosting. The fresh berries hidden between vanilla cake layers might be the best part, providing pops of bright, fruity flavor. When you’re unsure what dessert to bring to a party, just pick up the Berry Chantilly Cake from Whole Foods, and we promise everyone will love it.