When Cake bakery opened in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood in December, it joined a strip of Tennyson Street already populated by mainstay restaurants, such as Parisi, DJ’s Berkeley Cafe, and Big Hoss Bar-B-Q Steakhouse.

You can smell the intoxicating scent of butter, sugar, and cinnamon from the sidewalk—and you’ll want to follow your nose. The front counter displays an array of treats, including spiraled cinnamon rolls (some of the best I’ve tasted), pecan-studded sticky buns, flaky scones, and a half dozen varieties of muffins and freshly baked cookies (don’t miss the chewy pignolis).

A glass case further entices with freshly baked fruit pies, beautiful plum upside-down cakes, wedges of carrot cake, and bar cookies. Unable to decide, I left with several boxes in hand, but not until after savoring every last crumb of my morning selections: the doughy cinnamon roll and perfectly executed sticky bun.

Bonus: Feeling nostalgic? Cake’s version of strawberry Pop-Tarts beats Kellogg’s by a mile. If you’re hooked, check out the recipe for Pop-Tarts in Bon Appétit‘s April issue. Do I spy a budding trend?

3832 Tennyson St., 720-524-7362

Amanda M. Faison
Amanda M. Faison
Freelance writer Amanda M. Faison spent 20 years at 5280 Magazine, 12 of those as Food Editor.