Nine great bakeries in South Jersey

What’s better than scoring fresh baked goods at your local bakery? Whether you’re a cookie fanatic or a cake enthusiast, South Jersey offers no shortage of options.

Head to Dulce Artisanal Bakery in Collingswood for fluffy Puerto Rican bread, or visit Desserts by Design in Audubon for creamy coconut custard pies. If you’re craving something more unusual, try Basak Premium Turkish Bakery in Cherry Hill for nutty, crispy baklava.

No matter what satisfies your sweet tooth, here are nine standout bakeries in South Jersey.

Tucked in the Tuscany Marketplace shopping center in Cherry Hill, Basak Premium Turkish Bakery offers a selection of Turkish and American desserts. Owner Niejmettim Gunaydim opened the shop in 2023, and it quickly gained a reputation for its homemade semolina cakes, rice pudding, and baklava, available in seven or eight flavors. Enjoy a hot Turkish coffee or tea with your dessert of choice, or stay for a breakfast spread that includes bagels, eggs with sausage, and melemen (a spiced egg dish) for two.

📍1990 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, N.J. 08003, 📞 908-504-0221, 🌐 basakbakery.com

At Crave, owner Kathleen Bianco is all about cookies at her four-year-old artisanal bakery in Pitman. There are 20 to 30 varieties, including cinnamon roll, pumpkin snickerdoodle, chocolate chip, and s’mores — some decorated with buttercream for the seasons. If cookies aren’t your vibe, brownie and cake bars, pumpkin whoopie pies, and other baked goods are also offered. Take your pick — there are gluten- and vegan-friendly options, too — and enjoy at one of the three tables inside. Crave also has a second seasonal location in Harbaugh Village in Mullica Hill.

📍9 S. Broadway, Pitman, N.J. 08071, 📞 856-690-1111, 🌐 cravepitman.com

Known for its homemade semolina bread, Aversa’s Italian Bakery has been a family-run institution since 1982. Owned by brothers Anthony and Ralph Jr., the bakery offers a line of pastries including cannoli, cream puffs, cakes, cookies, and doughnuts. There is also a deli with preprepared foods and a market with plenty of Italian groceries. “It’s a one-stop shop,” Anthony Aversa said. The bakery has locations down the Shore, too.

📍801 South Black Horse Pike, Turnersville, N.J. 08012, 📞 856-227-8005, 🌐 aversasbakery.com

Chef Josué Santiago Negrón‘s pastry shop serves homemade mallorcas — fluffy sweet Puerto Rican bread — and guava and cheese danishes on the weekends. But that’s not all the 10-year-old bakery offers. During the week, explore a wide selection of French-inspired pastries that combine Negrón‘s culinary experience with seasonal ingredients. There’s dulce de leche tarts, beer brownies and breads (incorporating New Jersey brew Eight & Sand Beer Co.), and churro cruffins. Sip on Royal Mile Coffee Roasters coffee with your pastry of choice.

📍740A Haddon Ave., Collingswood, N.J. 08108, 📞 856-942-0254, 🌐 dulcecollingswood.com

In Audubon, Desserts by Design is a family-run hometown bakery making homemade baked goods. The Price family owns and operates the shop with Rene Price managing things up front and her brother, pastry chef Richard Price, in the kitchen. Folks can find a variety of cakes, cookies, and pies — think white chocolate mousse and carrot cakes, sugar and butter cookies, biscotti, and pumpkin and coconut custard pies. The bakery is closed Sundays and Mondays.

📍105 W. Merchant St., #1423, Audubon, N.J. 08106, 📞 856-310-0044

Classic Cake has been a Cherry Hill staple, recently reopening its newly renovated retail location. With a “have a delicious day” mural up front, folks can pop by and explore the display cases of pastries, cheesecakes, and pies. Executive pastry chef Michael J. D’Angelo whips up storefront desserts, along with cakes for any occasion in the store’s cake studio. The 2,100-square-foot store offers 24 seats if you’re in the mood to hang out with a cup of coffee and dessert.

📍486 Evesham Rd., Cherry Hill, N.J. 08003, 📞 856-751-5448, 🌐 classiccake.com

Pastries are the name of the game at Karen Morrison’s 17-year-old bakery. Folks will find fruit danishes, coffee cakes, sticky buns, tea biscuits, doughnuts, cookies, and much more inside Sweetsboro Pastry Shoppe. Elaborate and flavorful cakes are big sellers, too, particularly the specialty cakes (think Italian rum and strawberry shortcake) — and if you have something specific in mind, the bakery will create a custom cake for your special occasion.

📍1302 Kings Hwy., Swedesboro, N.J. 08085, 📞 856-241-7722, 🌐 sweetsborobakery.com

In 1987 on Valentine’s Day, Marge Davidowosh opened her family-run bakery, after years of working as a pastry chef for Hyatt Hotel. After 38 years, Sweet Eats is a neighborhood favorite with 40 different cake flavors. The cakes, which are a popular item on the menu, come in a variety of sizes, including 16-inch round cakes and those that serve up to 70 people. But that’s not all Davidowosh sells. There are plenty of pastries, including cheesecakes, lemon bars, blondies, and key lime tarts to choose from. “You name it, we make it,” she said.

📍310 South Burnt Mill Rd., Voorhees, N.J. 08043, 📞 856-429-2005, 🌐 sweeteatscakebakery.com

For a taste of South Philly, visit one of Cacia’s Bakery locations throughout South Jersey. Co-owner Sal Cacia said the family-run bakery is known for selling “good Italian bread the old fashioned way, by hand.” Snag freshly made sliced loaves, hoagie rolls, rum cakes, cannoli (they have a pumpkin flavor), danishes, and elaborately decorated cakes in Williamstown, Cherry Hill, Hammonton, Blackwood, and Haddonfield.

📍879 12th St., Hammonton, N.J. 08037, and other locations, 📞 609-704-9002, 🌐 caciabakery.com