I am SO impressed by the at home baker community in Austin. Sometimes, I think some of these treats are even better than the restaurants and brick-and-mortar bakeries in town. My favorite cake and favorite cookie fall into the hands of these bakers, and I can’t imagine how often I’d eat them if I could just go into their stores everyday. I guess that is what also makes them extra special as you can see who made your dessert when you pick it up from them, and you know it’s made with love and hard work. Below is my list of current favorites, and I can’t wait to keep adding to it!
Best Austin Desserts from At Home Bakers
I’ve been following Ryn from Scull House Sweets for a while now! She is a hospice social worker by day and making the most comforting desserts by night — what a jewel of a person! You’ll recognize her chocolate chip cookies on the homepage of my website. She makes incredible pop-tarts, which she calls hand pies, as well as celebration cakes! Upon first bite of the Chocolate Chip Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing. my thought was that this is the texture and excitement that people think of when they hear “birthday cake.” I love how tiny the chocolate chips are, and the yellow cake is soft and how a yellow cake should be. It tastes homemade in the best way and not like a fancy, fake cake from a wedding or something. I LOVE the peanut butter icing. The chocolate crunch layer on the top of the S’mores Cake with graham cake, brown sugar marshmallows, and vanilla buttercream provided great texture and if you are a marshmallow person, this one is for you. Other flavors Ryn specializes in are: Oreo with Chocolate Ganache; Almond Cake with Raspberry Filling and Almond Icing; Earl Grey and Lavender Cake with Vanilla Icing; Matcha Strawberry Cake; Ube; and Banana Pudding Cake. She can do any flavor you ask for and usually does 8” with three layers or 12” with three layers. Check out her order form for cookie flavors, cinnamon rolls, and cookie cakes, and tell her I sent you!
This at-home Taiwanese baker, Stacy, moved to the U.S. a few years ago and is making some of the most creative pastries in town! Lucky for us, she drops her box for pre-order on Wednesdays for pick up on Saturdays! I’d say you probably haven’t had flavors or desserts like this. Think Milk Rolls with fresh taro glaze; a Banana Coffee Cake with caramel sauce and mascarpone that was super dense and soft; a Basque Cheesecake; and a Guava Jam pop tart with delicate pie crust. This was all just ONE box as you order per box, not per individual pastry. You know I prefer chocolate, but Stacy made me love Basque Cheesecake just as much as a cookie or chocolate cake! The unique flavors of all her pastries are divine, but the Cookie Butter cheesecake is what got me out of bed at midnight just to have one more bite! Stacy is a single mom of three kids so I also really loved buying a box from her after watching everything she does on instagram and knowing exactly where my money went. Check out her menu with flavors full of ube and sesame, all different cakes and no basic cookies or brownies.
Twin brothers Eric and Kurt launched Kurty’s Cookies as a side hustle, and because they’re so passionate about their 4.5 oz. cookies that really are soft throughout with great flavor. When you heat them up for 14 seconds like Eric told me I should, you really pump up that doughiness and perfectly melty chocolate on the inside. The guys change their flavors every month, and so far, they’ve had red velvet with cream cheese, lemon tart, and Mexican hot chocolate to name a few, but they always have the chocolate chip, which is my go-to! You you can grab cookies at the SFC Farmers’ Markets in Republic Square or Sunset Valley on Saturdays, or have them delivered to you on Saturdays!
Butter Days is from an at-home baker named Chelsea, who is a UX designer by day and baker by night. Her cakes are dense like a loaf or pound cake and covered in gorgeous flowers and piped buttercream. It’s a masterpiece of art, and I like that you can get a 3-inch size to maybe try a few different ones, instead of one big cake, because then you can try a variety of flavors — who can choose one?! I’m also all about having a plethora of desserts for a party or a birthday, so I think this size is your best bet if you want to have cookies and ice cream or something else to accompany your cake. I got the standard rectangle shape in the 3-inch size with Berries & Cream, Devil’s Delight, and Lady Lemon. What stood out most for me and where my fork kept guiding me was the interior of these guys, packed with extra flavor. I loved the strawberry jam that moistened up the cake and the chocolate fudge in the middle of the buttercream. The buttercream is very fluffy and whippy, and the chocolate buttercream in particular is just the best. You have to try the School Bus Sally with funfetti cake, edible sprinkle cookie dough, and funfetti vanilla bean buttercream if it’s available! DM her at @ButterDays_ATX to order, and the pick-up is in Westlake. I loved her cake so much that Chelsea and I partnered in 2025 to create the Miso Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake and P.B.P. Cake, which were available for a limited time!
These half-pound cookies are gooey with crisp edges and full of semi-sweet chocolate. Theresa drops four flavors weekly, so I tried Chocolate Chip, Confetti Sugar, Salted Peanut Butter, and Cookies and Cream. My favorite of the pack was the Peanut Butter with milk chocolate chips, PB chips, and a homemade filling. You can order a box of four cookies for $28 during the week and pick them up on Saturdays.
I found home baker Karla’s cookies on Instagram, and I could tell they weren’t chasing a trend and that she cared about ingredients and what flavors mattered to her. The cookies are plump, but not too outrageously big, and enjoyable enough that you’d want this treat regularly. I love the chocolate chip and the amount of sea salt she applied, but her other flavors are just too unique to not share! While the homemade strawberry jam in the Matcha Cookie knocked my socks off, I think the Biscoff Cookie really took home the number one prize for me. If I were you, I’d just go ahead and order them all to try. You’ll have a hard time picking a favorite, and you’ll feel so much joy between each bite.
25-year-old baker Emily is adorable and cares so much about her ingredients. She started baking layer cakes for Austin when she couldn’t get a gluten free cake ordered in time from Gati/Thai Fresh. Her menu is entirely gluten-free and dairy-free, but she does use eggs, and it’s all made with natural whole food ingredients such as coconut sugar, maple syrup, avocado oil, and coconut yogurt – that’s why it’s so soft! I love how unique and creative her cake flavors are, like the Chocolate Fig Pistachio cake. Let me tell you that while it’s a vanilla cake base, it LOOKS and almost has a hint of a gingerbread taste with some minor clove and cinnamon to complement the fig jam thatt is oh so sweet and balanced out by the soft cake, then topped with chocolate frosting that is also very light and comforting. Beyond cake, Emily’s brownie with chocolate frosting and sprinkles is SO dense, and I devoured it, plus she has cake balls for something smaller and cupcakes as well. You can order all of her treat drops here, and custom order a cake here!
Ok wow, when I saw the icing and petted it with my finger, I KNEW Side Piece was my style. While it’s called buttercream, it’s not fluffy and airy, but sweet and slick and just the way I like it. As soon as I sunk my teeth in this cake, I was struck by the moistness of the chocolate cake first, and then a little taste of the perfectly salted caramel chocolate icing. This is THE best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. Now, when I say that, I’ve definitely had chocolate cake that is just as good, but nothing is better than this one. It reached my PEAK expectations! I almost finished the whole thing, but then I got distracted by the Strawberry Hibiscus. I love how layered the cakes are because it gives an equal opportunity for cake to icing to jam ratio. This icing is made with Ella’s homemade strawberry jam and hibiscus poured into the icing, and at one point, I had a stand-off between these two. Ultimately, I did ignore the Tart Lemon — not because it wasn’t good, but because I was so in love with the other two, and I am a certified choco-holic. If I didn’t have the other two, I’d be raving about the lemon just as much if that helps answer any questions. GET SIDE PIECE. The home baker, Ella Tasso Adams, is a private chef and celebration cakes are her side gig.