Bent Fork Bakery

After trying many Chicago cake tastings, we felt like most bakeries missed the mark when it came to flavor. Bent Fork Bakery completely changed that for us. Our wedding cake was absolutely incredible, both stunning to look at and unbelievably delicious. Every bite was full of flavor and had our guests raving all night. We chose the almond cake with cream cheese frosting and another layer with strawberries as the filling, and honestly, it was the best cake I’ve ever had. Our guests couldn’t stop talking about it. On top of that, our dessert table was a huge hit. Not a single treat was left by the end of the night, which says everything. Liz was an absolute joy to work with. She was kind, attentive, and so easy to communicate with. She made the entire process stress-free. Our wedding cake was a true highlight of our celebration. We couldn’t have asked for a better bakery!

Everything from Bent Fork is amazing— high quality, flavorful and made by the best! I’ve loved so many treats over the years— blueberry lemon bread, chocolate hoho’s, fun flavored bars and cupcakes, key lime pie, mini pies and more! I recommend it all!! Support local and always shop at Bent Fork for your bakery wants and needs! There are always multiple employees offering to help or answer questions— but you can’t go wrong with anything you order! One of everything is going to be the best way to go 😉

Long before I met my husband, I decided that my wedding cake would come from a boutique bakery in the city but after their $50 tasting box fell short, I was disappointed to have to add “find a bakery” back onto my already long list of wedding tasks. I did a few tastings with other bakeries and was honestly close to giving up on desserts altogether because I couldn’t find something that WOW’d me. Enter Bent Fork Bakery. I ordered a few tasters (two layer take home cupcakes in custom flavors) and upon diving in, I was blown away and once again excited about our wedding cake! We ended up ordering a 3-tier wedding cake (each tier a different, AMAZING flavor), a groom’s cake (decorated perfectly!), a gluten-free cake, plus an assortment of regular and gluten-free desserts (cookies, bars, biscotti… OMG their toffee cookie is drool-worthy!!). Every single item was absolutely incredible and the gf treats were so good that when our caterer accidentally mixed them in with the regular items, no one even noticed! We are still getting compliments from guests about how amazing the desserts were! And working with Liz was a dream! We communicated solely through email (my preference) and she was responsive, easy to communicate with, and made the whole process stress-free! I’ve been back several times since our wedding and recently tried their homemade ho hos. I heard these were really good but I was never a fan of the original so I was reluctant to try them… but WOW, now I’m hooked!! Bent Fork Bakery completely exceeded my expectations, and I’ll be recommending them to everyone I know. If you’re looking for desserts that will WOW, Bent Fork Bakery is the place!

Ordered cookies and mini cupcakes for a baby shower. They were as delicious as they were beautiful! I recommended Bent Fork to everyone (well, everyone who didn't already know about them)!

After having the joy of tasting Bent Fork for my birthday for the first time last year, I knew we had to get our wedding cake from them! We ordered a cutting cake for ourselves, and a few different flavors of sheet cake for our guests. I have never been to a wedding where all of the cake was eaten! We ordered more cake than we even needed, and our guests cleaned house! It was DELICIOUS! Thanks for the tasty memories!

My favorite bakery ever! My family adores the smiley face cookies, the frosting is amazing. Their pies aren't anything to call home about, but the s'more bars definitely are. The prices are nice and the staff are attentive and helpful.

I ordered a Lilo and Stitch custom birthday cake for a 2 yr old birthday party. They nailed it!!! And the cake was very moist. I'm not a frosting girl, so moist cake is a blessing.

I recently visited The Bent Fork with my daughter who lives in Lake Bluff. What a cute and amazing bakery! Everything was so delicious and fresh. We purchased sugar cookies, muffins, and a small cake for my mom's birthday. They were so nice and accommodating. We ordered a large cookie cake and cutout cookies for my younger daughter's engagement party. So beautiful and the cookies were amazing! The owners really care about customer service and even delivered the cookies to my daughter's home due to a mix up with the order! They are by far my favorite bakery and whenever I visit from Wisconsin a must to go there! Thank you for making our engagement party even better with your beautifully crafted desserts! Thank you for truly caring about your customers!

Your new favorite bakery First off let me say I am extremely picky about cake. It has to be moist. It has to be flavorful. I can't have too much sugar or not enough. I have been known to pay $90 to have cake from another state shipped to Chicago.. and still I would say this place has one of the top 5 cakes in the country. Worth the drive and so much more affordable for a 8" cake than gold belly :))) Try their cheesecake brownies they were amazing too.

I love Bent Fork! All the sweets are delicious and the custom orders always turn out so well. They are organized and make me feel secure that my order will be correct. It is a small space which I think adds to the excitement and fun of picking out treats for a special occasion.

Delicious!!!!! Employees can be curt, but can you imagine having to be a ray of sunshine every moment (with the influx they have) when you're THE BEST? The cakes were stupid good. I drove an hour - stupid good.

We recently moved to the area and discovered bent fork! We ordered my sons birthday cake from here and it was great! However, yesterday I came to buy some cookies/pasteries, I got there at 3 on the dot (I understand they close at 3). All the workers were in looking at me as I was knocking on the door and one lady was waving her finger back and forth saying no! You would expect better from a local bakery! This is why small businesses get a bad name and end up going to a big box stores/ grocery store bakeries.

You can't go wrong if you have a sweet tooth that needs to be satisfied! The brownie is so decadent! It's not overly sweet. It's nice and gooey. The other I forgot the name. It's kind of like a dream bar. Everything balances so well!

Such a cute bakery! The M & M cookie was delicious and the cicada cakes were so on theme! The cicada cake was the perfect portion for one person and it was super cute given what is happening in the area right now. Highly recommend!

Go to bakery for birthday cakes and always a good selection of carry out cakes, cookies, pies, etc. as well.

Their pastries and cakes are delicious. Service is great. Small place so it's a little tight.

My daughter wanted an "animal crossing" theme cake and boy did the bent fork deliver!! We took it all the way to Nashville and it was delicious! Just ordered another cake plus a smash cake! Paczki day is coming up and they have the most delicious donuts to celebrate, all kinds of fillings!

Great selection of desserts. They make dessert party platters and delicious cakes, bars, cookies and cupcakes. Cute shop. My only complaint is the service - kinda rude. Maybe they are overworked?

Amazing bakery. This place rocks. It all started with their ho ho's that took a baker's vision and paired with old school after school treats for boomers and made them into today's disconcerting palate experience. Nice way to start. Then we added a cake for our son's birthday and let me tell ya, it blew us away. If you're looking for something truly special for an event, the B- Fork took, ahem, " took the cake."! Frosting was creamy and delicious, super sweet. Moist chocolate cake dazzled on the tongue and complimented the frosting sweetness perfectly. Oh, did I mention that it was a s'more cake with dusted graham cracker outside and marshmallow frosting and garnished with well, amazing ness.

Very rude staff. Sub par baked goods. Was happy to find another, better and cleaner bakery elsewhere.

We love this place. It's our suburbs version of Sweet Mandy B's. The toffee cookies are delicious. And the prices are very reasonable.

We were lucky enough to get a Bent Fork cake for our wedding. 10 years later, it is now the gold standard by which we judge every other cake. These days we often make a big detour just to pick up a Bent Fork cake and have it for a special occasion, though we have learned to get two cakes because the first will often get eaten before we even get a bite!

Everything I've eaten from here is tasty, but the homemade ho ho's are a truly amazing dessert and I wish I had gone home with 20.

There are no shortage of good bakers and bakeries in the area so usually my issue is deciding where to order a cake from. However, when it comes to carrot cake (my husband's favorite) Bent Fork wins the award! I ordered a few weeks ahead with no issues, although also got a confetti cake just a few days ahead of time. Both were amazing, but I can't imagine not getting carrot cake in the future from here because it's so good. I tried once at my husband's party and the next day to just eat a few bites, but impossible not to eat an entire slice. Annnnnd it's carrots so that makes it healthy - riggghhht? My one complaint is that they can't make it without nuts for my nut allergic son, but they are probably part of the reason it tastes so good. I've had plenty of other 5 star treats from Bent Fork too so highly recommend for all your sweet treat needs!

Wow!!! Delicious and so fresh. Enjoyed the Peach Crumble, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. Chocolate Chip Cookie and the smiley face sugar cookie. Each one was excellent. Great staff

I served The Sheffield specialty cake at a wedding shower and it was ah-mazing! Very fresh and delicious with a hint of lemon, fresh raspberries, perfectly subtle flavors. This bakery does amazing cakes and they are a pleasure to work with.

5 Stars - I know stars aren't doled out just for fun. I know this. They're just that good. But, here's an even a truer mark: if at all possible, daughter who comes from the city to visit always plans her trip to stop at the bakery. Think about it. There are tons of bakeries, donut shops, pastry shops in the city, but she makes a point of squeezing this shop into her schedule. Given her tastebuds, she could be a professional taster. Anyways, you get the idea. 5 stars.

This is a solid bakery in the HP area. Why so rude? Almost every time I order something the vibe is not helpful, rushed and just a lack of kindness.

Delicious cake!!! My mother in law ordered for my husband and i's birthday. It was incredible! Live in the city but will be making a trip up to high wood just to try what else they have to offer!

This is a cute little bakery/antique shop in downtown Highwood. Not much in the way of antiques, but the treats are delicious. They have everything from ruggelah to homemade hohos and a wide assortment of some of the best cookies I've ever had. They are very popular so if you want something specific I would suggest you go early. Definitely will be back!

I went here for the first time to pick up a pie and had an absolutely incredible key lime pie-- one of the best I've ever had! Now, I've been back a second time to get an apple pie and berry crostata (also fantastic) and I'm planning another trip to try their other baked goods! A major hit that's become a fast favorite!

We placed a very large order with Bent Fork Bakery for our wedding reception, and let's just say our desserts (aka the creations made by BFB) were the talk of the weekend. It has been a month since our reception and our friends and family are still talking about how delicious our dessert table was. We ordered the intense brownies, cream cheese brownies (made custom by our request), chocolate chip cookies, m&m cookies, peanut butter buckeyes, rice crispy treats, vegan strawberry cupcakes, and gluten free sea salt caramel brownies. Every single one was incredible. BFB delivered the desserts for us too which was so helpful to have that option and the delivery price was extremely affordable. Thank you so much BFB for everything you did and continue to do to make memorable experiences with your delectable treats!!!

Worst customer service ever!!!! They are beyond rude. I've been going there for years and feel compelled to finally complain. I realize they are busy with it being the holidays, but that is no excuse! This is not the first time I've had issues with them. The owners need to talk to their staff about how they treat people.

Their Strawberry GF birthday cake was the single greatest luxury I've ever had in the 30 years of being celiac. A new birthday tradition has been established!! Bless everyone at Bent Fork for the drastic improvement in my quality of life.

Bakery treasure on the northshore of Chicago! Buttery true goodness in every item. Worth the visit! Order your cakes here! Truly a gem

How about that storefront, eh? That bubblegum pink facade is so cheerful and inviting! Look closely at what's lined up along the window and you'll notice vintage miniature stovetop ovens that go with the retro theme of the shop. Once you step inside, you'll see more vintage knickknacks and decor. Admittedly, I popped in 10 mins before closing and felt a bit rushed... Although I went in with a mission to buy a cupcake, I still wanted to take a good look at all the different goodies since it's my first time there. I was actually surprised by how much was still left on display--cookies, bars, cupcakes, cakes, macaroons, bread, chocolate-covered pretzels and more! I bought a giant cupcake made with yellow cake and chocolate frosting and a Carmelita, a bar made with gooey caramel, chocolate, and oatmeal crust. It was so rich and decadent!

If I could give ten stars I would. My first experience with the bakery was when I ordered my wedding party cupcakes from Bent Fork, both regular and vegan. They were SO good - everyone loved them, including my husband and I. Since then, I've been back many times, and everything we've tried has been 10/10. I highly recommend!!

This is the spot to go for any & all cakes in Lake County. Highly recommend ordering ahead of time to make sure you get what you need. It's not because they are slow but many people share the same opinion that I do.

I had super, super high expectations after hearing from someone that this bakery was amazing and then seeing all the Yelp reviews. We came all the way up to Highwood and picked out a selection of 5 treats to share amongst 4 of us for dessert. They have a wonderful selection and it was really fun being in the store. However, tasting them all later was kind of a let down. It's not often that I don't want to eat sweet things, but wow...these things were so, so, so sweet. After a bite of each one, I was kind of done. As was everyone at the table. My least favorite was the s'mores bar, and my favorite was the toffee cookie. I wish they would cut back on the sugar a bit, as it all would probably be amazing then.

With all there is to do with the holidays, I forgot to order a Yule Log/Buche de Noel for Christmas Day-- much to my son's disappointment. I tried to order one the next week, but many bakeries in area weren't making them anymore. I heard about The Bent Fork Bakery, and when I called them -- they were so nice and accommodating. And it was beautiful and absolutely delicious! Thank you so much!

I'm so lucky to have a wonderful & thoughtful sister & brother-in-law who are kind enough to send me your baked goods. I live in Lake Las Vegas, NV. While they are many specialty bakeries out in Vegas, none can hold a candle to your sweet treats. My absolute favorite is the cherry coffee cake. Rich, moist, buttery & loaded with cherries. It's so sad to eat the last piece but I savored every crumb. Thank you to the owners & staff for making such delectable, delicious & decadent treats. You earned every single one of those stars!

OK. So we can agree most bakeries are really good, right? Well, Bent Fork is *great*. We picked up several things there this week after a friend recommended it: A variety of cookies, a few bars, a ho-ho and a Whoopie pie. The prices were the first surprise: We got two good-sized boxes of things for about $20. Anywhere else, it would've twice that. But what really makes Bent Fork stand out is flavor. I know that sounds obvious, but the baker here is doing something special I've never had anywhere else. The flavors are all delicious ... but not too sweet, too sour, too cinnamony, etc. Just perfectly balanced in a way I've never tasted. Don't miss the ho-ho's, lemon bars and s'mores bars for sure, although I doubt anything would be disappointing. Give this place a try: Good prices, good selection, and flavors that'll blow your mind.

This bakery is adorable! I finally made it in, after having eaten many of their cookies and cupcakes at parties/gatherings. I love the decor, and the cute merchandise! It is a small bakery, so don't expect to order and sit down! Definitely call ahead to order a cake. So many different flavors, but I think they generally only have vanilla and chocolate, which makes sense. The s'mores cookie bar was phenomenal, and the cookies all looked great! I wanted to try everything, and bought too many.

Cookies, cakes and tarts oh my!!! I can never. Lose so I end up buying them all. The oatmeal cookie and Heath cookie are my faves!! I can't decide which cake, but they are all good and moist! The tarts are delicious and they have minis too.

Absolutely delicious cookies, perfectly decorated with University of Tampa logo for a graduation party. The bakery was slammed when I went to pick them up and, though they knew the cookies were ready, they couldn't locate the box. They were very apologetic and rather than me waiting while they continue to look, they offered to deliver them. As promised, the cookies arrived a couple of hours later. Not only wonderful cookies but also wonderful customer service!

Very good -- everything, we bought. Best bakery that I have found in the area. It is such a nice selection. We tried a cherry bar, cupcakes, cookie bars, pecan pie-- all above sverage, how I would bake at home. Will be back.

I'm just so disappointed with the 2 tier cake I ordered. First, the 2 tier was so tiny, don't know how it would feed 24 people. It was so warm that day so I went home after picking up my lemon cake. The cake cracked on the way home because there's too much butter that melted in between layers and the top tier dropped to the side. I was able to save the top tier which is like 5-6 inches. The cracked one, my kids and I ate thinking I'll just bake a yellow cake myself. Guess what, didn't taste like lemon at all. I even called a week before to change the icing from lemon flavor to vanilla thinking it will be too lemony. But it wasn't. The cake tasted like a box mix with bubble holes in the middle. Don't know how it supposed to be part of the wedding cake menu when it's too soft and can't hold heavy toppers. There goes my $130

Beautifully decorated cupcakes. Love that they have jumbo and mini sizes. Sweet designs for Valentine's Day. Wonderful flavors. I came in to get 3 boxes of 6 cupcakes. Imagine my embarrassment and dismay when I opened the boxes at my event to find only 5 cupcakes in each box! Can't reco due to being shorted on my order - each box was missing a cupcake. And yes, they of course charged me for 18 cupcakes, not the 15 they gave me.

Always love the Bent Fork. I've never had anything there I didn't love. Their cookies are amazing, their ho-ho and s'mores bar is mouthwatering and they have a cupcake for every occasion. The Lightfoot decorations are hilarious. I still have yet to try it all, but we'll get there! The place is a treasure. And they have been doing great at accommodating social distance safety measures. Tiana is the bomb, but I'm biased. The owners have got a really cool thing going for them and this town surely appreciates it.

Great service and delicious cakes. Highly recommended. Owner is so easy to work with.

Skeletons, mummies, bats, ghosts, spider webs, and pumpkins oh my! The best part about The Bent Fork Bakery is that the owners are super serious baker geeks...and I mean that with the greatest amount of respect. They go all out in the sugar cookie department during special holidays, and Halloween 2017 never tasted so good. I recently had the opportunity to stop in for dessert cookies after my delicious cheeseburger from Marco's down the street. The Halloween cookies are so adorable, that I didn't know what to choose for my boys! It was such a hard decision. You'll see in my photo I opted for black spider webs and orange pumpkins, and they were a great choice. My boys loved them! I admit to stealing a bite, and honestly I didn't expect the cookies to be so fresh and soft. Most sugar cookies I purchase from bakeries are kind of on the hard crunchy side of life, but these cookies were fresh and melted right in my mouth. Now, the best part? My kids ended up heading out to the skate park to meet their cool friends with black stained lips and mouths from the black sprinkles. How perfect ;-) The Bent Fork Bakery is deserving of your visit.

Placed a phone order days ago for pick up this am. When I arrived they could not find the order for quite a bit and said oh we have it dated tomorrow. No apology or anything o know I said today because were leaving town today for an event. They said if I could wait they could frost and decorate the cupcakes I ordered. I told them unfortunately I didn't have the time. I said it's okay I'll choose from the case. I did so and realized after I left I got charged twice on my credit card. I called and said I was disappointed that order was not ready and I was very calm about it because mistakes happen. She said we will credit me for the extra charge. Not an apology or offering of a free cupcake or anything. I managed a family service business for years and was taught when something like this happens you do a little extra to make up for a mistake. I wasn't looking to have a free order but maybe a cupcake or candles would have been nice.

A little late here, but the apple pie , baked by Yuli at Bent Fork, that I picked up right before thanksgiving , actually exceeded the bar set by my beloved grandmother! everything about it was perfect , the crust, especially the dome of crust over the pie, the seasonings , and the apples, plus it was baked perfectly . I'm just glad that I don't currently have a kingdom, because I surely would give it up for Yuli! Without hesitation , order one before Christmas ! I'm sean logan and I approve of this message, and even more so I approve all of the wonderful quality desserts from Bent Fork! Just be warned that if you currently have a kingdom , or queendom, You may be putting it at risk!

We came here early Saturday morning and it was already bustling with customers and there's good reason why. We went to a party the night before where we tasted the tastiest moistest most heavenly cake ever and asked where in the world it was purchased ergo our visit here the next day. Ordered a vanilla coconut cupcake, chocolate coconut cupcake and two lemon bars. It lasted less than an hour before being devoured immediately after we had our breakfast next door. LOL. I don't think I was even able to take a picture of these deserts since it didn't last long at all! Service here was efficient and friendly but most of all the deserts are HEAVENLY! Go and experience it yourself and then go work out!

Great place for cakes. Our banana cake had great taste and very moist. When we got there, we didn't have to wait and the cake was ready

Bad customer service. Stopped by here to bring some treats in for work and didn't get a warm welcome. I was the only customer in the store and the two workers didn't even acknowledge me as they stayed working. I had to interrupt them to ask if they take credit card because the last two place I went to only took cash. I asked for two dozen cupcakes and a couple mini pies...the guy was like a robot, no eye contact, all business, not even a "thank you"....I asked for a couple strips of masking tape so I could put my business card on the boxes of cupcakes and he was like "sure" and walked off. I didn't even taste anything I bought so can't leave a review on that but it looked good. I just feel that if anyone supports small business bakery by buying 24 cupcakes and two pies...you should at least get a thank you. I might be back here again since my clients enjoyed the cupcakes or just go somewhere else. If I do, hopefully the people there realize and appreciate that business from anyone is better than business from a selected group. Just sayin...

This place is divine. They make GF birthday cakes that are an annual tradition now. I just love the vibe from the moment you walk i to their shop.