Ma Smith's Dessert Cafe

Ma Smith’s Desserts Cafe Layout/atmosphere *Four tables Food/drink *Pound cake - solid *Chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting - OK *Red Velvet cake - solid; dense

We love coming to this cute small mom and pop bakery which used to be called make my cake!!!!!! It was a splurge day and we enjoyed it didn’t eat all but we enjoyed it 10/10

The staff were so nice and professional. My order was handled with ease. The prices are doable, the desserts were delicious. Whenever i am in NYC, this place is one of my favorite places to get my sweet tooth satisfied.

Great cake and service.The smore's cookie is THE BEST. Great size and nice and soft. I love the oatmeal cookie also. The red velvet cupcake is nice and moist.

Went in the other morning for a lemon poppy muffin. I asked the clerk which ones were baked on that day, she assured me the lemon poppy was baked on that day. When I got it , I felt it and it was cold. When asked why it was cold she said they refrigerate them after the come out of the oven to cool them. The real truth is the muffin was not baked that day. It was old as hell. So when you goo to this location don’t take the word of the young woman with the nose ring, she is a liar…

Great piece of cake right there! Loving the butter cream icing. Employees are nice and friendly.

I love supporting Black owned businesses, but this is one I will not return to. Over the last 3-7 months, the customer service has been abysmal. The workers don’t greet you when you walk in the door and they are NEVER smiling. If I’m going to pay over $40 for desserts, I would hope I could get better customer service. The gentleman that works there is the only kind person I’ve met. This has also been confirmed by my partner who has been to Ma Smith’s 2-3 times over the course of a year. I get better service from the local bodegas..so disappointing. I won’t be back and will take my money to another bakery in lower Manhattan.

Bad cake and bad attitude. I’m planning a child’s birthday party and stopped there to check out the shop’s cakes. I spoke with one of the workers and then with the owner. The owner spoke to me in such a hostile manner that I was taken aback. My husband was standing nearby with our child and observed her behavior, and remarked on it afterwards. Needless to say, I won’t be purchasing the birthday cake there. I still decided to try a cake slice because I’ve got a sweet tooth and the selection looked appealing. Well, looks can truly be deceiving. The cake was bland and the buttercream frosting was strangely thick and had an odd flavor. We didn’t even finish eating the slice. We just threw it in the trash after a few bites.

Aaliyah is so wonderful and that sweet potato pie DAMN! so so good. I'm enjoying living in Harlem so much. A breath of fresh air to walk into different businesses and the owners are employees are so friendly and sociable. Real different vibes from Manhattan and Bk let me tell you.

I've been coming to make my cake for many years. My usual request are cakes for occasions. To date, cakes I've ordered have always been ready on time and the recipients of those cakes were always satisfied. The buttercream is thick and sweet and cake is dense and fluffy. You definitely get what you pay for.

Out in Harlem on a lovely rainy day and stopped in to explore. So happy we did. My daughter got a slice of red and white which is a layer of red velvet and a layer of vanilla. It was delicious. The service was great and there is a cafe attached that has coffee beans you won't find everywhere else. When the weather permits, you can enjoy your goodies at the tables outside.

They're an easy Four Stars once you eat their cookies! Make My Cake has the best selection of cakes that you can purchase by the slice. The price keeps going up but it's definitely worth it. I have to get mine too take home. My daughter gets hers to go too. It's a rare treat I'm sad to say. I love the cookies the best because I can eat the cookie on the way home. The bag was so cute I saved it!! We have a location closer to home. I definitely stop in for something special no matter which location I'm near. Customer Service is always tops! Support your local small businesses.....

Cupcakes. I was very excited to get these cuk cakes. They looked delish. When I got home make some coffee and was ready to go. When I took a bit they were dense and dry. Not sure if I had a bad batch or they are just dense and dry. Totally disappointed . I also got a peach cobbler, it was more pie then cobbler. It was ok, nothing to brag about. It was missing something, like lemon zest. It wasn't balanced at all. Oh well. Red Velvet Cupcake Lemon Butter Cupcake Double Chocolate cupcake Chocolate Butter Cupcake

The cakes are unmatched! Fresh, fluffy, and divine. The woman who wears glasses and answers the phones could stand to acquire a more polished customer service approach, but the gentleman was very kind and professional. I can't decide whether the vanilla or strawberry cupcake is my favorite, but I look forward to the next time they can "make my cake."

Service was good, but cupcake's could have been better in that the strawberry cupcake was just strawberry frosting with plain vanilla cake No filling, the lemon cupcake had lemon filling but the frosting wasn't lemony enough. The red velvet cupcake was good but tasted more chocolate and the frosting wasn't cream cheese it was plain vanilla and the butter chocolate cupcake was plain cake with chocolate frosting was good. They were good cupcakes just was expecting them to WOW us but didn't. The setting inside the place was nice. Overall the prices were reasonable.

Visiting from out of town from Ohio. Was getting my nails done 2 doors up and a lady came in saying she got pound cake from this bakery. This is in the Harlem area. Nice little shop. 2 employees were working on boxing a huge birthday cake so they called someone out to help me and others who had arrived. I ordered 1 coconut pecan cookie, 2 slices of pound cake and got the last cinnamon roll. Also got hibiscus sweet tea. Service was good and the staff were nice. Hibiscus tea was delicious. The cookie flavor was good but the cookie itself was dry and crumbly. The pound cake was on the dry side and in my opinion needed salt and vanilla as there was not much flavor. I'm going to have to add ice cream for more flavor. Plan to heat the cinnamon bun and have it for breakfast tomorrow. I would try another cake flavor and hope it's better than the pound cake. If not, I wouldn't go back unless just for the tea.

there's nothing like Harlem on Sunday morning. stopped in for a slice of sweet potato cake, and it was good. hadn't had it for awhile. service was quick. thx mmc

I have gotten several items including the Red Velvet cake, cupcakes, and the key lime pie. This week we had the double chocolate cake and it was a huge hit. A guest even texted me about it afterwards. Highly recommend.

If I take a trip down memory lane, Make My Cake's design really got a hold on me. My twin sister and I had just finished having tea at Serengeti after a long exercise session over on the East side. Backdrop is cute with Pinks and Browns. Shelves are stacked with old-fashioned knick-knacks. Glass shelves and pastry stands full of Sweets. Display looked decent and decided on keeping it simple with a cookie each. Taste was o...k- but really- nothing off the wall. It was a nice little trip. And Make My Cake has a cute style going on......but it's not as good as I thought it would be.

I tried the lemon cupcake, yellow cake with chocolate icing and cake with strawberry filling. All were excellent and I will try to stop here to try a different slice whenever I am in Harlem!!

Delicious desserts. My fav is their strawberry frosted cupcakes and slices. I love Make My Cake!

I know everyone in the area goes crazy about this place but I don't get what's so special. Don't get me wrong, their baked goods are delicious but they have the same prices as elite bakeries like magnolias and other bakeries in midtown. There's no reason the slices should be $6 past 110th st. Was actually really shocked at that. There's not much variety is what you can order by the slice or just as a snack. Would like to see more cake slice options available. This bakery is a small shop, barely noticeable but is indeed delicious but not $6 a slice delicious.

The coffee is absolutely amazing, the staff is professional and courteous. I will definitely recommend all My coffee lovers giving this place a try.

Happy to visit this location over the years! Service was quick and pleasant! Cakes and cupcakes are out of this world! Love the new location. Pricing is awesome no complaint! Looking forward to my birthday cake from here :)!!!! I got the chocolate in chocolate cupcake slice delicious

So I went back today and got the half red velvet, half buttercream cake and it was PERFECT. It has buttercream and cream cheese frosting. I definitely rescind my comment about flavors not being unique, this was so simple yet so brilliant. Once again I had really excellent customer service and the people were extremely kind and helpful. I would love it if they had a cake rewards program

This is probably my 3rd time at this shop. If I want Make My Cake I would go to the 116th st location. However I live around the corner and wanted something tasty quick. Went in around 530pm. There was no line, no customers. An older women came from the back she looked tired and over it. Asked what I wanted, bagged it and told another associate to ring me up. Ordered a carrot cake, took it to go. When I got home I ripped it open to devour, but it wasn't that great. kind of dry, not really sweet. And left a bad after taste. Possibly an older cake. Either way I ate half, saved the other half for later. But ended up throwing it out. I've ordered other desserts from here before so I can't count this place completely out. Plus the owner is super sweet. But I do think this particular location needs a revamp & quality control.

Went to location during business hours and it was closed. Actually went to both locations during business hours and they were both closed. Unsure if business is still open.

I'm highly pissed off with the fact the owner of the 125 st location has not bothered to respond to my customer complaint going on day four. Further more I'm disgusted the employees don't use any masks. I went in this place to pick up my cake I had forgotten the day before. Soon as I walked in and observed this cake sitting in a box uncovered as in not closed or taped down. Immediately said I hope that isn't my cake. Low and behold it was my cake, sitting there exposed to airborne dust, what ever germs the employees have etc. I'm asking the staff why is my cake sitting out it was suppose to be picked up the day before so why is it sitting out not even closed. The male employee catches a funky attitude and walks off, the female employee states "she took it out in the morning" my question was why would you take out a cake nobody called for and why wasn't it closed. At that point I didn't want the cake, so I took it home and left my info for the owner because I want my money back. And let's not mention the ugliness of the cake okay it was so hideous for 65.00 for this ugly 8 inch cake. As a business owner myself I will never go there again and will inform the schools nd community board about the unprofessionalism at this establishment. Board of Health require masks indoors are the exempt from the health codes. Truly pissed off this place is nothing like the other well established place the mother owns. This bakery is in a neighborhood where parent don't feed their kids gluten or dairy. So she will so how long her business stands, not to mention the fact they don't even wear mask during this covid period Sincerely, Grossed out and Pissed off Ms.Woody Juskimasflavas LLC

Such a cute local bakery, honestly one of the best slices of double chocolate cake. Unfortunately freshness is an issue sometimes, and happening more frequently. This is the third time I've purchased a croissant that is too old. The dough is no longer soft and buttery. I hate leaving bad reviews, but this needs to be checked, has also happened a few times with the cinnamon rolls and cake slices. Quality is incredibly inconsistent. I hate purchasing food and having to throw it away. BUT when they are fresh...amazing.

I have been purchasing birthday cakes at this establishment for years this is the first time I have been treated less than a customer. I recently purchased some cupcakes for my birthday which were not good at all cupcakes were stale taste like something you would pick up at the super market plus I payed extra for the color which was supposed to be lilac instead I got violet , I returned the cupcakes which they took back since than it's been a up hill battle to get a refund every time I call they give me a story to hold the owner is never around no one has called me back regarding my concerns since October 10, I just want to say you guys are very unprofessional and you guys are the reason why must people don't like to support Black Business, Ps thank you for ruining my birthday and stealing my hard earn money

It's very dangerous that this bakery delivers slice of cake to my house. They always deliver quickly. Make sure to order earlier in the day as they stop delivery by the evening and run out of flavors. I recommend the lemon cake. I've also had the strawberry cake, but that one was a little too sweet for me (and I like sweet). This is definitely the best cake place in the area.

Miss Joanne helped my design a cake for my daughter's bridal shower. It was gorgeous with custom details and colors. The guests raved about the cake. The 10 inch cake was tall and dense and could have easily fed a much larger group than I planned. But now we have leftovers to share! Thank you to Bake My Cake for helping to make the event a success

I have been purchasing from this bakery for years now. And my family and I love their cakes and pastries. However, to my disappointment I was not treated nicely the last time I went in, the young lady behind the counter seem annoyed with me and was very unprofessional. I'm not sure if I will ever return again.

Make My CakeII is a great bakery with delicious goodies I ordered 3 Red Velvet Cupcake, 1 Chocolate Butter Cupcake 2 Chocolate Cupcake and a Peach Cobbler, everything was delicious. I'm thankful they are on Grubhub although delivery took long no fault of the bakery everything was fresh and packaged well.

Very Rude staff. The latina with the sharpie eyebrows needs customer service training ASAP. Been coming to this company since it was on 110th and central park by the 2/3 trains. Never experienced this type of service I had today. Do they even want customers to walk in? Won't Be Returning.

I used to patronize make my cake years ago in their Harlem location. Had an initial great experience having a custom Birthday cake made for my mother's 62nd birthday. Fast forward a few years and their quality and customer service dropped. I decide to give them another try for a custom birthday cake and go to their new location 775 Columbus Ave. Big disappointment! I ask the Sales woman present about placing a custom cake order for this weekend. I ask if they can make a 10 inch 4 layer cake? She says no. I say do you mean I'd have to buy 2 separate cakes? She replies yes. I say okay can I get two different fillings? She says No. Only what they have in their display case. I didn't even bother to ask about cake decorations at this point. I turn to leave and she then says what kind of filling? I reply what does it matter? You just told me you can't do it. Foolish sales woman I had a budget of $250- $300 to spend for the custom cake. My advice to would custom cake seekers this place ain't it. Go where they actually value customers and attempt to accommodate them. Oh btw I returned to my neighborhood and found a custom cake bakery off 3rd ave who ended up getting my business and was able to do almost everything I was asking.

This is a rush job, those t's should not have been crossed @ the top like that & never should the manager have told my daughter on her birthday that she could leave it the way it was before finishing her job after I paid you in full & gave you a time for it to be ready but you were a 1 1/2 late or better...then was very nonchalant about it. Do better, years I've been giving you business... it ends today!

They keep it safe in the store. No sitting inside. You must wear a mask and only a few people inside at one time. More importantly, they make the best cinnamon roll in the world. And the cakes are heavenly. Perfect to make a birthday special. Moist, tasty, not too sweet. If you know you need a cake, order ahead. Or you risk hoping they have some cakes in the afternoon. Excellent muffins and cupcakes, too. I have to stop myself from coming more than once per week. Now known as Ma Smith.

This spot is my once and a while spot. You know the spot you have once and a while, because if you have it more than that its dangerous lol ? Just me , kay. Anywho, this spot is the better of the two locations. It's a small spot but the products they put out are delicious. Today I got the red/white cake; it was dense but still moist, a little sweet but worth it. As for service, it's nothing spectacular. Their nice people who give you what you want and bid you a nice day. Simple and to the point.

I purchased a banana pudding parfait today and it was delicious, but as I started to get towards the end of the dessert I discovered that I had eatten plastic. I am truly disappointed and disgusted. I have been purchasing from this bakery for years and I have never experienced this. I guess it is time to find another bakery.

THEY ARE STILL RAGGEDY! So..... I go back again bc apparently I am an arsehole and a glutton for punishment. I walk in, of course I am not acknowledged because that is their style. Then finally one of the young women behind the counter with the nicest lacefront wig and face full of pancake make up on a Saturday morning assists me and smiles. I was like FINALLY! FINALLY! Then I ordered 2 cupcakes and when I went to pay, it all goes downhill. I get the price and I reach in my wallet for my card and miss pancake rolls TF out of her eyes. I am like, ok, let me just pay and leave. I walk a block away go upstairs, give my love a cupcake and as we both take bites.... BOOM! THE CUPCAKES ARE DRY AS F*CK! This is the last time. I swear. This time, for real.

Truly delicious! They have sinful $2 cinnamon rolls as big as your head that I know are going to be my new weekly treat. I also tried their vanilla/red velvet cake which has the perfect texture and icing/cake ratio. As a bonus, one slice is truly a serving of two desserts, so it's basically a constant BOGO sale. Support local businesses, and feed your sweet tooth, here! :D

Update from the previous review: My mom requested chocolate buttercream frosting for the cake. She received a basic chocolate frosting. We won't be returning.

The best cake you'll ever have. I can't visit Harlem without stopping here for a few pieces of cake. Red velvet is the best.

Ordered a cake for a birthday and it was terrible. The cake used to be so moist and flavorful. This cake was dense, too much sugar in the icing. The coconut was falling off the Icing! I noticed on the door it stated something about a division of make my cake, maybe it changed owners and they don't have the rights to the cake recipe anymore. Won't be buying from here again! Don't waste your money!

Horrible! Seriously, honestly and truly. I was sad to see the location on 116th leave because they were much more professional. So I thought I'd try the location on 139th & Adam Clayton Powell. This cake was for my son's 6th birthday and I was charged $98 for a 10' round. It looks horrible. The decorations are very amateur, it looks like a home economics project. They even managed to spell my son's name wrong. How do you spell Christopher wrong??? The picture they used for the astronaut had air bubbles in it and the font of the Happy Birthday... was all written horribly. I will never again patronage this place after this experience. Way too much frosting was put on the cake as well. Nope! Don't give them a dime.

I've always love their cakes but the customer service sucks!!!! They need to send their staff to a customer service training. They're so rude and Ghetto!!!! @ the Adam Clayton location ughh. Wont be spending my money here anymore!

Customer service was extremely disappointing. I called to make an order for a cake & cupcakes and the phone operator was not warm and was extremely rude after taking my order. She mentioned she would text a receipt and abruptly hung up the phone without any type of farewell. When I called back to ask if that was a mistake, she rudely mentioned she was going to send a text. I've had their cakes in the past but the customer service I received today let me know it was time to cut ties with this location. Definitely would NOT recommend.

Poor poor service, nasty cupcakes and utterly the worst experience I've ever had. I called in advance in search of a pink cake only to arrive and sold pathetic mini cupcakes. They closed their location on 116th st but still show it on their website...I can only wait for this location to go out of business. Never shop there again!!!! I try to shop local and black...I'll never go back!!

I went to Make My Cake because it was the only cake spot available during this time (COV- 19). When I first walked in the employees were not as friendly/ accommodating. I was trying to get information on birthday cakes but they did not have the best attitude. I order their red velvet cake that was $55! I thought I would be getting a great cake for it's expensive price. I was very wrong! They were able to decorate the outside with icing and glitter but it was still a SHITTY cake. I expected a lot more from such a pricey cake and wanted to support a business in my community but they should make sure to sell quality cakes! You should not buy their cakes unless you want the driest and worst cake of your life. I honestly think they used an old and dry cake to create this. Don't waste your time or money!

I ordered a birthday cake for my daughter's 16th Birthday. I asked for a simple vanilla cake with white buttercream frosting, some pastel colored flowers, and chocolate inscription. Nothing complicated. I would have given 5 stars if the review was based on the staff who was friendly, attentive, and professional. Unfortunately, the cake itself was a disaster. First of all, it looked nothing like what I had ordered. The frosting was fondant and not buttercream, the background was purple and not white, and the inscription was not chocolate but pink. I would not have complained about that, had the cake itself been a success. The fondant on the cake was melted, the cake had collapsed on one side, the tiers had separated. It was a disappointing mess. I called the bakery immediately and the woman who answered the phone was apologetic and said that the cake was probably too hot when they put the frosting on and that should not have happened. She said she would let her manager know and refund my money. I'm waiting for the refund. In the meantime, two of my guests had to run over to Whole Foods and get a last minute cake.

So my hubby discovered this place on his way home one day. Then around the holidays he dropped in and bought a red velvet holiday cake. This was the beginning of my romance with this place. The red velvet cake is the best I've ever had. Put simply...if I had to chose between marrying Channing Tatum and this red velvet cake...bye Channing! It's that good! My hubby has been making it a weekly habit of stopping by to get their peach cobbler and many of their other delicious treats. I was so impressed by the red velvet cake that I just ordered one for my husband's birthday! What I love is how polite and friendly the staff is but extra bonus is their customer service. I got there at 5pm on Thursday to order a cake that I'll collect at 3pm on Friday! Usually they tell you 48hrs lead time at other bakeries but for them to accommodate me was amazing! Heads up: Everyone is getting their birthday cake from here from here on out! Dassit!

I purchased a 10 inch butter cake for my 30th anniversary and was very disappointed that I traveled from central New Jersey paying tolls and gas for a cake that was very dry! I'm just very happy that it was just my family over my house to celebrate cake and ice cream and it wasn't a big celebration! For many years we always have a big party and known for good food and deserts! This cake did not meet my expectations at all and I hate leaving bad reviews but this cake had a good taste but very dry! BUYERS BEWARE

Thank you to Aliyyah Baylor and team Make My Cake for putting a smile on my grandson's face on less than a day's notice. My sister passed away on his 8th birthday last year and it was truly a challenge for our family. I reached out to Aliyyah from South Carolina on my travel back to NY with a request for anything involving WWE since his party every year surrounds Wrestlemania. I was not prepared for what we received. The cake was beautiful and very tasty. Her staff is so accommodating and very respectful. Great job guys!!!! I live upstate in NY and continue to travel almost 2 hours to Make My Cake because they are the best.

I ordered a custom cake from here - half chocolate, half red velvet - for my baby shower and it was delicious. I even did it very last minute and they were able to accommodate like pros. Love this place!

This is my favorite of the two store. For some reason I feel like the cake baked from this shop is better than the one at Columbus Ave. My absolute favorite is the vanilla cake with buttercream.

The lemon cake is insanely delicous and the peach cobbler is so out of this world!! You simply must try it!!! I live in BK and come all the way to manhattan for a fix!!!