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. read more

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Cupcakes so beautiful... you will not even want to eat them! This was my first experience eating a cupcake from a bakery. I usually bake my own, or if I am in a bind... pick them up at Jewel. The Bent Fork was a treat that was definitely out of the ordinary. I really liked the cupcakes. There was a bit too much frosting for my liking, but it added to the artistic allure of the cupcakes, so you cannot fault them for that! The cupcakes were good.. but I still do not know if I could justify spending that much money per cupcake in the future! read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

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. read more

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 read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

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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. read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

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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. read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - Halloween 2017 - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

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!!! read more

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! read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

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! read more

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. read more

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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. read more

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... read more

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. read more

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. read more

Amazing! Recently moved to the area from the East coast and wanted to find a bakery for an anniversary cake. We decided upon a buttercream iced lemon cake with a layer of crushed raspberries and lemon curd. The cake was super moist and the buttercream icing was creamy with the perfect amount of sweetness! They exceeded our expectations! Definitely will be returning for more yummy goodies! Thanks Bent Fork Bakery! read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - Buttercream iced lemon cake with crushed raspberries and lemon curd! DELISHHHH! - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

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. read more

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! read more

The Best! The Everything Brownie (?) is the best brownie (is that possible?) I've ever had. Everything is wonderful, no amazing! A bit pricey. I realize finest goods require finest ingredients, etc. Just seems pricey when you buy a lot in one shop. Thanks for the wonderful sweets! read more

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! read more

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! read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - U of Tampa cookies - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

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You could drive up and down the Highwood strip and never even notice this hidden gem. The storefront is very unassuming and easily blends in with other stores nearby. But don't let that fool you. I've only had the cupcakes and actual cakes here. But oh so yummy! I first discovered The Bent Fork at a birthday party. The cake was from this confectionary. (I can only imagine how much the hostess spent.) Although I only ate one piece to be "proper", I really just wanted to take a hunk of a slice home with me. Could I just east it with my hands? Anyway, I decided to go in person to check it out. It's a small shop but quaint. I bought a couple if cupcakes. The price was on the higher end but it's not like I was buying some dry cakes from the local grocery store. The cupcakes had about a pound of icing on them -- which my boys happily licked off. Every. Last. Sugar crystal. It was a bit much for me. But boy do I love icing. The cake itself was moist and yummy. Nom nom! The price can be prohibitive but I would come back here when I'm in the mood for a serious treat for myself. read more

Oh.my.word. Certainly love at first bite with this place. To start, the workers were soooo friendly and grateful that I stopped in. They so wonderfully noted that I was paralyzed by the plethora of sugary items and essentially incapable of making any sort of decision as to what dessert(s) I wanted to try out. Soooo they made some recommendations and man, oh man, am I glad they did. They suggested I try the salted caramel cupcake and the s'more bar, I then added in a snickerdoodle cookie...couldn't resist :-/ But let me tell ya - they were all astronomically good. The salted caramel cupcake itself was perfectly moist, and the caramel frosting was delicious. I was so pleasantly surprised to find that the actual cake part was wonderfully flavorful, considering that bakeries typically (and unfortunately) rely on a super sugary frosting to bring up the rear in the flavor department while the cupcake itself is dry and devoid of any taste. Not at The Bent Fork! They sure have it right when it comes to cupcakes. YUM. Moving onto the S'more Bar....h-o-l-y c-o-w. I didn't have high hopes for this fella, just because it looked too grand and over the top to actually taste fantastic. But nope. The Bent Fork proved me wrong again and delivered a reeeeally delicious bar treat. The cookie part that imitated the graham cracker element of this campfire classic was so chewy and packed with buttery, brown sugary goodness; the chocolate was just the slightest bit softened to capture that fireside melty chocolate quality; while the marshmallow component was FLUFF-tastic - soft, ooey, gooey goodness, right there. DA BOMB. Now for the snickerdoodle cookie - all I can say is WOW. Soft, chewy, cinnamon-sugary heaven. NAILED IT. It was as I was checking out that I noticed a mini pecan pie out of the corner of my eye (that rhymes :), soooooo I may be back tomorrow... :-) LOVE Bent Fork. read more

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How can I not give five-stars to folks who bake such good (excuse me, wiping crumbs from a chocolate covered chocolate chip cookie off the keyboard) cookies, and especially chocolate cakes and yes, even muffins. Believe me, good muffins are darn hard to find, even on the North Shore. Fresh is the word. I've never had a complaint or heard a complaint about any food item created within these environs. Drawback...wearing a mask inhibits the lusty fragrances emanating from the kitchen. Other drawback...nearly crashing into the car in front of me whilst trying to open the securely (good grief just slightly less secure than the Bank of Highwood vault) closed box of just purchased cookies. What, do they use the same tape the CIA uses to wrap their Presidential Daily Brief? Actually I'm told by an excellent source that the CIA uses no such tape but the comparison works. Point being...undo the box before leaving the store. read more

Best bakery in north Chicagoland. I have fond memories of this place when it was tiny, coming here after school once I had a car and a license, indulging in their butter toffee cookies with my best friend. Those toffee cookies probably got me through high school. Now, they've expanded, with a little cafe area and tons of different kinds of baked goods. Just the other day, we got an order of 20 of their macaroons-- the chocolate-dipped and pineapple ones. They were a huge hit! (Although the pineapple ones didn't taste anything like pineapple... just white chocolate :( ) Their cakes are the best-tasting around, which is really what counts. We've sometimes gone elsewhere just because the decorating is a little better, but people always remember the Bent Fork cakes! We'll be bent fork devotees as long as they stay a Highwood fixture! read more

Pure, divine, buttery goodness packed with love into every cookie, pie, cupcake, and cake! There's no other sweets bakery that can beat the Bent Fork on their creations. Carrot cake is amazing! Cookies are the best. Banana chocolate chip bread is insane! Bent Fork Bakery --- Worth every calorie! Worth the drive. Worth the wait! Big love for the Bent Fork -- Liz and Mike know what they're doing! read more

Hit or miss - I've been going to Bent Fork for many years and today they "took the cake". Tried to order a cake for 3 days from now and was RUDELY informed by the man on the phone they are not taking orders as they are full due to the pandemic. I said OK, how about for tomorrow then, "NO CAKES" and hangs up the phone. I've lived here for many years and gotten their bakery goods which are always pretty good, but their staff is horrible, mean and rude. When it comes down to it, if you like being treated like garbage you should definitely go there. If you have self respect, don't. read more

You can't find a bad thing at the Bent Fork! Anything you choose is pretty much guaranteed to be good. Their cupcakes are amazing, and their cookies are melt-in-your-mouth. I would highly recommend this place! read more

I grew up in this area and found Highwood to have it's fair share of Epicurean delights. After all, this town is famous for it's Italian and Hispanic heritage...and a handful of taverns!! I wanted to surprise a special someone with a delicious treat and found an addicting picture on the Bent Fork Bakery Facebook page. CAKE POPS???? The colors drew me in as they were vivid and drool invoking! I placed a call to pick up a couple dozen as they are made to order and picked them up today. Wow! More vibrant and delicious in person! The price was fair for their masterpieces. Of course, I had to partake in a few extras since I was there and everything looked and smelled so good... - Half chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookies - White and Mile chocolate covered pretzels - Multi colored yellow cake cupcake - Sprinkled Sugah Cookie ALL OUTSTANDING! The one think I forgot to get was one of the main reasons I went there - the Ginger Molasses Cookie!!!! How could I forget this?? I've been craving one for weeks now and I drove all the way there to be blindsided by my inability to decide on the plethora of sweets!!! Oh well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow Oh Delicious Savory Cookie! Pleasant experience and the staff was super friendly! read more

What a cute little boutique! I looked up "best cupcake in Chicago" before our jaunt and this place kept popping up so we saw some sites in the North 'burbs and made this a pit stop. We got their adorable little birthday cake cupcakes with little "flower poofs" of icing (kind of like old school character birthday cakes in the 70's and 80's). I got vanilla and chocolate and an iced ginger molasses cookie and the Mr got a chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookie and both got hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was the best we had the whole trip. We bit into the cupcakes and while really good, they were also COLD like they were in the fridge. We both looked at each other with a disappointed sigh. You could tell it was good, like 5 star good, but if we'd been warned they were cold, we would've waited to eat them when they'd thawed a bit. (Or maybe ask that they stick 'em in the microwave for 10 seconds.) The ginger cookie was awesome but again with hard, cold icing could've tasted better. The Mr didn't care for his chocolate chip cookie. We will definitely swing by the next time we're in the area but just a note to the bakery, you need to tell people if they're cold when purchasing. read more

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We used The Bent Fork Bakery for my daughter's wedding cake. It was held Sept 18, 2021. Since we were dealing with covid, they packaged up our tasting selections in nice cupcakes for us to take home and sample. All were delicious. We made our choice, white cake, raspberry filing and buttercream. The cake was delivered on time and looked so beautiful. The best part was that it was delicious. We suggest you use The Bent Fork if you want a beautiful and yummy wedding cake. read more

I've only had the cupcakes here, though friends have recommended I branch out and try something else. The lemon cupcake *almost* meets my standard for tartness, which is a rare feat. The strawberry cupcake had an incredible burst of fresh strawberry flavor in the buttercream frosting. Many months ago, a co-worker brought me a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream topped with coconut. Also amazing. We've always been treated well in the store, though we've also always taken our cupcakes to go. The decor is cute -- the style is vintage bakery. This is, and will be, our go to for birthday treats. read more

Amazing fresh desserts everyday. Was in a huge rush and had to pick something up immediately and they had a ton of options to choose from- fresh cake, DELICIOUS homemade ho hos, cupcakes, cookies (the sugar are my favorite) and a ton of other fresh desserts, packaged treats, candles and candies. highly recommend the vanilla cake- incredible. read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - vanilla cake - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

Do not order the "Sheffield Cake" menu description said "fresh raspberry filling with whip creme and lemon curd". As you can see from photo there was one raspberry and I mean one raspberry with each cake slice and no lemon curd till about every third slice and a dot at that . At $32 I expected ingredients listed not a vanilla cake with basically only buttercream frosting . I could of gotten a better quality cake at a grocery store for half the cost. read more

The Bent Fork Bakery - Sheffield cake - Bakeries Near Me - Highwood, Illinois

Amazing bakery! Love their treats and cakes. Our favorite is the strawberry fields flavor you can get in cupcake or big cakes, it's a moist shortcake like cake studded with strawberries with the most decadent strawberry frosting. It is our go to cake for birthday parties. Their brownies also can't be beat, my favorite is the caramel walnut which are so rich and delicious. The white chocolate coconut Blondie brownies, Buckeyes and molasses frosted cookies are also outstanding. They also have vegan and gluten free brownies which are a hit with friends with special diets. Prices are reasonable for the area. Charming little storefront that also sells a small well curated selection of cute party supplies and antiques. read more

This is such a quaint little spot. The area needed a bakery and the Bent Fork will not disappoint. It is located in downtown Highwood right on the main drag. They have small breads, cakes, pies, muffins, scones and delicious cookies. They have a nice website with a revolving calendar of specialty items. The bakery will do large orders as well as one beautifully decorated cookie. One of my favorite things about this place, outside of it being delicious, is the packaging. I often come here for gifts for clients or friends and they do a very nice job putting everything together. My favorites are the toffee cookies and the sugar cookies. I haven't gotten a chance to try everything yet, but it sounds like a good mission! read more

Over the past few years I've been really disappointed by the rude service and their products. Everything is now so heavy with butter, it sits in my stomach for hours. The owners have been rude to me and their staff lacked knowledge and attentiveness. Sadly, I do not ever plan to return. read more

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

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

Love to come here and pick up their cookies by the dozen. Great variety and delicious!

Key Yelp: Great neighborhood bakery in an area replete with mediocre baked goods. Review: The Bent Fork is a nifty little place in downtown Highwood and is really a gem. They recently expanded so you can sit down and have coffee and sweets but the real trick here is to order a cake or buy cup cakes and related treats. Everything is fresh and very high quality. The husband and wife team are lovely and rally seem to care about the business. Everything is laid out in a very attractive manner. Note this is not a place for breads! Its all about the sweet stuff. For Chocoholics, ask for the Chocolateolate Delight" which they make seasonally. Its like a small cupcake with fresh creme on top drenched in velvety chocolate....Kick-butt!!! read more