12 barista-inspired bakes, from chai bars to cider snickerdoodles
Your café order goes beyond the beverage.
Date
October 15, 2025
Ordering a drink at a café goes beyond just plain black coffee; it’s become an experience. Whether you want your coffee combined with spiced chai or go the colorful strawberry matcha latte route, there’s an entire spectrum of flavors to choose from. So naturally, we wanted to turn those beverages into snackable, sharable desserts. Here’s a dozen of our favorite barista-inspired bakes.
1) Pumpkin Spice Latte Bars
While most PSLs don’t actually have any pumpkin in them, these bars deliver on all fronts. There’s pumpkin and pumpkin spice in the batter, while a milky espresso-spiked glaze gives the bars a jolt of caffeine.
Get the recipe: Pumpkin Spice Latte Bars
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Pumpkin Pie Spice
2) Matcha Latte Bars
Everything you love about the earthy green tea, but in dessert form. Here, the matcha cake bars are finished with a rich buttercream-like frosting. Give them an extra dusting of matcha for a vibrant, verdant finish.
Get the recipe: Matcha Latte Bars
To make this recipe, you’ll need: King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
3) Dirty Chai Bars
The combination of aromatic spices and intense black tea shouldn’t be exclusive to warm, cozy beverages. Those flavors are incorporated into these chewy cookie bars, while the espresso glaze makes it “dirty.”
Get the recipe: Dirty Chai Bars
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Maple Syrup
4) Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
Picture a piping hot pot of apple cider slowly simmering away on the stove. Now imagine it in snickerdoodle form (by way of boiled cider in the cookie dough), and you have an iconic autumnal pairing.
Get the recipe: Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Boiled Cider
5) London Fog Cake
The rich, milky flavor in this London Fog Cake comes from a double dose of dried milk powder and milk combined with confectioners’ sugar. This elegant cake is perfumed with Earl Grey leaves, bringing in notes of citrusy bergamot bolstered by orange oil and malty black tea. To finish, the thick, double-milk glaze (extra creamy thanks to the addition of dried milk powder) completes the picture with its milky undertones.
Get the recipe: London Fog Cake
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Dried Whole Milk and Orange Oil
6) Strawberry Coffee Cake with Matcha Filling
Strawberry and matcha are an ideal latte pairing (its popularity on café menus proves this point) so it felt natural to combine the two in an ultra-tender coffee cake. There's a ribbon of matcha filling and chopped strawberries incorporated into the buttery crumb. From there, you can give the cake additional flair with a drizzle of strawberry or matcha glaze.
Get the recipe: Strawberry Coffee Cake with Matcha Filling
To make this recipe, you’ll need: 8" Square Pan
7) Iced Coffee Ice Box Cake
Hold the second cup of coffee and go for this caffeinated ice box cake instead. To make it, alternate layers of chocolate wafers and big swoops of espresso whipped cream. After a long chill in the freezer, this cold, creamy cake is ready to slice and serve.
Get the recipe: Iced Coffee Ice Box Cake
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Espresso Powder
8) Strawberry Lemonade Bars
Need a bright jolt on a dreary day? Capture a sip of sunshine in these bright and tangy cookie bars. They start with a chewy lemon base and get topped with a freeze-dried strawberry frosting for maximum flavor (and color!).
Get the recipe: Strawberry Lemonade Bars
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Small Offset Spatula
9) Cappuccino Creams
In this recipe, the spirit of a frothy cappuccino is channeled into a sweet, buttery filling that gets sandwiched between shortbread-like chocolate cookies.
Get the recipe: Cappuccino Creams
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Dutch-Process Cocoa
10) Dark and Stormy Ginger Bars
You probably won’t find your barista serving a Dark and Stormy at the café, but we couldn’t resist including these cocktail-inspired frosted bars. The ginger flavor is front and center thanks to its appearance in four different forms: fresh, ground, candied, and syruped; while lime and rum punch up the rich cream cheese frosting.
Get the recipe: Dark and Stormy Ginger Bars
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Mini Diced Ginger
11) Pink Lemonade Cake
Sure, you could have a plain old lemon-flavored cake. Or, you could cover it in a vibrant fresh raspberry glaze and turn it into a Pink Lemonade Cake. This stellar recipe comes from our latest cookbook, Sweet & Salty!
Get the recipe: Pink Lemonade Cake
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Liquid Measuring Cups Set
12) Spiced Hot Cocoa Cookies with Marshmallow Middles
These Mexican-inspired hot chocolate cookies are spiced with cinnamon and cayenne for depth and a little kick. When they’re almost done baking, they get topped with a gooey marshmallow to really bring the hot chocolate vibe.
Get the recipe: Spiced Hot Cocoa Cookies with Marshmallow Middles
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Triple Cocoa Blend
Cover photo (Matcha Latte Bars) by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.
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