The Dish: The internet’s favorite sprinkle trend is taking over Baltimore

Spend some time swiping through your algorithm lately and you’ll find numerous videos of people enjoying dotcakes. The top layer of crunchy, round, rainbow nonpareils on thick icing satisfies an auditory, visual — and of course, literal — craving.

Credit or blame for the online sensation goes to Long Island bakery Dotcakes, whose eponymous sprinkle-coated cakes have social media obsessed. In New York, customers line up at 6 a.m. for the chance to swipe a spoon over the smooth, sprinkled surface before digging in.

But you don’t need to leave the state to grab a taste. Baltimore-area bakeries and cafes are dunking everything from macarons to doughnuts, lattes, ice cream and even cannoli in tiny, colorful nonpareils. Many of the treats, which sell for $10 or less, are even simple enough to recreate at home — if you can find any sprinkles.

Often relegated as runner-up to softer, oblong jimmies, the round rainbow decoration is suddenly in demand as the topping du jour.

Sourcing has been the most challenging aspect for Morning Mugs owner Tyler DellaRatta, who decided to put his own spin on the trend after his fiancée learned about it on TikTok. With many of his usual suppliers sold out, DellaRatta scoured local grocery stores for tubs, but the extra errands were worth the effort: His South Baltimore coffee shop sold well over 1,000 sprinkle-topped lattes in a matter of days. Being able to hop onto a craze like that? “It can make or break a business,” he said.

Like other dot cake treats, the latte is almost guaranteed to improve your mood. “For us, it’s all about having fun and putting a smile on people’s face,” DellaRatta said. “What better than colorful sprinkles on your delicious latte?”

Of course, trends like this are here one minute and gone the next (remember five minutes ago how everything was birthday-flavored?) Many of the below treats are available for a limited run, so scoop them up while you can.

Always Ice Cream

• 116 Annapolis St., Annapolis

The Annapolis ice cream shop with branches in Cross Keys, Crofton, Edgewood and Severna Park recently unveiled a new flavor with dot cake mixed into the batter — and it’s topped with frosting and sprinkles, of course. The limited-time flavor (around $5.75 per scoop) ran earlier this month and will be available again starting Monday, said founder Mark Cohen. Can’t wait till then? Try Kingsville’s Butcher & Bay by Geresbeck’s, a reliable destination to find whatever food is blowing up online.

BakeBox Bakery

• 3830 Ten Oaks Road, Glenelg

Tiny rainbow sprinkles called grageas have been a staple of Latin American kitchens since long before dot cakes trended. (Some argue that Mexican pink cortadillo cake is the true precursor to dot cake). At BakeBox, Keiry Turcios and her sister Brenda Rosales combine American tastes with traditions of their native El Salvador, where simple cakes coated in sprinkles are a staple of birthday parties and traditional bakeries. Customers at the Howard County bakery, located in a trailer, can find dot cake doughnuts ($3.25), cronuts ($4.50), tres leches cakes ($5) and crunchy macarons ($3 each), all coated in rainbow sprinkles.

Culinary Architecture

• 236 S. High St., Baltimore

Leave it to Culinary Architecture owner Sylva Lin to invent one of the area’s more creative dot cake takes: a confetti cake Japanese milk bun ($8). Light and fluffy homemade brioche presents an exquisite balance to decadent, gooey cheesecake filling topped with sprinkles. Does that cheesecake taste familiar? Lin partners with the owners of Èdo Cheesecake, who hand off imperfect-looking (but still wonderful-tasting) samples to her for a local collaboration that’s as creative and environmentally friendly as it is delicious.

Decadent Coffee and Dessert Bar

• 11710 E. Market Place, Fulton

Maple Lawn’s Decadent Coffee and Dessert Bar is already a haven for the sweet teeth of Howard County, offering an irresistible assortment of homemade gelatos and baked goods. You can now add to the list their take on dot cakes (around $5 each), which feature shallow tins of airy yellow cake coated in a layer of white frosting and sprinkles.

Morning Mugs

• 15 W. Hughes St., Baltimore

At DellaRatta’s Federal Hill coffee shop, iced dot cake lattes feature cookie butter syrup with a sweet vanilla cold foam and a generous pour of sprinkles on top. “I made it very clear that I wanted these things to be covered,” DellaRatta said. “It’s hard not to like.” The beverage ($6.50 for a small) is a limited-time offering available this weekend through the end of July, so call ahead for availability.

OneDo Coffee Roasters

• 913 S Lakewood Ave., Baltimore

At a serious coffee drinkers’ coffee shop, you might be tempted to whisper your order for a dot cake latte in the same tone of voice you’d sheepishly request a pumpkin spice version in September. There’s no hiding the multicolored beverage that basically screams “My inner child wanted this.” But the tasty iced dot cake latte ($6.90) at the Canton shop is worth any embarrassment you might experience when ordering it.

Quality Snowballs

• 1014 W. 36th St., Baltimore

Perhaps the most Baltimore of takes on the dot cake is Quality Snowballs’ version ($6 for small), which sees shaved ice topped with wedding cake syrup, condensed milk, Nilla Wafers, marshmallow cream “and obviously the dot sprinkles,” according to an Instagram post. Available through July only.

Rocco’s Market & Deli

• 1301 N. Main St., Baltimore

Shoppers will find dot cake lattes ($7) and doughnuts ($3) at this Italian market in Hampstead. “We always try to get on the trends,” said manager Matt Rogers, who runs the business with his parents. “I told my mom we had to do it.”

Sistahs’ Sweets

• 2507 St. Paul St., Baltimore

Viral sensation, meet viral sensation. The bakers and TikTok creators behind Sistah’s Sweets in Charles Village have your dot cake cupcakes ($6 each), dot cake lattes and even matcha dot cake lattes (both $8). Game recognizes game.

ZaVino

• 68 Village Square, Baltimore

Let the record show that ZaVino has been pouring round rainbow sprinkles on its made-to-order cannoli ($4) even before dot cakes took over the internet. The mix of crunchy sprinkles on not-too-sweet ricotta cream makes for a fun and festive contrast.