We Tried The New Publix Dot Cakes (And They’re Oh So Satisfying)

The dot cakes craze is still in full swing, and big companies like Baskin Robbins, Shake Shack, and Publix have now thrown their hat into the trendy ring. It’s a good thing for the majority of us, because demand for the original dot cakes from Butterfield Market or the company’s flagship location in Roslyn, New York is still off the charts. Not to mention, not everyone can swing by New York to try and get their hands on the elusive treats. Now the treats have become much more accessible, being available in different forms at big American chains.

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The original dot cakes are made with a base of fluffy cake in a small paper cup (in a variety of flavors), and they’re then topped a layer of frosting and a dense crust of nonpareil sprinkles. The Publix variation of dot cakes that were recently released take inspiration from the original, but make it into something more recognizable to Publix shoppers. They’re made as a double-layer mini cake (instead of in cups) and they follow the same layering pattern as the original. Except in the Publix rendition there are two layers of the treat―cake, frosting, sprinkles, and repeat. They come in the same recognizable chocolate and vanilla flavors Publix shoppers know and love, but are they actually any good?

Here’s What We Think

After tasting both the chocolate and yellow cake varieties of Publix Sprinkle Crunch Shortcakes, I definitely have some thoughts. The Yellow Sprinkle Crunch Shortcake uses the classic buttercream and rainbow nonpareil sprinkles. And the Chocolate Sprinkle Crunch Shortcake uses crisp chocolate pearls to give off that iconic crunch as well as the standard white buttercream, too. Both cakes are pretty undeniably delicious. They are sweet, soft, and tender and they’re pretty iconic to look at. 

The yellow cake is certainly less moist than the chocolate variety, but the sprinkles are more along the lines of what you would expect from something imitating a dot cake. They’re true nonpareils and, since they’re rainbow, they give a callback to the source material. The chocolate cake is a lot more moist on its own and the chocolate-y pearls used to mimic the nonpareils have a really lovely texture as well. But they aren’t giving the same effect of pop and crunch as a regular nonpareil would. You can’t quite pull off the viral scraping of the sprinkle crust with the chocolate flavor.

My main take away from this taste test though is that if you like the Publix yellow cake or the Publix chocolate cake with their standard white buttercream, then you will like this rendition of a Dotcake. It’s not incredibly balanced since it’s pretty aggressively sweet, but the cakes are pretty universally delicious. I think the main difference with these treats are that they are loaded up with an added bonus of texture and color that makes it far more interesting than a regular slice of Publix cake.

And, not to save the best for last, but these treats are fabulous considering the price. Each come in at just under five dollars and are easily the size of three to four cake slices. They’re cheap enough that even if you’re just wanting to try it out without the guarantee of loving it, I’d still recommend. They’re on trend and give all of the classic Publix cake experience.