What was on at the 2025 festival
Bake Off Competition
The Festival of Cake 2025 Bake Off Competition showcased extraordinary talent across professional, amateur, and junior categories. From towering showpieces to imaginative flavours, bakers presented their masterpieces to be judged by an esteemed panel of chefs, celebrating creativity, craftsmanship, and the next generation of baking talent.
The Original Cake Picnic
With its iconic rule “No Cake. No Entry” The Original Cake Picnic made its Dubai debut as the final stop of the global tour on 2 December 2025. Guests arrived with their own cakes in hand, coming together for a joyful, record-breaking outdoor celebration of community, creativity, and cake.
Free Viral "Bertha" Cake Giveaway
Festival of Cake guests enjoyed Rich Myers’ viral Bertha Cake, a famous 24-layer chocolate cake filled with rich milk and dark chocolate ganache. The daily giveaways became one of the festival’s most talked-about moments, with crowds lining up to taste the iconic cake.
Celebrity Chef Showcase
The Sprinkles Stage came alive with appearances from world-renowned pastry chefs including Rich Myers, Chahrazad Al Hajjar, Brooke Bellamy, Anna Olson, Claire Clark, Markus Bohr, and many more. Across live demonstrations and on-stage conversations, guests gained rare insight into the techniques, creativity, and stories behind some of the most influential names in the baking world.
Real Or Cake?
As seen on Dubai Bling, award-winning Sugaholic Bakeshop brought its iconic hyper-realistic cake artistry to Festival of Cake with the viral “Real or Cake?” challenge on the Sprinkles Stage. The jaw-dropping reveals captivated audiences, while daily prizes from iSTYLE, including Apple AirPods and iPads, added to the excitement and made it a standout festival experience.
Live music & DJs
Sugar Rush Bar
Festival of Cake turned up the volume with live performances and DJ sets that filled the venue with feel-good energy. The Sugar Rush Bar became the heartbeat of the festival, featuring sets by DJ Shock, rising star DJ Michelle, the youngest certified DJ at just 13, along with Too Much Heat DJ Duo and Cliff CN Williams, bringing vibrant sounds from day to night.
1000s of desserts to enjoy
Guests were invited to eat their way through the Cakes & Bakes Market, featuring an exciting mix of local favourites and internationally renowned dessert brands. From Magnolia Bakery and Chocomelt to Bake My Day, The Sweet Life, and many more, the market offered a delicious journey of flavours, textures, and exclusive sweet discoveries throughout the festival.
Chocomelt Garden
Guests stepped into the Chocomelt Garden, an exclusive Festival of Cake experience from one of the UAE’s most-loved dessert brands. Set beneath the iconic Al Wasl Dome, this limited-time pop-up debuted a festival-only menu of indulgent chocolate creations and signature desserts, making it a must-visit sweet stop during the event.
Sweet Creations Stage
The Sweet Creations Stage brought baking to life through live masterclasses and demonstrations led by world-class pastry chefs from around the globe. Open to all levels, these sessions offered guests a chance to learn techniques, tips, and the stories behind iconic desserts.
Cake Canvas Café
In partnership with Made by Confetti, the Cake Canvas Café offered adults a playful, hands-on dessert experience inspired by the global sip-and-paint trend. Guests were invited to paint, decorate, and design their own edible mini cake “canvas,” turning creativity into a delicious takeaway.
Sugar Rush Bar
The Sugar Rush Bar was a lively social hub throughout Festival of Cake, bringing together live music, DJs, and a vibrant atmosphere. Guests gathered here to relax, enjoy the entertainment, and soak up the festival energy between cake tastings and activities.
Kids Workshops
Bring the little ones to our Kids Workshop, a fun hands-on experience where children decorate their own cupcakes. With sprinkles, frosting, and imagination, it’s the perfect way for young bakers to get creative and take home a masterpiece.
Dara's Ice-Cream Giant Sprinkles Pool!
A firm favourite with young visitors, Dara’s Ice-Cream Giant Sprinkles Pool delivered pure joy at Festival of Cake. This colourful, immersive play pit became one of the most loved family attractions, where kids could jump in, play freely, and capture fun, Instagram-worthy moments filled with laughter and colour.
Panel Discussions
We hosted a series of engaging panel discussions featuring leading bakers and pastry chefs from around the world. These conversations offered valuable insights into the industry, personal journeys, creative processes, and the future of baking, giving audiences inspiration and a deeper understanding of the craft.
Brew stage
From hands-on masterclasses and workshops at the Brew Stage with Miss Matcha, Back to Roots, Juan Valdez, and Masraana, to tastings, live demos, and cake giveaways including the iconic Bertha Cake, the experience was all about learning, tasting, and connecting. Guests also enjoyed meet & greets with Brooke Bellamy and Rich Myers, making it a truly interactive and memorable part of the festival.
The Whisper of Victorian Roses by Reema Siraj
Reema Siraj, internationally renowned cake designer and sugar flower artist, unveiled her signature showpiece Whisper of Victorian Roses at the Festival of Cake. Created in collaboration with 20 of her students, the installation featured couture-inspired details, lifelike sugar florals, and two record-breaking creations, the world’s largest handmade sugar rose and wafer-paper peony, celebrating craftsmanship, creativity, and collective artistry.
