Where are the best bakeries to buy celebration cakes? I want to get a cake for one of my college friends — we’ve been friends for 40 years — who is retiring from teaching kindergarten. I’m having a small brunch party for her at a restaurant in Long Beach. It’d be great if the bakery is in Pasadena or on the East Side, but I will travel for awesome cake! She loves chocolate and espresso martinis. — Roberta Tragarz
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Roberta, I think it’s so sweet that you are throwing a retirement party for your longtime friend. In my opinion, no celebration is complete without a good cake and I, too, will drive just about anywhere for one that I think the recipient would love. Here are some bakeshops that might just have “the one.”
With Pasadena being convenient for you, you’re in luck. Times restaurant critic Jenn Harris calls the city a “pastry and dessert destination.” She writes about six stellar new bakeries that have opened within a one-mile radius, including Salted Butter Company, which offers a gorgeous round cake topped with seasonal florals, and Sweet Red Peach, which can create just about any custom cake you can dream up.
Given that your friend loves chocolate, consider buying a cake from Proof Bakery in Atwater Village. The worker-owned cooperative shop used to sell a chocolate espresso cake, which would’ve been perfect because your friend loves espresso martinis. However, they swapped it out for a chocolate blueberry cake with chocolate mascarpone mousse and blueberry compote. Thankfully, it looks just as delicious. And you can still make Proof’s chocolate espresso cake at home.
No L.A. bakeshop has been recommended to me more than SusieCakes. With multiple locations spread across the county including one in Pasadena, the classic bakery makes an array of delightful desserts: old-fashioned chocolate cakes, flourless chocolate cakes, rainbow sprinkle cakes and even a cake flight so you can try all of their signature slices. Former Times food editor Amy Scattergood wrote about SusieCakes, “You can pick the flavor of cake and color of buttercream frosting, get stuff written on top, even order a pretty impressive Barbie cake (they provide the doll; the cake is the dome of her massive skirt).” A “Teacher Barbie” that looks like your friend would be adorable.
Now, this isn’t a traditional cake but hear me out. My good friend Tori Johnson had a cinnamon roll cake at her recent birthday party and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. It was gooey, soft and slathered in a classic tangy cream cheese frosting. Her boyfriend got it from BadAsh Bakes, the viral bakery based in Pasadena best known for its cinnamon rolls, cookies, brownies and layer cakes. You can preorder the cinnamon roll cake, which comes in a classic, red velvet or matcha flavor.
For an eye-catching, avant-garde cake that you won’t find at a traditional bakery or grocery store, consider ordering a custom dessert from Celeste Perkins, the L.A.-born baker who makes “cakes with big personalities, for big personalities,” as Times contributor Tasbeeh Herwees writes in Image. Perkins, who works out of her home kitchen, got her start baking cakes for friends and has since made them for an array of celebrity clients including Tunde Adebimpe (frontman for the band TV on the Radio), Japanese American singer Mitski and British singer Suki Waterhouse. Not only are the cakes yummy, they are photo-worthy.
Now for some rapid-fire picks across L.A.: My colleague Jason Lew recommends Phoenix Bakery in Chinatown, specifically the strawberry cake with sliced almonds. Times Features reporter Lisa Boone also suggests Valerie Confections in Glendale. “I’ve ordered cake from Valerie several times for different occasions and they’re always really special, pretty and so good,” she says. Her favorite is the fallen fruit cake, but the bakery also sells a flourless chocolate almond cake and German chocolate cake. There’s also République, the French-inspired bakery and cafe known for its salted caramel chocolate cake. Finally, you can never go wrong with Porto’s, which sells an array of cakes including chocolate raspberry, Parisian chocolate, mango mousse, strawberry cheesecake and more.
Retiring is such a big deal, so I love to hear that you are celebrating it as such. I hope that these recommendations help you find the perfect cake for your friend. Be sure to send us a photo of the one that you choose. Have a wonderful time!
