Archive for Cakes

Creme Brûlée, Chocolate Cake, and Adrienne Maloof

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

This past weekend I had three sweet endings to an awesome night. It started with a shockingly affordable and delicious sushi dinner at Yatai on Sunset Blvd where we got this Creme Brûlée. The dish was quite shallow, which made for a high ratio of burnt sugar to custard. While everyone loves the crisp layer of browned sugar on top, I wanted a little more comforting custard to fill me up. Furthermore, the Creme Brûlée was served really warm, which I found off-putting.

Then we ended up at a friend’s birthday, which had an Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake made by Sweet Lady Jane. You may recall from this post here that I am not a fan of their cupcakes or dismissive behavior. Their cakes, however, have consistently scored better than average with a 3- cherry rating. While I enjoyed the French chocolate buttercream and Belgian chocolate ganache, the overall cake lacked an addictive umph that makes one go back for more.

Finally, and most thrilling yet, I got to meet Adrienne Maloof at the birthday party!!! If you watch the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, you know that despite her glitzy Vegas gear, Adrienne is the cool voice-of-reason who steers clear of drama, and has an endearing relationship with her husband, Paul. You guys, I am telling you- in real life she is ADORABLE. I mean, SO sweet, petite, and cute. Not to sound sycophantic here, but she kinda glows. And check her out striking that pose. I need to take notes!

Three Cherries for the desserts and Five for Adrienne Maloof!

For more info on Yatai, click here.

For more info on Sweet Lady Jane, click here.

For more info on Adrienne Maloof, click here!

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Carrot Cake at Oliver Cafe in Beverly Hills

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

Oh aren’t you so fancy with your orange ribbon carrot and mint spriggy floof! And yet Dear Carrot Cake from Oliver Cafe, you taste tragically mediocre. Like many things in Beverly Hills, you are all show and little substance. You need a pep in your step, a bounce in your cake. Tone down the waxy decoration with artificial colors and amp up the frosting with real cream cheese. Then give me more frosting in the center! Yes, you’re well kept, but in an artificial way. Your high sheen icing with groomed ridges doesn’t fool me. I want a natural cake and textured frosting that’s slathered on with wild abandon. Alas, I know you are a Beverly Hills native, so what can I say, you go your way, and I’ll go mine.

For mor information on Oliver Cafe, click here.

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Chocolate Cake at Oliver Cafe in Beverly Hills

By Dessert Darling · Comments (9)
Monday, January 9th, 2012


The other day my girlfriends and I met at Oliver Cafe, the lounge adjacent to the $25-million former Sports Club LA, now Equinox. You know, the one where Posh Spice works out in full make-up (and high heels, did I hear someone say?!?).

While the indoor/outdoor space isn’t that large, the bright and airy venue boasts a comprehensive menu with delicious options, including a spa section that’s guaranteed to satisfy the most health conscientious Beverly Hills housewife. With such attention paid to veggie-steaming and calorie-counting, I doubted that they’d have a satisfactory dessert menu.

This is where I was wrong, aside from some awful sounding low-fat Tiramisu that’s made with Splenda (bleh), they had delectable options including red velvet, carrot, and chocolate cakes. Mmm, chocolate cake it was!

This selection completely captivated all three of us with it’s perfect consistency, cool fudgy icing, and strip of chocolate sauce on top for good measure. Unlike the dry and terrible chocolate cakes that I’ve had lately, this slice of heaven had a rich and full bodied flavor, enhanced by a kick of amaretto liquor. Mmm, an easy 5-cherries!

For more information on Oliver Cafe, click here.

XOXO

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The 2011 GOLDEN CHERRY AWARDS!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (5)
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Another great year of sumptuous desserts has come to a conclusion. While these new-comers stood out as clear and worthy winners, some honorees from years past had no competition to knock them off their Golden Cherry standing (old winners not shown). Without further ado and a little drumroll please……….

BEST CAKE BALL:  95th Street Bakery

With high quality dark chocolate shells, creative flavors, and rich centers, 95th Street Bakery wins this year’s Golden Cherry for best cake ball! Unfortunately, these treats are only available in the S. California region and don’t have a Golden Cherry shelf-life (they drop to 4 cherries after refrigeration) so get them fresh!

BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE :  Baking Betty’s.

These dainty chocolate chip cookies with sweet mini marshmallows just beat out the much heartier Cookies By Joey for the Golden Cherry. When nearly every wedding guest raved about these cookies that we stuffed into our Welcome Bags, I knew they were a sure a crowd-pleaser and this year’s winner.

BEST MACARON:  ‘Lette Macarons 

Formally known as Paulette Macarons, these colorful confections just beat out Mad Mac NY Macarons for two reasons: 1) greater variety with prettier design and 2) the Mad Mac pastry chef is a total snoot on Cupcake Wars. Lette’s haut couture macarons boast unique flavors like violet cassis and caramel, melt in your mouth, and got my husbands enthusiastic thumbs up (he never likes sweets). These naturally low-fat cookies make the perfect gift or personal indulgence for any time of year.


BEST BROWNIE SUNDAE:  The Farm of Beverly Hills  

With a freshly baked and piping hot brownie under a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream, this decadent dessert is a party on a plate. I recommend celebrating this masterpiece with a friend!

BEST BREAD PUDDING:  Huckleberry 

The heavenly Caramel Chocolate Bread Pudding at Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica is an ooey gooey bowl of buttery sin that I want to swim laps in. For those who prefer more dry and traditional bread puddings though, this custardy option isn’t for you (try the muffin version at the Larchmont Bungalow instead).

BEST BAKLAVA: Bakluvit 

While I’m not normally a Baklava fan, Bakluvit makes sweet and flakey bars that revolutionized the treat for me. With original, chocolate, butterscotch, and seasonal flavors, these perfectly balanced Baklava squares make a surprisingly wonderful alternative to more traditional party treats.

BEST CHOCOLATE:  Christopher Elbow Chocolates

These gorgeous, chocolate gems melt in your mouth with outstanding textures, intriguing flavors, and the finest ingredients, making the steep price-tag of $2 a piece worth the indulgence.

BEST CAKE:  Cake and Art

While these cakes might not be as polished for weddings (like NancyKay’s Confections or Hansen’s) they are incredibly tasty, affordable, and can be made into any creation that you could possibly imagine. From a life-sized car made of cake to Rob Pattinson’s head, Cake and Art has done it all! Including my birthday cake last year. :)
Mmmmmm! I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for me! Thank you so much for an incredible year!!!!
XOXO
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Banana Split Waffle & Chocolate Waffle Party at Bru’s Wiffle Waffle Joint

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

If this Banana Split Waffle from Bru’s Wiffle in Santa Monica just doesn’t look or even sound amazing to you, then who are you and what are you doing on my site?! This decadent yet fluffy dessert starts with an unassuming waffle that’s dressed to the nines in chocolate sauce, bananas, strawberries, whipped cream and ice cream. Add peanut butter sauce for a dynamic edge of salty protein, generously pour on the maple syrup, and you’ve got yourself a Home Run dessert. Come hungry, this masterpiece could serve as a whole meal in in one!

And yes, I also tried the Chocolate Waffle Party which consisted of two thin chocolate waffles, layered with home made butter cream, topped with Oreo cookies, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. I have to say that this rendition was clearly inferior to the Banana Split Waffle. To improve upon the Chocolate Waffle Party they need to add mini-chocolate chips to the waffle batter and more chocolate sauce on top. Then we’ll be having a Chocolate Party! That said, I still ate half of it!

YUM! I must have driven by this charming little cafe on Wilshire a thousand times before and never even knew it was there. What a great find!

For more info on Bru’s Wiffle waffle joint, click here.

XOXO

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Kathy Casey’s Dish D’Lish Fruit Cake with Maker’s Mark

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Fruit Cake has long since been the laughing stock of Christmas jokes. Perhaps for this reason, we hardly see it during the holidays now. I recently got an e-mail advertising “Over 21″ Fruit Cakes made with Maker’s Mark. This sounded intriguing so I ordered the Dish D’Lish Fruitcake online.

It just arrived today and I have to say… it’s still fruitcake.  While the cake is clearly made with fine butter and hints of that lovely Maker’s Mark, its totally invaded by mountains of nuts and gelatinous, zingy fruit blobs. Like no ice cream can really be bad ice cream, no fruit cake can really be good fruit cake. I am a purist who rarely likes fruit near my desserts as it is.

Perhaps I wouldn’t begrudge the treat so much if it were labled “Holiday Trailnut Bread,” but calling it cake?! That’s just an assault on the English language.

 

For mor information on Dish D’Lish’s fruitcake by Kathy Casey, click here.

XOXO

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Wedding Dessert Table Recap

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

In case you missed the Wedding Dessert Table breakdown, here’s a quick recap on all the goodies that we had and why! :)

 

  1. Cheesecake Pops dipped in white and dark chocolate by Sweet Lauren Cakes for a slightly sour and savory dimension. (more here)
  2. Bears on a Stick by the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Pretzel rods dipped in caramel, rolled in peanuts, and drizzled in chocolate for a salty-sweet, crunchy option.  I know people like salty items when they’re drinking- these were a Huge hit. (more here)
  3.  Swizzle Cakes, cocktail inspired mini-cupcakes with a slight alcoholic kick. To die for. (more here)
  4. Christopher Elbow Chocolates because who doesn’t like gorgeous, artisan, gourmet chocolates!? (more here)
  5. Circus Animal Cookies for nostalgic’s sake.. and the pink and white colors!  (more here)
In addition to these goodies we had a good-humor ice cream cart and a 3 tiered Lakers cake that I surprised my man with by Cake and Art. Overall, I’ve never seen desserts fly faster at a wedding than they did ours (and I’ve been to over 30 weddings!). Wow- I’m so glad that people enjoyed all the treats that I selected for them!

 

XOXO
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Macrobiotic Strawberry Shortcake & Tiramisu at M Cafe- Not Bad!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Thursday, October 20th, 2011

The other day I had a lunch with my favorite girls at M Café in Beverly Hills. M Café is an organic, macrobiotic restaurant, which means dessert-wise, everything is prepared without eggs, dairy, or refined sugars. When I told the girls that our upcoming desserts were sweetened with brown rice syrup instead, my friend dryly responded, “I didnt’ know brown rice was sweet.” Ha! We were surprised. :)

The Strawberry Shortcake was nothing short of delightful (even though we had an ugly strawberry on top). The rice syrup worked brilliantly as a substitute for refined sugars and the fresh strawberries gave a perfect balance of natural flavors.

The Tiramisu was not nearly as exciting in my book. It was fine for a plain, sweet cake, but that’s all it was… sweet.  Where was the flavor? The kick of coffee?? The spike of alcohol? The dash of salt? Boo- while pleasantly sweet, I found this rendition of a Tiramisu to be bland and flavorless.

Overall, we were impressed by the healthy, macrobiotic feet that M Cafe had pulled off with their cakes. Furthermore, we didn’t feel “gross” after eating desserts that were made from wholesome ingredients. A nice win win all around.

For more information on M Cafe, click here.

XOXO

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Pumpkin Spice Cake from Trader Joe’s

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

The other day I participated in an awesome Breast Cancer Awareness video that Taryn Southern is producing. I was delighted to bump into one of my fave food bloggers there, Lynn of the The Actor’s Diet! She snapped this funny, candid shot of Taryn and me (as well as all of the photos in this post-Thanks Lynn!).

As the DD, I knew I had to eat dessert in my little bit, so I volunteered to do the kitchen scene and scoured for any readily available desserts.  Ah ha- Pumpkin Spice Cake from Trader Joes on the craft service table for the volunteers. Sorry girls, I need that prop!

I found some whipped cream to pretty it up for camera.

Voila! It worked perfectly for the shot and wow- who knew?! It even tasted super delicious.  I was doubly surprised because not only do store-bought items bum me out, but also because I’ve had terrible pumpkin pie at Trader Joe’s in the past (review here). That said, this was a moist and flavorful cake. Thankfully, there was still plenty to go around after my shot!

I can’t wait to see how the video turns out! Taryn is an incredibly talented web-producer (writer, actress, etc), so the song was very catchy!

Thanks again Lynn for the photos!

XOXO

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Carrot Cake from Canters’ Deli and Bakery

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Half cherry
No you’re eyes don’t deceive you, that really is a half-cherry rating.  If there were such a thing as negative cherries, this abominable carrot cake from the LA landmark, Canters’ Deli on Fairfax, would surely earn the odious award.

Carrot Cake… right?! How do you go wrong with Carrot Cake?!  My dear friend and actress, Autumn Reeser, and I set out to find a a slice of heaven as we both love carrot cake. However, we could not have gone more wrong than we did with Canter’s.  ”Repulsive” was all Autumn could mutter as she grimaced, gingerly trying small bites.

Autumn thought that the carrot cake resembled a large honkin’ protein bar with waxy glaze and all.  Her sentiments were not far off.  The “icing” left a terrible taste in our mouths as it was the worst combination of chalky and waxy, and the dried out bread.. oops, I mean “cake,” had barely any seasoning or flavor. Is this place for real!?  Canter’s looked gross from the outside, continue to look gross from the inside, and ended up just tasting gross all around.  Repulsive, Gross.. what have you.. this cake? Definitely not worth the weight!

Canter's Carrot cake

For more info on Canters’ Deli on Fairfax, click here. (Ha, like you want it now ;)

XOXO

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