Dilemma # 2

In my life, there are two dilemmas that I am frequently faced with. 

Dilemma # 1: where should I eat today? This can come up multiple times a day, since I usually go out for lunch on weekdays with coworkers, and if I’m meeting up with friends, then dinners, too. 

Dilemma # 2: which cake should I get? This isn’t an everyday dilemma since it only comes up for friends’ birthdays, but the pressure is still there to choose a cake that everybody likes. 

Today I’m tackling the lesser dilemma.

Last week I had the honor of choosing a birthday cake for a friend, and I was lucky enough to get a recommendation a couple days before: the chocolate strawberry shortcake from La Patisserie (see photo at the bottom of the post). It was a hit, and I recommended it to a coworker the very next day. Her family loved the cake as well, and that inspired me to write down a list of all the cakes I’ve enjoyed from the bakeries in the area. So here goes, in no particular order…

• La Patisserie: chocolate strawberry shortcake and burnt almond are their best-sellers. All of their cakes look delicious, though.
• Icing on the Cake: banana cake scores points for being unique, and the red velvet is also really good and moist.
• Whole Foods (Cupertino, not Los Altos): you simply cannot go wrong with a cake from Whole Foods. And if there’s anything you don’t like about it, bring it back for store credit. I have tried practically every cake here – strawberry chiffon, chocolate eruption, tira misu, buche de noel (seasonal), but my favorites are the tira misu and chocolate eruption cakes. I have been known to buy the tira misu cake just for a snack or breakfast (for myself). 
• Aki’s Bakery: guava cake! Sometimes they can make it too sweet, but it’s still good. (update: now closed, but you can get this at La Patisserie)
• Paris Baguette: it’s a Korean bakery chain, so the cakes are pretty light…delicious though (beware: since they’re Asian, they can misspell messages on the cake, even if you write it down for them). 
• Bijan Bakery: known for their mango mousse cake, and I love mango. 
• Kee Wah Bakery: Hong Kong chain that has your typical light and fruity cakes. I also got an apple almond pie here once that was good. (Update: now needs pre-order with something like 48 or 72 hours advance notice.)
• Sogo Bakery: another Asian chain bakery. For a while this was my favorite tira misu place, but now I prefer Whole Foods.
• Fleur de Cocoa: French bakery in downtown Los Gatos – I love the chocolate royal here ($5.75 for a single slice), and they make it as a cake, but it’s something like $40, which makes it the most expensive cake place on this list. I personally just get an assorted mix of pastries here so that people can try different things. 

If anybody has other recommendations, feel free to comment below…I’m always looking for new cakes to try.