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Looking for desserts for Passover? Or fresh Hot Cross Buns for Easter Sunday? Look no further!

Each year we exclusively bake Passover cakes without the traditional use of flour; instead, we bake with potato starch and Matzo meal. The two cookie options we have, Almond Macaroons and Coconut Macaroons, are also made sans-flour.

For chocolate lovers we have our Chocolate Orange Passover cake, which can be decorated with or without whipped cream. Without whipped cream, we generously top the cake with fresh strawberries and oranges. With the cream, we cover the torte with whipped cream first then decorate with fruit along the perimeter for some color.

A chocolate alternative to our Passover desserts is our Strawberry Banana Passover cake. This banana sponge is made with fresh bananas and Matzo meal (note: because of the Matzo Meal, this cake is NOT gluten-free). Between the layers of sponge lies fresh strawberries, bananas and whipped cream. It's decorated with whipped cream, sliced almonds on the sides and topped with some fruits around the perimeter. By default this cake is sprinkled with Orange Curacao liqueur for both flavor and to keep the cake moist; but this can be substituted with Orange Juice by request. 

We'll also be making two types of macaroons! Our Almond Macaroons, made specially for this holiday, is made with almond paste. It's available in plain and chocolate flavors. Lastly, the Coconut Macaroons we have in our case everyday also do not contain flour.

Hot Cross Buns (not flourless) are also in season again! Please place your orders in advance if you know you'll be needing them. We'll also be baking our Raspberry Sandwich cookies in the shape of bunnies -- so stop by after your egg hunts!

Happy New Year to all! The holidays are never long enough, are they?

But now it's time to get back to business. With a new year ahead of us, we're very excited to be making some new additions! We'll be busy in the kitchen stirring up some new recipes. I've got a few in mind... maybe some sugar-free products, some gluten-free - although no promises! What's tough about these two kinds of cakes and pastries is we refuse to stray away from our philosophy: using the highest quality ingredients to bake the highest quality final products. We don't want to cut any corners, which makes baking sugar-free and gluten-free very challenging. 

Any other suggestions or recommendations? Over the holidays we were receiving numerous phone calls asking about Lemon Cake. We do bake a fabulous Lemon Poppyseed Cake as well as a Lemon Custard Cream and a Lemon Rum Cream, but I think a plain Lemon Cake would be nice too. Another request I received is for Coconut Cake, so I'll be working on that too.

What do you think? Anything else you would like to see our bakery carry?

In addition to my last post on Holiday Gift Ideas, here are a few more ideas that are especially, although not exclusively, great for companies. Among the most popular are the Cookie Tins and Fruitcakes, but there are a few baked goods that can be ordered in large quantities that will work just as well, if not better.

1. Mini Dessert Platters

We make a variety of mini desserts including fruit tartlets, lemon tartlets, Eclairs, Cream Puffs, Napoleons and Grand Marnier Balls. Feel free to create an assortment with as little or as many desserts as you like. We can pack them in our standard bakery boxes or on party platters. We do offer special pricing for 25 pieces on a tray, limited to one kind of dessert per tray. 

2. Morning Pastry Boxes

With a large variety to choose from, there's something for every office! For your convenience, we have five preset boxes to choose from. Of course if non of these assortments are to your liking, we can also make custom boxes. Almost all of our morning pastries are also available in mini sizes.

4. Buche de Noels and Yule Logs

While we are already on the topic of gifting cakes, why not kick it up a notch? Our Buche de Noels and Yule Logs are exclusively made this time of year. They're a bit more extravagant, but can really brighten up an office party. Your clients will really be surprised and appreciate this one. Find more details on our Holiday Special Occasions page here.

5. Bags of Cake Bites

Since the launch of this product a few months ago, we have been getting tons of positive feedback! With these Cake Bites, there's no hassle of delivering a full-sized cake while having the same quality and taste and having enough to go around. They can be individually bagged per person or packed in a box (think box of donut holes!) or party platter (picture aboved). 

6. Box of Cupcakes

Each box holds six cupcakes, pick and choose the kinds you want: Chocolate with Chocolate icing, Chocolate with Mocha icing, Chocolate with Rum icing, Carrot, Orange Almond, White Cake with Chocolate icing and/or White Cake with Orange icing. Bow is complimentary :)

Or just send a whole bunch to the office!

Hope this helps. If ordering in large quantities, please place orders in advance. Please leave a comment or call our stores if you have any questions!

Happy Holidays :)

Holiday shopping can be a pain sometimes. The crowds, the lines and not to mention the headache over finding the perfect gift for your loved ones. Whoever that may be - maybe a parent or a sibling, a friend or a co-worker - skip the mall and head to one of our four convenient locations.

Let's start with co-workers or managers first. Our Holiday Cookie Tins or Cookie Baskets are perfect for the office. The best part is they're customizable to your needs. Choose to do a tin of six cookies, a basket of 100 (the perfect gift from one company to another) or any number of cookies in-between. Mini assorted, regular-size assorted, Gingerbread, our special Holiday-only cookies - the choice is all yours. You can give (and therefore spend!) as little or as much as you'd like. Any way you go, the cookies are baked freshly every day and packed with care.

A great gift for family members or neighbors alike - which many of our customers are already taking advantage of - is our Naturally Aged Fruitcakes. Our fruitcakes are made with raisins, currants, almonds, walnuts, figs, dates, prunes and a bit of fresh orange peel. They were baked in October so they could be naturally aged with brandy, which means we don't add any preservatives unlike other places. Even without additives these fruitcakes, because of the real alcohol, will last you throughout the year and into January. Because they were baked to be aged, we only have a limited supply left. Pick up a pre-wrapped box today at the stores or call ahead to place a hold.

And there's always our Gift Cards. Available at Palo Alto, Santa Clara and Fremont locations, purchase as many cards as you need for any amount (over $10, increments of $5) that is available to redeem at any of those three locations with no expiry dates. This gift is perfect for those who frequent our locations for breakfast or lunch, or maybe you know they love our cakes but you don't know which one. The Gift Card is fast, easy and yet still thoughtful.

Stay tuned for our next post... maybe you don't need gift ideas but you've been asked to bring dessert to dinner. I'll be making some recommendations and giving details about the cakes we exclusively make during this holiday season. Until then, keep warm!

I'm a summer kind of girl but there's one thing that I love about fall that I undoubtly look forward to each year: PUMPKIN PIES. Well, Pumpkin-anything really. Pies, cakes, cheesecakes, cupcakes, lattes... you get the picture.

The other day I was at my neighborhood supermarket when I noticed several piles of Pumpkin Pies (officially the start of the season, for me). What was even more shocking than the number of pies on the table was the price tag that was attached to it: $5.99 each. 

Although I love a great buy, I know I'll get what I pay for. Our Pumpkin Pie is, I'll admit, more expensive at $13.25 each but we use quality ingredients without artificial flavors, colors or enhancers. I can also promise there aren't any strange ingredients that you can't immediately recognize, let alone pronounce. In fact, I'll name them for you:

Ingredients in our Pumpkin Pie filling:
Pumpkin (100% pure)
Sugar
Eggs
Spices (salt, cinnamon, etc)
Dairy

Like all of our baked products, we don't add any artificial flavors or artificial colors. We don't add any preservatives or additives -- nothing but common ingredients that you'll find in your very own kitchen. We only take the mess of making it off your hands, that's it. Natural, pure and made from scratch.

In much the same manner, we bake many other pies: Apple, Cherry, Pecan (above), Banana Cream and Chocolate Cream (below). 

So while our pies are just a bit more in price, you'll have comfort in knowing you only served a natural and pure pie that was made by hand from scratch by our family for yours.

Please also see our last blog post regarding Thanksgiving Dinner! Other items that we specially bake for Thanksgiving include: Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Strudels, Sticky Buns, Bread Loaves, Panettone, Hot Cross Buns, Aged Fruit Cakes and more. Please place your orders in advance to guarantee items.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In a previous blog post we mentioned a growing trend towards individually sized desserts. We sort of took that to the extreme with our brand new Cake Bites. There were two different sweets running through my mind when I came up with this idea of Cake Bites. First, chocolate. Just plain ol' chocolate. Minute amounts of chocolate can make your day so much brighter, don't you think? I also love working with chocolate: making chocolate decor pieces, chocolate candies, chocolate bars and don't forget chocolate truffles.

Second, donut holes. Why is it that donut holes are so much better than regular-sized donuts? Well, for a couple reasons, I think. Firstly, because they are bite-size, they are easy to eat. You don't have to commit to a whole donut if you don't want to. Secondly, and probably more importantly, there's a better glaze to dough ratio. A much, much better ratio. Even though the donut hole is smaller, the entire hole is covered, AND it's more glaze than what you would get out of a bite of a regular donut.

I have the same problems with cake slices as I do with regular-sized donuts. Sometimes I really want cake but can't finish a whole slice (or rather, won't let myself... but the topic of weight-watching while working at a bakery is neither here nor there). And like the glaze on a donut, sometimes I wish there was a higher icing to cake ratio. Thus, the cake bites were born.

They're really perfect because you can have as many or as little as you want without compromising the quality of our cakes. We used the same exact batters, icings and ingredients as we do with our whole cakes but, obviously, scaled down. And then, mostly because I love playing with chocolate, I tossed the bites into chocolate shavings to give it the truffle look, inspired by dessert idea #1.

We're going to start off with chocolate cake. The chocolate Cake Bites are Chocolate on Chocolate, the white Cake Bites are Chocolate Rum and the mixed Cake Bites are Chocolate Mocha. If they really take off we'll start adding some other cakes and flavors.

They launched today at our Fremont store so stop by for a sample, and let us know what you think. They will hit Palo Alto and Santa Clara stores later this week/beginning of next week.

Hope you like them!

[EDIT: This free coffee promo has now ended. Stay up to date with our promos by subscribing to this blog!]

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day! With the holidays behind us, we wanted to start a few more promos. We already have a FREE COFFEE promo running at Fremont for a few weeks now. Stop by during breakfast (or brunch on the weekends) for hot breakfast and you’ll receive a complimentary cup of drip coffee! We serve breakfast daily – weekdays until 10:30am and weekends and holidays until 3pm. That reminds me, this Monday will be President’s Day and in honor of the holiday, Fremont and Rivermark locations will be serving brunch. Stop by for extended breakfast on Monday, February 21st.

In addition to free coffee at Fremont, we are now offering a new discount on cupcakes. Buy 6 for only $16.95! They’ll be placed in a specially-sized box so they won’t tip over or be damaged on your way to the office, party or home.

Our cupcakes are available in most of our American Cake flavors: Chocolate on Chocolate, Chocolate Mocha, Chocolate Rum, Orange Almond and Carrot Cake. If you can, please place your orders in advance – I can’t promise that we’ll have these on-hand everyday. Large orders are also very welcomed:

Please call our stores if you have any questions!

I can’t believe the holiday season is behind us. 2010 definitely seemed to have flown by, and now we’re almost done with January too! I suppose that’s how Valentine’s Day creeps up on us. I don’t know about you but more than once have I found myself scrambling for a present at last minute. Something more creative than some flowers or a box of chocolates, yet still meaningful and perhaps even delicious.

This is where we step in!

Last year we began making our famous Chocolate on Chocolate cake in the shape of a heart. We drizzled some raspberry icing on the top, decorated with a few chocolate pieces and a couple raspberries. It turned out beautifully, so we’re happy to offer it again.

In addition, for Mother’s Day last year we stumbled across a sweet creation in our kitchen. We married two of my favorite desserts to create a tasty Tiramisu Cheesecake, unique to our bakery. This is available in 8″, 10″ and a 6″ heart.

And for years now we’ve been making our Sweetheart Cake specially for this occasion. Taking the same chocolate cake that put us on the map (so to speak!), we kicked it up a notch from our Chocolate Rum by frosting it with raspberry cream cheese. It’s so good we often get requests for it throughout the year but it’s only available these couple of weeks – so make sure to place your order!

If you or your loved one aren’t cake people though, we do have several other options: cream puff hearts (filled with fresh whipped cream, covered with dark chocolate and drizzled with raspberry icing), individually-sized heart-shaped Strawberry Mousse, heart-shaped cookies (available in Raspberry Sandwiches, Half-Dippeds, Gingerbread, and Snickerdoodle).

Critics call this holiday a “Hallmark Holiday”. It may or may not be true, but we hope you enjoy it anyway and let the people you love know you love them! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Graduation is just around the corner. Whether your loved one is graduating from college, high school or middle school, it’s definitely an occasion to remember. Speaking from experience, I remember the best parts about graduating wasn’t only never having to take another final exam again, but also celebrating this momentous occasions with friends and family. And any momentous occasion is an occasion to have cake. But for this occasion, not just any cake – but a Cap ‘N’ Tassel Cake.

What makes our graduation cakes unique is that the graduation cap that rests on the top of the cake is actually also made from cake, 100% edible. Put that together with a board and a tassel (note: this part’s NOT edible!), and viola! We have a graduation cap.

Although we do make them in a 1/4 Sheet size, we recommend the 1/2 Sheet since it’s a better cap-to-cake ratio. For both of these sizes, the cap will be made out of a 6″ cake. For the Full Sheet size, we’ll use a 8″ cake. Because we’ll be stacking the cakes, we can only make the Graduation Cakes in our American Style flavors. That is, our Chocolate on Chocolate (our most popular cake!), Chocolate Mocha, Chocolate Rum, Orange Almond, Chocolate Orange Almond, Carrot (a close second!), Lady Baltimore, Lady Regina, Lemon Poppyseed and finally our Zucchini cake.

Feel free to place your orders now, and Congratulations Class of 2010!

Recently we have mixed two of my favorite products: cheesecake and Tiramisu to create an incredibly rich and tasty Tiramisu Cheesecake! We literally joined the two ingredient lists together. Sitting on homemade lady fingers, the cheesecake itself is made from a blend of cream cheese, Mascarpone cheese, espresso made from Italian-imported beans, Kahlua and Meyer rum. We then top the cake with a Mascarpone whipped cream. The result is a cake rich in taste but not overpowering in any one flavor (we have a lot of flavors going on there!).  If you love our Tiramisu cake, this one is a must-try!

Now available for orders: the sizes we offer are 6″ heart (about 4-5 servings), 8″ round (8-9 servings) and 10″ round (12-16 servings). Decorations around and on top of the cake may vary.

Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter. Were about to launch a Twitter-exclusive promotion and we want your votes! Check out our profile/previous tweets for more details: www.twitter.com/theprolificoven

Have a great weekend!