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Mother's Day is less than two weeks away! Plan to order your mom the very best - handcrafted cakes that are baked without added preservatives, without artificial flavors, without artificial flavors. This year we are featuring our Banana Custard Cream, a house favorite. This is actually my go-to cake, especially if we're going for chocolate-cake-alternative. Although it's a light French Style cake, it's carrying some real and natural flavors.

We specifically bake a banana-almond sponge just to craft this cake. Between the layers of banana-almond sponge lies a thick layer of fresh banana custard, which, like all of our cakes, is also handmade from scratch. The cake is then layered with freshly cut seasonal fruit, just a bit of fresh whipped cream on the sides and toasted sliced almonds.

It's light in texture but filled with natural fruit flavors, which makes this cake perfect for this spring weather and great for Mother's Day.

If you aren't having a family gathering that requires cake, then join us for brunch at our Santa Clara or Fremont locations, served until 3pm. If you plan on joining us at our Fremont location, don't miss out on our $1.99 Mimosa deal for Mother's Day only.

Hope to see you there!

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!

We can't have any green pastries but that doesn't mean we won't be celebrating St. Patrick's Day! Join us at our Rivermark and/or Fremont locations on Friday or Saturday for Corned Beef specials and insanely cheap beer (at Fremont only)!

At Rivermark (Santa Clara) we'll be serving two different dishes, one for each day. On Friday we'll be serving the traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage. Our marinated Corned Beef will be served with steamed cabbage, baby carrots, red potatoes and corn on the cob. If you can't make it in on Friday, don't worry, we'll be serving Corned Beef & Hash during brunch hours (open until 3pm) on Saturday! The Corned Beef & Hash will be served with hashbrowns and two eggs any style.

At Fremont we'll be serving the same Corned Beef & Cabbage entree as Rivermark but on Saturday we'll add an added promotion of $1 Bud Light and $1.50 all other bottled beers. We are currently carrying St. Pauli Girl, Corona, Trumer Pils, Sierra Nevada, Stella Artois and Michelob.

Hope you can join us! And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Check out these new boxes we now carry for cookies! Pick as many cookies as you'd like - of whatever assortment - and we'll box them for you with a great bow -- super fun and easy gifts!

So now there is a choice of Cookie Tins, Cookie Boxes or Cookie Bags (not pictured)!

Our Gingerbread cookies are very popular this time of year. We make a variety of shapes and sizes, including angels, boys, girls, trees and more. Pictured below is our Large Man next to some regular-sized Gingerbread.

And two more cookies that we feature during this time of the year: Spritz Cookies (Swedish butter cookies) and Mexican Wedding Cookies.

Last couple of days to get your orders in! Please call in by Friday to have your orders ready on Christmas Eve. Remember, we will be closed Christmas Day. 

Christmas Eve hours:

Palo Alto: 7:00am - 6:00pm, lunch until 3:00pm

Santa Clara: 7:30am - 6:00pm, kitchen closing at 3:00pm

Fremont: 7:30am - 6:00pm, kitchen closing at 3:00pm

Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday!

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!

This blog post is for those of you who actively follow our Twitter and this blog. Since we're talking about the day to give Thanks, I want to thank each and every one of you by letting you in on a few secret menu items we have for this Thanksgiving. You won't find details of the following items anywhere else on our site - not even at our stores - so read on if you're interested in exclusive desserts!

You'll want to place an order in advance for these items, since they don't really exist for anyone else but you, our readers! :)

MINI PIES: Individual desserts are cuter, more elegant and less of a mess. If you agree, you'll love our Mini Pumpkin and Mini Pecan Pies.

Plus, you get more crust this way!

Sadly, these tiny pies (about 4" in diameter) aren't big enough to fit our apple or cherry fillings. Don't forget we do have Banana Cream Tarts though, inspired by our Banana Cream Pies (the tarts just use a different dough for the crust).

Now, my favorite Thanksgiving item: Cheesecake-filled Pumpkin Cupcakes. A few years ago, during a slow night at our Fremont store, I whipped up a batch and fell in love. I was only making them for friends and family, and occasionally for the stores when I had the time. Since this post is really to thank you, our reader, I'll definitely be sure to make time should you choose to order these. Besides, these are too good not to share.

A Pumpkin Cupcake (different from our traditional Pumpkin Cake that we've had for years - that one contains walnuts and cranberries) with just the right amount of pumpkin flavor and the perfect balance of fluffy and cakey. In the middle, you'll find a sweet surprise: a small layer of cheesecake filling.

Topped with our Orange Cream Cheese frosting for a perfect complimenting flavor.

So there they are, three products this Thanksgiving that no one else knows about. Thanks again for making the effort to stay up-to-date with us. Remember to place your orders in advance to guarantee these secret items or any of the items we bake. Hope you and your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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!

Happy November! Can you believe that it's November already? We are only weeks away from Thanksgiving and before we know it, it'll be the new year. I blame the crazy weather we are having in the Bay Area. Don't get me wrong, I love blue skies and warm temperatures, but I feel a little cheated by the return of fall. It has creeped up on us.

So while the temperatures might suggest otherwise, don't forget that arguably one of the biggest dinners of the year is almost here. Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday. Each year my family hosts, and it's always so heart-warming to see my extended family crowded around our much-to-small dinner table. It's always overflowing with food, sometimes so that we have to hold our plates while we eat. But for some, Thanksgiving brings headaches, hassles and anxieties over serving something delicious and large enough for the party (those of us who cook know that sometimes these two ideas don't go hand-in-hand). Thankfully, this is something I don't have to worry about, and neither should you.

Perfect for both a corporate event or for your family meal at home, our Thanksgiving Catering package covers all the bases for your lunch or dinner, plus we offer anything else you may need: dinner rolls, bread loaves, PIES, cakes and more.

Let's start with the main meal first. Each Turkey Dinner includes a turkey that is at the very least 16 pounds,  homemade cornbread stuffing, hand-mashed potatoes and gravy made from scratch. Serving about 15-18 people, this complete meal is less than $7 per person.

-- Homemade cornbread stuffing for a large corporate catering order last year --

Popular add-ons we also offer include:
Honey-Cured Ham (natural juice, pure muscle) with homemade honey pineapple sauce
Dinner Rolls by the dozen, available in white and wheat
Sauteed Vegetables
All other items on our regular Cafe menu, including pastas, salads and our Vegetable Tofu Plate

And of course we offer a whole variety of dessert for Thanksgiving, the most popular being our homemade, made-from-scratch pies. If you order the Thanksgiving Catering package, we offer our phenomenal Pumpkin Pies at a discounted price of $19.95 for two. Unlike other bakeries, supermarkets and alike, our pies are all-natural and pure, with no preservatives, no additives and no artificial flavors. We also bake Apple, Cherry, Pecan, Chocolate Cream and Banana Cream pies in the same manner.

-- Rack of Pumpkin and Pecan (in the back) Pies on the morning of Thanksgiving last year (11/25/10) --

So as you can see, Thanksgiving Dinner can really be quite easy. The dinner comes hot and ready to serve, and you only need to make one stop for both meal and dessert. The only thing we do ask is that you call to place your order in advance - we won't have any extras on the day of (Yes! We ARE open on Thanksgiving Day). Actually, quantities are limited so if you're interested, make sure to speak to a Catering Manager ASAP. 

-- We can pre-carve the whole turkey for only $10 extra --

Considering Turkey Catering for a corporate event? Not a problem. We've catered our Turkey Dinner for 15 to 200 people in the past. Packages are available for pick-up or delivery the week before Thanksgiving too, in case your office won't be open the week of. Call our Santa Clara (408-986-8388) or Fremont (510-252-1098) stores and speak to a Catering Manager.

Stay turned for more Thanksgiving posts!

Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 8th this year — it’s coming up fast! We hope you can stop by and join us for Mother’s Day Brunch at either our Santa Clara or Fremont locations. If you don’t already know, these two locations serve hot breakfast daily. On weekdays breakfast runs until 10:30am but onweekends we serve brunch (both breakfast and lunch is available) until 3pm!

Eggs Benedict//California Omelet

So bring your mom in to enjoy a full menu of hot breakfast foods like scrambles, omelets, Eggs Benedicts, waffles and French Toast. We also serve a variety of continental breakfast items (our chocolate croissants are an instant hit!) as well as freshly brewed organic, fair trade coffee! Special for Mother’s Day we will also be serving $1.99 mimosas, valued at $4.99, at our Fremont location. Our Fremont location is great for groups and, if weather permits, great for outdoor seating. You’re more than welcome to call in for a reservation for large groups (10+) to ensure seating.

Probably the best part (breakfast and mimosas aside) is you won’t have to go anywhere else for dessert! No celebration is complete without cake and we have plenty of them. For Mother’s Day we’re recommending our beautiful and delicious Tiramisu Cheesecake.

Don’t forget to place your orders in advance! We’ll also have other goodies ready in our case (fruit tarts, lemon tarts, eclairs, etc) but if it’s a cake (or if you need large quantities), best to place an order. Hope to see you Sunday, May 8th, and Happy Mother’s Day to all moms out there :)