My husband’s birthday is around the corner, and I’m perplexed. He’s picky about cake. While Porto’s is good, it just doesn’t hit the spot for him. He’s enamored with traditional American-style cakes. His favorite being Beach’s Bakery in Downey (now closed but formerly located outside the Streit’s grocery store). He likes the heavy buttercream and a white/yellow cake filled with fresh strawberries. Can anyone recommend a good bakery within a 30 minute drive that can satisfy this request?
A good key lime cake would do, too. The Some Crust (Claremont) made one years ago, but they’ve since discontinued the flavor.
I’m about 4 steps away from ordering a grocery store cake because I can’t seem to find a local bakery that’s not Porto’s or Asian.
Thanks so much!
Ralphs.
Yes, Ralphs.
You may have misunderstood me.
That Ralphs’ yellow cake with strawberries is probably the most underrated bakery item in Southern California. It is FAN-freaking-TASTIC. It is the cake I ask for on my birthday.
Big Sugar Cakeshop in DTLA.
Call ahead and they can make a yellow cake with buttercream and the fruit of your choice to order.
I alway’s liked Hansen’s for regular cakes
Not sure if this is 30 minutes, might be a stretch but the strawberry crown cake at Joan’s on 3rd is wonderful. I think on a perfect traffic day, it would work.
Hi attran, finally signed up to try to help u. Try Rossmoor Pastries in Signal Hill. They make key lime cheesecake so maybe they can make you a key lime cake. Otherwise, should be no problem ordering white/yellow cake with strawberry filling. They’re very nice and helpful. We did a special order a few months ago and they helped us with flavor choices and design. Design and toppers of course add to the cake price but if you just want simple icing/fruit decorations, I think price is reasonable especially for a nice once a year treat. Owner was hands on, even helping customers take their cake to the car, they ensured our cake with a tall topper was boxed properly. Unfortunately, owner just sold but bakery is in good hands. Another one is Alsace Lorraine in LB (I’ve not tried their cakes, only pastries/cookies/quiche for the fam; owner is not always friendly but mostly is at the back). I tried linking info but just rec’d note I can only link 2 'cause I’m a newbie–boo. There are Ralphs on the East and West sides of Cerritos; there is a nice bakery woman at the Pavilions on South/Woodruff in case you want to go the grocery route. If sometime you are looking for ube or mango cake, try Red Ribbon inside Seafood City (sorry, Asian but worth a try at least once). Good luck… PS, finally made it to Los Compadres but have to do better with timing as it gets real busy and loud–thank you.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rossmoor-pastries-signal-hill?select=ygGV4INLV-8wBcbBSsr3rg
Ha, found a way to link Alsace info:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/alsace-lorraine-fine-pastries-long-beach?select=kyx9Nbe_PNr4qilTLVfyYw
Happy Birthday to your husband.
@J_L I never would have thought that Ralphs would have a good bakery. I might just have to hop over later today…maybe two cakes are in store for him from two different locations.
Welcome, @WeFlipBurgers! The community here is great, and it’s been nice to see the steady migration.
I wondered where Red Ribbon disappeared to…now I know. So glad you enjoy Los Compadres…we’re there for happy hour at least once a month. Best time to go is right before or at 5PM, if you want a table in the dining area or at 8:30PM if you’re willing to do a late dinner. For Happy Hour in the bar, I’m usually there at 4:30PM.
I’ll give Rossmoor a call…but that Joan’s on Third Crown Cake like @A5KOBE suggested is quite heavenly.
Thanks so much for all the suggestions, all…I’m going to give them all a shot.
Yes agree with the community here, tho still wondering if Kevin and his f bombs & !!! might resurface sometime (see, I’ve just been a lurker).
Thanks for the tips on LC, @attran99. Unfortunately, my MIL’s caretakers relieve us from 5-8 so 4:30 only works for dine and dash; 8:30 works for one diner (hmmmm, may be a good idea sometime). I think we were able to somehow bribe one of the kids to let the caretaker in during mid week cause we did go a couple of times with no wait for the HH at the bar (dining room can get real loud especially with big parties). Last time was a Friday, mob scene, put our name down but left due to long wait and noise level.
I hope you find a great birthday cake for your husband. Enjoy the special day with all your boys.
Getting one of these shipped from Milkbar in NYC might be a real treat:
Pretty spendy, and I haven’t ordered one myself, so I’m not sure how well they’d hold up in shipment, but I do know that I would be happy to get one of these for my birthday.
FYI (1) Milkbar is getting a bit closer to LA. They are opening in the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
FYI (2) Select Targets carries Milkbar cookie mixes which are only $7 and they are fantastic. I would be quite happy with some confetti cookies for my BDay. I bought the OG Momofuku compost cookie mixes at William Sonoma for IIRC twice the price and they are pretty much the same mixes at Target.
I think I’m going to Target later tonight…and I’ll be making the mixes for me 
Thanks, @A5KOBE!
The birthday boy worked the night shift, so he came home to @J_L’s Ralph’s cake for breakfast. Moist yellow cake, fresh strawberries with the red pie glaze, traditional American buttercream. What a way to start a birthday. That buttercream is no joke. Our sugartooth kids thought it was too sweet. Forgot to take a photo of it…much later he decided to take it to work to share.
After a long siesta, we celebrated (again) before he headed off for another night shift with a cake from @WeFlipBurgers Rossmoor Pastries.
This was a real winner, too. The cake was perfectly moist, and the key lime cheesecake filling was good…and much different from traditional fillings usually offered. It’s not on the menu, but if you ask, the bakery is most accommodating. The buttercream here was more gentle in that you didn’t need to worry about a diabetic coma afterwards.
The most surprising about Rossmoor is that it’s located right next to a quaint wine shop that’s a little like Hi-Time Cellars in Newport. The Wine County offers a nice selection of wines from around the world and craft beers. I found the bottle of 2011 Justin Isoceles Cab we had at The Ranch a few weeks back for $70, and added that to his collection of gifts.
I plan on trying these suggestions for cakes in the future. Thanks to all who contributed!