Vanilla Bake Shop

In the world of LALA land is yet another bakery, Vanilla Bake Shop. This cute little bakery is filled with tons of different mouthwatering treats such as cakes, cupcakes, icebox desserts, pies, tart cookies and more! So with more than just cupcakes, i had to devour this bakery from head to toe. Starting with a fresh fruit tart that was so refreshing and a nice break from your typical cake dessert. 

The ever so adorable Icebox desserts come in shots (like what I got) or in jars. I got a Dirt Cake shot, that  had me falling back into my childhood, when you would eat those cakes that had colorful gummy worms stuck in a schlop of crumbled oreos. The shot was the absolute perfect size as the dessert is so rich and delicious. Any bigger and your simply asking for trouble.  

Your typical chocolate, pistachio and rose flavored french macarons were another treat my bestie Steph and I could not avoid devouring. The chocolate was your typical chocolate macaron, and was almost a wet texture. The rose flavor was so faint making it have a very "blah" flavor, and I still have second thoughts on it being rose. The pistachio was a lot better than the rose, but was still just a hint of flavor, but overall had the best texture. The cookie part on the chocolate and rose was not airy enough, almost wet and sticky for my picky tastebuds.

3 mini cupcakes are next; Pumpkin, Chocolate Raspberry, and Chocolate with Choco & Vanilla frosting.   The pumpkin, was alright, it was your down right same ol' pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  The Chocolate Raspberry was so extremely rich with a strong raspberry flavor. It was pretty darn good, but was a bit too much for me, and that was a mini!!! The Chocolate with Choco & Vanilla frosting, also was so so so so rich; I honestly dont know how people do the regular size of these cupcakes!

Next time im back in my home state, I would love to hit this bakery up again to devour even more tasty treats on their menu. (Oh, and try every single icebox dessert they offer--so bomb!!) Nom Nom Nom one love

My home towns Crushcakes

In the small tiny beach side town where I was born, now lives Crushcakes Bakery, just a quick skip and a hop from Linden Avenue in downtown Carpinteria, California. 

No pink and frilly glitter covered walls are going to be found at this bakery, and thank god, cause its about time. In the bakery/cafe, Giant wooden rugged paintings hang on black and red walls that give off a hipster, tattoo-style vibe. Since Crushcakes is so close to my house, I was able to try multiple cupcakes!

I got a red velvet cupcakes topped with sour cream frosting topped with a chocolate heart.

Next was a Cookies N' Cream cupcake that was a marble cake with a Oreo cookie buttercream.

Lastly, I tried a vegan (finally a place with a vegan cupcake!!) chocolate cake with a vanilla frosting.

All of these cupcakes tasted like your typical homemade cupcakes, nothing spectacular. They almost had a box taste to them, which really bums me out. They frostings were all so sugary as well-mirgrane maker for sure! There is nothing much else I can say besides they taste like your typical housewife made cupcakes, and to me, does that really make someone deserve their own bakery? Not so much...They did absolutely nothing for me. 

I really liked that they had vegan and gluten free options, but why do they always have to be such boring flavors!? Just because im vegan, doesnt mean I dont like fun flavors---Please stop with the lame chocolate and vanilla combos!

Momofuku's Milk Bar

If you have to take a pick at one thing to be addicted to, I would recommend Crack...well, Crack Pie that is. The most grand and spectacular place in the US, New York City, is home to some of the most unique artists, hoity-toity housewives married to suit clad men who spend most of their time on Wall St., the most extravagant restaurants, and of course, some of the top bakeries in the country. Momofuku's Milk Bar is the only bakery that you can find cookies that taste like your local college kids compost bin (pretzels, potato chips, coffee, etc.), a pie that is honestly trademarked Crack Pie and even Franken Pie, which is 3 different pies pieced together to make one whole pie, and they even have soft serve that tastes like Cereal milk!

I am lucky enough to have been able to stuff my face at their Lower East Side location, and when one of my good friends Eric recently came to visit Colorado, he surely remembered how to make me squeal with excitement; DESSERT! 4 cookies poured out of his pocket; a Confetti, Corn, Blueberry & Cream, and Compost Cookie.

The Confetti cookie was devoured so fast I couldnt get a photo! 

All of the cookies have a sort of undercooked-ness to them, which make them melt in your mouth. The sprinkle filled Confetti cookie was probably one of the most fantastic cookies I have ever devoured; fluffy and chewy with a simple flavor that made it easy to make it disappear. The Blueberry and Cream cookie was sweet and refreshing with the hint of milky blueberries.

The Compost cookie is basically what would come about if a 7-11 had a baby with Mrs. Fields; the cookie has so many flavors happening that every bite tasted completely different than the previous. The corn cookie was the only one that didnt really knock me out of my seat, i mean think of corn bread made into a cookie and ta-da...you have the corn cookie. 

On my previous trip to NYC I tried the Crack Pie (a favorite of Anderson Cooper), which is basically a pie with a filling of butter and brown sugar. It was good, don't get me wrong, and extremely addicting, hense being called Crack, but once you have had a slice, you don't really need to eat the whole pie. With 4 locations in New York, you cannot make an excuse not to become a crack, or cookie, addict. 

I even got a Momofuku Milk Bar post card in the mail the other day, now thats the way to my heart...cookies in the mail, now only my tastebuds would be satisfied with taste of paper. 

The One and Only Sprinkles Cupcakes

This is where it all began, the world-wide craze of gourmet polka-dotted fist-size desserts. Sprinkles Cupcakes is the mastermind behind most every single bakery on the streets today. Sparkly crystal cases of made-from-scratch cupcakes, topped with swirled buttercream, line the walls causing every creature on the planet to stop and drool at the sugary treats. On my recent trip to Los Angeles, my bestie and I hopped into her car and took the 45 minute, 10 mile drive, to Beverly Hills to finally devour the most famous cupcakes on the planet. After they wave of paralyzation from my bellies excitement disappeared, I finally decided on 4 different cupcakes, a good 'ol traditional chocolate cake topped with vanilla buttercream, Chai, Lemon & Coconut, and a Chocolate Vanilla Hazlenut Cupcake. These cupcakes, are...well, orgasmic is the only word that pops into mind. Everything about these cupcakes are 100% right. The cake is baked to perfection, the fluffy buttercream literally melts in your mouth; I just couldn't get enough. The chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream was my favorite classic cupcake dominated over any one I have ever had. The Lemon and Coconut cupcake was so light and refreshing and have me gawking over it. The Chocolate Vanilla Hazelnut had a light hint of mouthwatering chocolate hazelnut buttercream, on top of a perfectly moist cupcake, leaving me to lick the wrapper.  Lastly, the Chai cupcake surely tasted like chai, but was probably my least favorite out of all of them; now that I think back I don't think we finished this one.  After chowing down into food coma, I was still, somehow, craving another cupcake - or 2.  Sprinkles, I don't know how you do it, but all I know is I wish I could devour your cupcakes every single day for the rest of my life. Thanks for living up to the rumors, and proving that you really are one of the best bakeries for the world to indulge in.

TIME FOR YOU TO DEVOUR!!!!

Finally...after tons of stressful, long, obnoxious hours...you can devour some of my made from scratch 100% vegan treats! www.Devourbakery.com is up and ready for you now to order some sweets to satisfy those taste buds. (The site is not 100% done yet, but at least you can order finally!) No matter if you are allergic to Gluten, Eggs, Milk or anything else, you can find something to shove into that beautiful mouth of yours. Any special requests, contact me and Im sure I can whip something up for you! Spread the love, and I'll love you back with special discounts & freebies with every order! 

One Love <3

Blue Moon Bakery

For all them mountain' folk in Silverthorne, Colorado looking to satisfy some baked good cravings, there is Blue Moon Bakery. The small cafe was packed with people getting breakfast before spending the day throwing themselves down the snowy mountains strapped to various modes of transportation, aka. snowboards and skis. Excited to start my day off with some sugar, I dove right in to a chocolate chip cannoli. 

The last cannoli I had was from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken NJ, and just happened to be the most amazing, soft-&crunchy-at-the-same-time deliciousness pastry of all time. I of course, had to try one from Blue Moon, with the hope that a cannoli is one of those foods no one can f*%^ up, like spaghetti. But no, I was wrong, this cannoli was not worthy of a second bite. I usually try all the baked goods I review with my...now fiance, Pat Milbery :)  and keep my mouth shut to see what he has to say about it before I start blabbing away, but this one, i could not help myself but scream at him not to try it. Which obviously he had to try, but he never went to seconds either. The shell was soggy and bendable like wet cardboard. The filling was so extremely thick it made me feel like that kindergarden teacher in Billy Madison slurping the  glue during lunch time. Lastly, the massive cluster of blooming mini chocolate chips was beyond foul and just unnecessary. 

With the last disaster that had occurred in my mouth, I didn't have high hopes about the Boston Cream Cupcake I had left. Surprise, surprise, this was even worse than the Cannoli! It tasted straight from the isles of the grocery store, contained more than 80 ingredients and reek of chemicals. No way was this cupcake from scratch, if so Blue Moon, please re work your recipe before poising the rest of the rockies! The cake its self was dry as the plains of Africa, and the fudge was extremely similar to that of the fat little pillsbury dough boy. 

Blue Moon Bakery had some of the worst tasting baked goods I have had in a very long time. It must be there breakfast, and the stoner-snowboarder community that keep this place is in business. Don't bother unless you are desperate, snowed in and have no more canned beans left. Remember you have been warned! 

Ps. I did go to this bakery in April, I just have avoided writing this review because remembering this experience is just too painful

Teacake Bake Shop

I stumbled across this small, tucked away bakery in downtown Lafayette California. The vibe of the bakery is a cutesy tincey-wincy bakery, with the typical white and pink decor. 

There wasn't much of a selection of fun flavored cupcakes to chose from. All of their cupcakes were Vanilla or Chocolate topped with a couple of different buttercream favors...Whoop-Dee-Do. The cookies looked alright, but if you cant make a damn good cookie, then don't bother opening a bakery--just my thought. 

So i settled for 2 different cupcakes; the first one was a chocolate cupcake with a Dulce De Leche Buttercream. The Buttercream looked cute with its little flower decor on top of the swirled frosting, but when you bit into the cupcake, there was a bit of a crunchy layer you had to get through first before you could enjoy the soft and smooth center. The flavor of the buttercream was alright, but its not too hard to mess up a Dulce De Leche flavor. The cake itself tasted like any other chocolate cupcake, a bit on the trusty ol Pillsbury dough boy. 

The 2nd cupcake I devoured was a Madagascar Vanilla cake with a Honey Tangerine Buttercream. The tangerine flavored buttercream was very refreshing, it felt as thought I was biting into a juicy ripe tangerine. Although, the honey flavor was missing. I completely forgot that there was suppose to be honey in the buttercream, all I could taste was the citrus. The vanilla cake itself was extremely gummy and dry. It felt like I was eating a starfish, a gooey center with a dry crunchy outside...well thats what I think a starfish would taste like...anywaysss...The snazzy name of "Madagascar" vanilla, i think fools people into thinking its some exotic and forbidden like vanilla flavor, which in some peoples head makes it taste fantastic. But not me, I saw right through the fancy name and just ate off the buttercream. 

Teacake Bake shop was an alright bakery if you are in desperate need of a sugar-fix, and the Bay Bridge is closed to get to San Francisco, or your too fat and lazy to get to Walnut Creek to hit up Kara's. One this I do like is that Teacake does offer classes to learn to make cupcakes and cookies, but at $45-75 a person, this bakery is crazier than the Britney Spears circa 2007. 

Republic of Cake

Just over the hill from Oakland, California lives Republic of Cake, a small cupcake bakery, in downtown Orinda. Republic of Cake offers a ever changing menu that offers your traditional cupcakes, a gluten free option, as well as savory cupcakes, such as a French Onion Soup Cupcake!! 

Greeted by a man of a few words, I let his grumpy attitude slide and ordered 3 cupcakes.   

The first cupcake I stuffed into my mouth was a Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcake that was a chocolate cake with a kick of spicy hotness, topped with a cream cheese frosting drizzled in caramel. At first bite a wave of moist chocolate cake filled my mouth, when suddenly I was slammed in the taste buds with a warm spicy hint of flavor. The cream cheese frosting complimented the warming taste of spice perfectly and the drizzle of caramel added a nice little extra flavor. 

The next cupcake was a Snickerdoodle cupcake, a vanilla buttercream topped cinnamon flavored vanilla cake sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. "Blah" is the only word to describe this cupcake. There was nothing intense or exciting about the cake or the buttercream, at all! With such an easy flavor to make into a killer cupcake, I have no clue how they f*(#ed this one up. 

The last cupcake was a Lavender Meyer Lemon cupcake. The lavender cake was filled with a lemon curd topped with a honey cream cheese frosting. The cake had a light and refreshing lavender flavor, but the lemon filling ruined this whole cupcake for me. The lemon curd tasted like wet dog; my gag reflex was making me react like a cat coughing up a huge snarled hair ball.  The cream cheese frosting lacked the honey flavor, to the point I forgot it was suppose to even contain honey.

The cupcakes just did not do anything to make me want to go back for more. The only decent one was the Mexican Hot Chocolate, while the other 2 had me trying to get rid of them as fast as fast as I possibly could; but no one would take them. One thing I extremely admired about this bakery, is when you order "Sam's Very Messy Chocolate Cupcake", the R.O.C donates a percentage to a different charity that changes ever month. So not only did you get to indulge in a chocolate cupcake, but the month I was there, you also donated to help education in Africa (a big plus for my family, as my mother does work with a orphanage in Tanzania. ) So, high five to you Republic Of Cake!

2 Theatre Square, Suite 151 . Orinda, CA 94563

American Cupcake

Where can you find a place that is pure white, while still looking like a rainbow? Or a place that is filled with Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy and Booze? Why, American Cupcake in the one and only San Francisco of course!! 

This funky little restaurant/bakery might possibly have the raddest decoration, and nicest girls working there of any bakery I have been too. The rainbow balls hanging from the ceiling make you feel like you are surrounded by bubbles filled with Glinda the good witch. The menu had my mouth drooling like Augustus Gloop in Willy Wanka's factory; cupcakes, candy cocktails, beer, and even regular entrees like salads and corn-dogs. 

The first cupcake I devoured was a bright pink Bubble Gum Cupcake topped with two gumballs (which were BOTH stolen from my older sister). Remember being a kid at Baskin Robbins and getting a crunchy cone topped with slowly melting bubble gum ice-cream? Well, American Cupcake, has taken that delightful treat and turned it into a cupcake! The flavor sparked my tastebuds and sent me head-spinning into my childhood in one bite; i swear, the frosting was EXACTLY like the ice-cream. This glorious ice cream was on top of a vanilla cupcake that was pretty good, a bit to thick and had a well...gummy texture, for my liking. But who cares, the frosting flavor made up for it in a New York minute. 

Next up was the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake topped with a small peanut butter cup (which also was stolen by my sister!!) Im not going to compare it to a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup because that would be rude. This was on par with REAL peanut butter cups, not some hershey's crap. The smooth fluffy frosting tasted like real peanuts on top of a rich chocolate cake that both, flavor and texture, worked perfectly. 

American Cupcake's frosting flavors are so unique and fun that you could put it on a sea urchin and it would still taste fantastic. Although, the frosting flavors are what makes me love this place, I doubt I would care for a traditional vanilla/chocolate combo cupcake. We even took home 4 to share with the fam, which now that I think of it, I have never done before. If you live in the bay, a girls night/birthday/bachelorette party would be amazing at this fun and happy bakery! 

American Cupcake

1919 Union Street

San Francisco CA 94123

You want one? Well thankfully they are on EVERY CORNER!

This little gift was waiting in my inbox...a review on Starbucks peanut butter petite from my Old Man aka. Pop aka. Dad aka. Mike Botto

"A delicious SWEET treat. The cake was very moist and flavorful. The frosting very sweet peanut butter. Too sweet for me actually. The piece of peanut butter cup was unnecessary but great for the presentation. The price was worth every penny.  Had a free coupon! Also it went well with my bold coffee. Which was not free. A petite blonde (girl) will only get you in trouble and debt, next time try a Starbucks petite.

See you next time!"

HAHAHAHAHAHA, such a dork, love you
Ps. Dad...work on complete sentances haha

Brecks's Clint's Bakery and Coffee

Watch the movie Dumb and Dumber, and while Harry and Lloyd are driving their tiny scooter in what they say is the town of Aspen, is actually Main Street in Breckenridge Colorado. That street that is filled with jewelry stores, restaurants, shops and also is the home of Clint's Bakery and Coffee. Clint's is a two level shop that serves food, like bagels and sandwiches (and for all you vegans, they have vegan cream cheese, butter, and veggie sausage! AMEN!). After stuffing our faces, we headed to the main level to grab some coffee and dessert. Being Easter and all, of course I had to get a Chocolate Cream Cheese cupcake that was dressed up like the easter bunny. 

This made from scratch chocolate and cream cheese cupcake was fantastic. The chocolate cake was perfectly moist and was slammed with an amazing chocolate aroma. It was topped with rich thick and fluffy cream cheese frosting that was decorated with a candy face and marshmallow ears. (Im not a fan at all of marshmallows, so this didn't rock my fancy, but hell, it was easter). Not the cutest decoration, but atleast they tried!

So far, this place has the best cupcakes I have had in Breckenridge. And the fact that their breakfast bagel sandwiches rule, and they are vegan friendly, has me counting down the days till the mountain opens again, and i can go indulge once again. 

Ubud's Daily Deli

Pat and I scootered down a dark windy road, filled with "George of the Jungle Vines" in Ubud, Bali in search of dinner one rainy night. We came across a small market place on the side of the road that had many restaurants and stores. Pat, in desperate need of a cheese burger, went to a small shop called the "Daily Deli" and instantly had me come in to try their cupcakes. We got two cupcakes, that were more like muffins in that they had no frosting piled on top of them; a chocolate with a couple almonds on top and a vanilla one with a drizzle of glaze. 

(They had some display cupcakes that had some frosting, but i guess you don't get the sugary topping on them unless they are special ordered). 

The cupcakes were pretty good, even though they had no frosting. They tasted almost more like muffins in that they were not as sweet as the typical cupcakes us American are use too, but they definitely satisfied our taste-buds. The texture was spot on and the flavors were very delicious. The girls working at the deli were super helpful and spoke very good English, which allowed us to have some extremely interesting and very informational conversations with them for awhile after we were done devouring our meals. This little deli was a great place to stumble upon, and allowed us to eat some food that did not consist of rice...finally and amen!  

Buddha Likes Cupcakes Too

Off a beaten dirt road near Canggu Beach is a grocery store, Canggu Deli, that is filled with quality meats, produce, snacks and baked goods. And, of course I had to get a cupcake from the bakery! 

I got a vanilla cupcake topped with little heart sprinkles. I dont know what else to say besides it tasted like a typical vanilla cake, with a stiff, thick, sugary vanilla buttercream. But I will tell you that Buddha seemed to like it! 

Vegan Chocolate Macadamia Cupcakes

 For my friend Steph it is Good-Bye Colorado and Hello California. I decided to make her a little somethin' to leave her belly feeling good and her flavor-meter full. So with ocean inspiration and a desperate desire for some chocolate, I made some chocolate cake topped with a coconut milk frosting, mixed with some freshly crushed macadamia nuts. So eat your heart out world...Im off to Bali :)

One Love <3