Tuesday 24 April 2012

Cakes and more from America


Earlier this year, I went to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It was my first time to the west coast and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Apologies for the delay in blogging about the trip but better late than never! Just to be clear - I did more than eat cake on the trip although you wouldn't guess by looking at these pictures ;-) 
We did a lot of the usual touristy stuff, lots of shopping and definitely a lot of eating! So sit back, relax and enjoy :)


 Karas Cupcakes in San Francisco - I had a peanut butter milk chocolate cupcake and fleur de sel cupcake and they were both delicious! The cakes were moist and the frosting was heavenly. I wish I could have tried a few more but had to save room for everything else :) 
 They sell these cute T-shirts 

 and cupcakes! 







 

 SF - home of Ghirardelli chocolates 

 I did see some sights :) 



I met a friend of a friend Jennifer and her mum Cindy who took us to Nopa in San Francisco for lunch. Voted the top brunch spot in SF where the french toast is #6 on the top 100 things to eat before you die.  The food was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed the french toast. We ordered quite a lot of food to share but it meant we could try more items on the menu :) 


 Meyer lemon scone with a lemon cream - delicious! 

 homemade donut - really light, soft and tasty

 the infamous french toast - it was very, very good 

 scrambled eggs and something else (can't remember now) 

 Excellent food! 

 I also paid a visit to Miette where I tried a macaron (yum) and a chocolate cupcake. The gingerbread cupcake is the most popular but I don't like ginger hence the chocolate choice. 




 I'm sure this cake or a similar one is on the cover of their book 

 A visit to LA is not complete without a visit (or two) to Sprinkles cupcakes - The original Cupcake Bakery. I tried a few of their cupcakes and they were absolutely delicious!


 This is the pink cupcake ATM which was operational the day I left LA so I didn't get a chance to see it in action. I LOVE the idea of a 24 hour cupcake machine - yes please!! 

 Does anyone else watch Cupcake Wars? Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles is one of the judges 

 The perfect breakfast - red velvet and chocolate cupcakes! 

 I love this picture with the reflection of the sky and trees and the pretty cupcake :)

 Sadly I didn't get a chance to eat the cheesecakes at the cheesecake factory as there was a long Q and we were in a hurry but I did have a sneak peek at the cheesecakes. 

 This is my favourite bakery of all the bakeries I visited on my trip. There are 2 branches in LA and I went to both :) The guys at the West Hollywood branch were really nice and friendly. They had this amazing tea called 'Paris tea' If anyone knows where I can buy it in the UK please let me know. 


 Jennifer (who took us to Nopa SF) claims this is the best cake she has ever eaten. I have to say I agree with her. It was so light and moist and fruity - I wish I could have another slice now! 

 This is their triple berry shortcake - yellow butter cake filled with 3 layers of whipped cream and fresh berries. If you ever visit LA, you MUST try this cake! 

 the Santa Monica branch 


 same cakes but bigger space 



 This time I tried a mocha praline - Dark chocolate cake filled with mocha buttercream and fresh candied pecans - YUM! 


 Dessert bar at a buffet at Rio Hotel in Las Vegas


 In the Bellagio hotel where we stayed - world's largest chocolate fountain. 

 it was a truly impressive chocolate fountain! 



 They had lots of pretty cakes, chocolate, pastries, muffins and ice cream at the Jean Philippe Patisserie. We had savoury crepes for breakfast which were decent but the cakes were definitely the best! I wish I'd tried the pastries as well but there is a limit to how much one can eat, right? 

 

 Look at the desserts!! 

 everything looks amazing!! 



 just look at the pastries... 


 more pretty cakes




 I tried this nutella mille-feuille and it was delicious. Light and crispy base with a creamy centre - definitely a good choice! 

Well I hope you enjoyed reliving my food memories from the trip. These were just the highlights as it would take too long to post about everything here. Makes me want to go on holiday again! 

36 comments:

  1. I have died and gone to heaven. x

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  2. Omg I am so jealous!! It all look a,axing, the ATM is coming to London apparently!

    Nom!

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  3. Wow - I think I'm absolutely speechless! 8) It all looks so incredible. Glad you had a fab time! :)

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    1. As you can see I had the most amazing trip :)

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  4. Jesus fucking Christ it's like a heart attack in fabulous pictures!!!

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    1. LOL think of all the extra calories I had to endure for the sake of my readers... thats my excuse anyway ;-)

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  5. What a wonderful trip! I haven't been to Sweet Lady Jane, but now I must!

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    1. You MUST MUST go to Sweet Lady Jane. The cakes are literally to die for!

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  6. I was drooling from the cupcakes to the French toast to that berry cake! I really want to make a version of that cake, it looks so luscious!

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    1. It was one of the best cakes I've ever eaten in my life! I would make a trip back just to visit the bakery :)

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  7. Oh, my...that French toast...drool...

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  8. Thank you for sharing this with us. I loved seeing all the cakes and food. Makes me wish I could go there too.

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    1. It was a really good trip - I hope to visit again someday :)

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  9. WOW!!! I can't even describe how excited and hungry this makes me. What a trip! I think every city/town/village needs a cupcake ATM.

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  10. I can't even describe how hungry reading this post has made me - all looks absolutely amazing!

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    1. Thanks! There was a LOT of eating involved :)

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  11. So did you have any days in America where you didn't eat cake? Looks amazing... I saw the cupcake ATM on a news site the day after you tweeted about it, it looks so cool!

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    1. erm.. probably not ;) Wish I could have seen the cupcake ATM in action. It was in the news over there too and I'm glad I got to see it with my own eyes.

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  12. I decided to read this post while I had my later afternoon apple. It was a bad choice - just looking at the pictures made the taste awful and it got worse the longer I read. I need to get the cupcake ATM installed in the office pronto!

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    1. lol I think we should have a cupcake ATM everywhere!

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  13. Well I thought I'd had enough of cake after this morning's CCC, but obviously not. Can't believe you saw and ate so many cakes. They all look amazing and so pleased you had a great time. It made me laugh that the first cupcake you went for was a peanut butter one ;-)

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    1. You wouldn't expect any less of me now would you? ;) Hope you enjoyed your cake club!

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  14. Wow, that's marvelous and I'm drooling over all the amazing goodies. You managed to snap so many good shots of cupcakes - now I'm craving them like never before. It's been SOOOO long since I've had a proper cupcake ;) And now I want to go back to Vegas ;)

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    1. I LOVE cupcakes and America is the home of cupcakes. I want to go back to America :)

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  15. Love, love this. I live in San Francisco, and I've never had the French toast. Clearly one more thing to add.. I have been to all the other places in SF, and I concur. Now I'll need to go to LA and Las Vegas??? Great review..

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    1. You must try the french toast! I wanted to go to Mamas but it was closed on the day we went :( I also went to humphry slocombe for ice cream in SF - unique flavours! (forgot to add to post!)

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  16. Crikey, you really did hit all the cake shops! This is a great reference for if I ever make it over there, I only really knew about Miette (which does have one of those 3 layer cakes on the cover). I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we get a cupcake ATM in the UK!

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    1. Well it was a tough job but someone had to do it ;-) I didn't even get round to all the bakeries I wanted to visit, will have to go again. A cupcake ATM would be so cool!

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  17. Wow wow! I know you weren't sure how many sweet places you could make it to but you definitely did a good job! My sisters went to Kara's cupcakes too! but didn't manage to get to Miette - I really want to go there! That chocolate fountain is pretty spectacular too, and you definitely have to go back and try Cheesecake Factory too one day...although you might not have to wait that long to try some in London actually!

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    1. Thanks! I forgot to add the cool ice cream place and 1 or 2 department store bakeries ;) I cant wait for the Cheesecake Factory to come to London and hopefully a cupcake ATM too!

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  18. Oh my I have never seen so much cake in my life! I am surprised you did not come back pounds heavier just looking at all that! There are some truly inspiring sights. Cake for thought I'd say!

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    1. LOL definitely came back pounds heavier - on the body and in the suitcase!! :)

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