La Provence

My friend's mom took me out to dinner tonight to this great little cafe near my house that I would have never come across on my own. La Provence is a tiny patisserie/cafe in a shopping complex on Olympic and Lapeer. The shabby chic decor of the place perfectly suits the elaborate, dainty desserts that temptingly sit in the glass display case.


I chose three of the many rainbow variety of Macarons: Rose, Violet and Pistachio (the prettiest colors!) They are standard French Macarons, rich in flavor, crispy wafer exterior with a gooey creme center. A great little treat.


I then knew I had to taste a chocolate, and after seeing the chocolate cupcake, I immediately knew it was what I needed. It was unreal. An insanely dense, rich cupcake that was not over the top sweet. The icing was amazing, like it was made out of designer chocolate. The cake was super moist and complimented the thick ganashe icing perfectly.


They also had an amazing collection of cakes, croissants, cookies, muffins and giant cupcakes which I must have for my birthday. They don't allow photography inside the store, so I'll just have to buy more and bring them home! This secret spot is worth a trip over to the strip mall - the panini's are great too! I hear its great for breakfast (despite the line). www.laprovencecafe.com

Cookies!

Everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie, but there are so many different ways to make one, its hard to say what's best, crunchy or chewy? Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite cookie is Tate's Chocolate Chip - made in Southampton, NY, and packaged locally (the ones shipped around US are not as fresh aka not the same). I can't even explain them they are so unique, so go look for them yourself and try it out...will be like a treasure hunt. www.tatesbakeshop.com

For freshly made bakery cookies, here are my two favorites...so far! They are both so different in looks, taste and texture, but are both so amazing.

CLEMENTINE - LOS ANGELES
This cookie is flat and looks wrinkly, as if it was poured from a liquid and hardened. The dark chocolate used is rich and chunky and melts well into the cookie, which is amazingly soft on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside. The ends of the crust almost look and tastes like caramel (although it is not) - there is some sort of melted sugary secret that holds it all together. Its a great after lunch cookie! www.clementineonline.com





LEVAIN - NEW YORK
This cookie is to die for. When you walk into Levain you are overwhelmed with hot gooey cookie smell, and see loads of cookie dough on trays that you want to leap into.. or at least I do. While this cookie is best when right out of the oven, it was recently brought to me in LA from NY and it was still the best thing I've ever tasted. First of all its huge, usually I can only handle half at a time, which says a lot. Its a lumpy cookie with rich chocolate chips and walnuts which ads a great crunch. Something about the way the cookies crumbles allows it to lump together like cookie dough, so if you like eating that you'll love this. Like I said, it's to die for. www.levainbakery.com

Huckleberry

I kept hearing about this place Huckleberry in Santa Monica for breakfast- but when I went I fell in love with their desserts! Their bakery section is out of control. I've been back about 3 or 4 times, and have tasted a few different items including the yellow cake, cinnamon roll, chocolate cupcake, chocolate chip cookie and salted caramel...





My favorite item there is the yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It may be one of my favorite cakes of ALL TIME- the icing is out of this world. I love regular box cake, like Duncan Hines, and this tastes like a glorified yellow cake with an light and fluffy yet rich milk chocolate butter-cream frosting, unlike any other.





My friend Lauren really loves the salted caramel. She says, "If you like caramel its to die for, if you dont, it won't convert you". I'm not a big caramel fan so it's hard for me to rate the way I do with chocolates.



Huckleberry is a MUST! Check out their website for more info: www.Huckleberrycafe.com