Vanilla Bake Shop

After months and months of hearing about Vanilla Bake Shop in Santa Monica, I finally went to try it out. They didn't have too many things to chose from, but everything they did have was really cute, and tasty.


The first things that caught my eye was the Icebox shots. They looked cuter than they tasted, but I was still impressed. Its a nice alternative from what you usually see in a bakery. The flavors were Southern Banana Pudding, Meyer Lemon Raspberry, Dirt Cake and Turtle Pie. These would be great for a party.


I wanted to try the cupcakes so I went with the minis - Vanilla Bean, Toasted Coconut, Bittersweet Dark Chocolate, Mocha Chocolate, Mint Chocolate and Old Fashioned. I liked the Vanilla bean best, which surprisingly had a chocolate cake. The icing reminded me of vanilla Jell-O pudding, I loved that.


Any place that has samples is amazing. They had brownie samples at the front, which was great because I probably would have overlooked them. I really love this brownie, super dark and rich, almost with a mocha flavor. This might be one of my favorites in LA!

Homemade Double Chocolate Cake

I've never made a homemade cake before, and for a first try, this one came out really well! Meg and I used Ina Garten's recipe which was pretty great.


The cake part itself was really gooey and dark, due to the cup of coffee that was added into the mix. Ina likes to use freshly brewed coffee to bring out the taste of the chocolate, and as much as I liked it I think next time I would only use a half cup. The coffee flavor almost overwhelmed the chocolate.


The frosting, however, was amazing! I never knew buttercream was so easy to make. I don't think I'll ever used store bought frosting again. It was SO light and fluffy but rich in taste, and we didn't even have and electric mixer to use. Overall this was a great success, and I'm excited to make another one soon!