Friday, July 22, 2005

Princess Cake Tasting - Part I

Just until a few years ago, I didn't know what a princess cake was. Honestly, I don't recall seeing them much in Japan or in any of the (hick-ville) US cities I've lived in the past. Now, I can say with confidence that I know what a princess cake is all about thanks to my very epicurean friend, Melissa, who hosted an absolutely lovely afternoon of princess cake tasting last weekend.

princess1 Each of us brought several slices of princess cakes from bakeries all over the Bay Area, and we ended up with quite a showing! Melissa secured a nice sunny spot to sit in the Golden Gate Park along with a cool, shadey bench to line all our cakes. Let me tell you - we had quite a variety!! That was a LOT of princess cakes to go through!!! Here's an alphabetical listing of which bakeries were represented: Ambrosia, Cakery, Copenhagen, Delange, Primrose, Schbert, Swedish, and Victoria. Unfortunately, I don't know anything else about any of these bakeries (except that Primrose is in Pleasanton, CA - that's the one I brought!), but I'm sure a quick Google search would provide anyone interested with any of the details...


princess3
This is the slice of Primrose Princess Cake that we brought from our happy East Bay/Tri-Valley corner... My first choice was Tortabella, but unfortunately, they didn't have princess cakes that day... Tortabella is my favorite bakery around here, and I'll be posting more about them very soon. I think they are just as good as - if not better than - many of the famous bakeries in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco.

Anyway, I am digressing. This is what my task looked like:
princess2

Check back tomorrow to find out who's cake I liked the most and why!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is just not nice to tease like this!

Sam said...

i didn't know what princess cake was until right now

Alice said...

Jack,

It's my secret strategy to maximize on my food adventures... and I got a little too sleepy to finish the post!

Sam,

It was interesting to see how different bakeries interpert the constraints of a what makes a princess cake. I think a tasting of different Opera cakes from various bakeries might be just as fun!

Anonymous said...

hi, i love your site! do you know that ikea sells a frozen princess cake too? i also had my first taste of princess cake at a small restaurant in santa cruz. i wish i knew the name though, b/c it was delicious! it was right downtown...if i find out, i'll let you know ;-)

thanks for the great pic's and stories, i really am enjoying them. i live in n. cal too, and am originally from hawaii! so i know much of what you're talking about.

maybe we can be friends =)

aloha!
k

Anonymous said...

Once you become accustomed to this wonderful delight, you can truly look at a slice and tell if it will be a good piece. I'm eating some now with a glass of French Champange... this cake is soooooo good! Happy New Year to me! Oh, and you too.... eat your cake :)