Queen’s Bakery

I’ve heard from a few people in LH that Queen’s Bakery makes good cake. I found out recently that they sure fucking do! You’re not going to find anything fancy here, just that simple keki LA people have come to expect for those special occasions that require a sugar-flour-fruit concoction: the popular strawberry cream cake. Made popular by Phoenix Bakery, the strawberry cake is the definitive birthday party cake, though some folks go crazy and mix it up with bananas, or even mango! Queen’s has those crazy options, sort of.

You see, when I walked thru the door I was surprised to not see any cakes on display, just a small room with cases. Okay, I forgot to take a picture of the empty display cases, and of the bell on the counter you ring to bring attention to the fact you want some cake. But you can’t blame me, I didn’t know what was going on. A few minutes later a worker (obviously in the middle of some baking process) comes over and tells me “pasate para atras” and she leads me through the bakery on a winding path between giant mixers and work tables full of dark pans cooling with tasty looking items, over to the refrigerator area in back where they keep the goods. They didn’t have any ready (since I guess most people order it beforehand) but the guy that was helping me said he could get something together in a few minutes. How’s that for customer service?

There he is preparing it while-i-wait. Oops, I think he caught me taking this pic.

I had nothing to do, just hanging out with the sacks of flour and sugar, so I took another pic, this one of a worker washing baking pans.

And here’s a view back thru the bakery and towards the front door. Should I mention it smells really good in here? Nah, I’ll keep that a secret instead. A few minutes later, the cake engineer presented me with a wonderful looking creation inside a cardboard box. It cost around 10 dollars for a strawberry cake. They were out of bananas.

Here’s a tip for you: no matter how carefully you think you can transport a cake on your bicycle, I suggest you walk or drive. This is why..

..a smushed up cake awaits those that don’t heed my warning. Err, but then again, most of you might have better sense than that. I’m not a big fan of sweets, cakes, and sugary things, but this was really one of the better cakes I’ve tasted in a long time, much better than those from Phoenix. It was light and spongy with a tasty balanced frosting that just makes sense, not like one of those ridiculously sweet latherings that cause you to pucker up in mandibular recoil. Next time someone asks you to bring a cake for that monstrous child-brat your friends own, or for a party of one of the many esquincles in your extended family, I suggest picking up a cake from Queen’s: at least you’ll know there’s something to look forward to!

Queen’s Bakery 2311 Pasadena Ave. 323.222.6447

PS. Googling for that info I found this place in Chinatown, so I’m speculating this is just the baking spot for them. That seems about right.