CUPCAKES FROM VANILLA BAKE SHOP OPPOSITE: MACARONS FROM PAULETTE MACARONS 110 Craving bear claws or baklava? Macarons or macaroons? A sturdy rye or an ethereal challah? Here are L.A.’s top 20 bakeries by Margot Dougherty PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUCAS ZAREBINSKI Precious few dilemmas can’t be ameliorated by the wonders of a croissant pulled straight from a wood-burning oven, a French sweet cheese lines a Danish, and coffee scents a coffee cake (how tart whose glistening fruit is cradled in custard, did we not think of that before?). or even a humble brownie finessed with a pecan- The steamed green tea bun, an individual-size cloud of bread with studded caramel top. Bakeries and their offer- a sprinkling of peas and a dab of pea paste, fl irts with sweetness ings make a multipronged advance on our senses: before dissolving on the tongue. Τhe very existence of a fresh loaf of sublime dark » Koreatown Galleria, 3250 W. Olym- . pic Blvd., Koreatown, 323-766- bread brushed with gold signals celebra tion 0404. Also at 11301 Olympic Blvd., Ripping into a few slices slathered with West L.A., 310-914-0404. butter makes us just plain happy.➺ Diamond THIS FAIRFAX cornerstone hasn’t changed much in its 65 years, and neither have the recipes—why mess with perfection? Friday and holiday lines are long as the obser- vant and the discriminating wrestle over possibilities: chocolate-laden babkas, buttery cinnamon rugelach (twisted rather than rolled, with A mandine a croissant-like crispness), coffee BEHIND THE register, an aproned thick, dark crusts give way to silken these days, but it’s the more glam- cakes, cheesecakes, jam-rich palm- baker with a wood paddle swishes cake centers with a barely audible orous squid ink-dyed pain de size hammentaschen. Diamond’s sourdough rounds from one part crackle, to the gorgeous macarons mie—a black Pullman-style loaf fl uffy and regal challah, which can of the stone oven to another. Fruit fl avored with grapefruit and pink with thick strokes of gold leaf on be employed for transcendent tarts with Carmen Miranda uppers, peppercorn, Earl Grey, or chocolate its shiny dome—that’s the show- French toast, may well be the best gâteaux with chocolate shavings, and black olive (a surprisingly coher- stopper. » 8718 W. 3rd St., L.A., 310- in town. A slight woman named and loaves of cheesecake marbled ent combo). » 408 N. La Cienega 205-0124 or breadbar.net. Also at Ruth has been behind the counter with blueberry and strawberry Blvd., L.A., 310-289-9977 or boulela 602 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Moni- for 42 years. She’ll ask how you share residence in the refrigerated .com. Also at 413 N. Bedford Dr., Bev- ca, 310-395-9490, and Westfi eld want your pumpernickel or (excel- cases near the entry, but it’s the erly Hills, 310-273-4488. Century City, 10250 Santa Monica lent) double-corn rye sliced— viennoisserie on the opposite Blvd., Century City, 310-277-3770. medium thin or medium—and as counter, warm enough to emanate she guides the bread through the the alchemic perfume of high- Breadbar machine’s humming jaws, it may quality butter baked with fl our and EACH OF THE hand-shaped loaves Cake house occur to you that Diamond is the sugar, that demands immediate at- at this growing chain of cafés be- PART PATISSERIE (check out the antithesis of L.A.’s image and the tention. These croissants are easily longs to one of seven families of crepe layer cake oozing whipped quintessence of its soul. » 335 the best in the city, their paper- dough. The raisin-walnut and olive cream and berries), part Korean N. Fairfax Ave., L.A., 323-655-0534. thin outer layers crisp and blistered breads are descendants of the bakery, Cake House has a stultifying with that butter, their pliant insides “Tour de France” clan, while the number of breads, neatly wrapped rolled with cinnamon or wrapped curcuma-hazelnut is of the “Golden in cellophane and displayed on Emil’s swiss around almond paste or choco- West” tribe. The sweetly aromatic tables that span the width of the pastry late—or both. Their berths, butcher buckwheat fi celle (a thin baguette) shop. Pastes made from chestnuts IN 2000, Isabelle Champigneulle, paper-lined baskets, underscore showcases a grain we rarely see and beans are hidden in soft rolls, who is French, and her husband, the earthy elegance that defi nes pastry chef Christian Kaufmann, this sort of French baking. » 12225 who is Austrian, bought Emil’s Swiss Wilshire Blvd., West L.A., 310-979- Pastry. Perfect, says Champigneulle, 3211 or amandinecafe.com. because “Switzerland is between France and Austria.” A few months ago they moved to a spanking-new Boule shop that provides a peppier van- THE OFFERINGS have dwindled at tage point for their pan-European this high priestess of patisseries, confections: parisienne cakes with and we miss the dance of playful- chocolate whipped cream layers, ness and precision in founding pas- sugar-dusted napoleons, almond try chef Michelle Myers’s initial, paste-fi lled bear claws (often gone larger selection. Much of the space before noon), apple-crammed stru- is taken up by chocolates, but the dels. Emil’s French-style fruit tarts baked goods that remain are top- combine puff pastry, vanilla cus- of-the-line, from the canelés, whose BOULE tard, and a collage of fruit, but our FOOD STYLIST: LIESL MAGGIORE. PHOTO (THIS PAGE): COURTESY BOULE FOOD STYLIST: LIESL MAGGIORE. PHOTO (THIS PAGE): LOS ANGELES 112 FEBRUARY 2009 twentythe bestbakeries CRANBERRY-WALNUT BREAD FROM EURO PANE the twenty bestbakeries favorite, the Swiss version, with a short crust and plum, pear, or apri- cot slices in a mattress of marzipan, is exquisite. » 11551 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A., 310-473-6999 or emilsswisspastry.com. Euro pane SUMI CHANG’S café is a neighbor- hood focal point that’s seldom without a stroller or two parked tableside while their operators ogle the possibilities. Chocolate crois- sant? Pear cake heavy with fruit, brown sugar, and butter? Dense, cupcake-shaped brownie? Ahhh , maybe almond toast: a fat slice of brioche moistened with lavender, almond extract, and marzipan and topped with a raft of sliced almonds. Chang’s experience at La Brea Bakery makes itself evident in breads like the cranberry-walnut loaf. “It’s great with cheese,” she says, popping one into a bag. Per- haps . But the yeasty nut-and-fruit medley really doesn’t need any company. » 950 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, 626-577-1828. LA BREA BAKERY J in patisserie cake (green tea bavarois with a thin, before you go. » 1202 Abbot La brea bakery THERE’S GENERALLY a moment heart of red bean paste rising from Kinney Blvd., Venice, 310-399-8801 of pause when a ribbon-tied Jin gift green tea sponge) is, like her Orien- or jinpatisserie.com. Also at Inter- THE MORE THAN 100 styles of box is presented for the fi rst time: tal, a cocoa-sprinkled assembly of Continental Los Angeles Century City, rustic breads at L.A.’s iconic bak- It somehow seems brutish to dig chocolate mousse, coconut cream, 2151 Avenue of the Stars, Century ery—shaped into rounds, baguettes, into Kristy Choo’s elegant confec- praline paste, and roasted almonds, City, 310-789-6485. sandwich loaves, and rolls, suffused tions. Should they just be shel- conceived with immediate extinc- with rye or rosemary, studded with lacked and put on a mantel? Nah. tion in mind. Grab a bag of sesame J nuts, olives, or raisins, or blanketed Her whimsically adorned green tea seed-trilled chocolate bark, wafer oan’s on third in Parmesan— share the heritage of THE SHOP’S expansion allowed for a wild-grape-fed starter yeast de- JIN PATISSERIE the addition of more baked goods veloped by Nancy Silverton in 1989. to Joan’s tony larder. As much as Silverton, co-owner of Mozza, sold we admire, and consume, the Cloud the bakery and its industrial kitch- cupcakes whose chocolate-dipped ens, but she keeps a hand in the old- marshmallow icing reaches dizzying world shop, whose shelves radiate elevations, we’re newly infatuated her genius for making premium arti- with the Betty Crocker-style cakes, sanal food seem essential rather whose precise layers are mortared than indulgent. Pignoli, macaroons, with butter cream frosting. But and almond cookies that seem born the pantry’s true marvel, its confec- of serious stock, Italian candies and tionery belly dancer, is the hazel- fruit pastes, conspire with a knock- nut-meringue cake with a midriff out twice-baked sour cherry bri- of quivery apricot whipped cream, oche, accented with marzipan and a barely stable arrangement show- orange water, to keep the screen ered with powdered sugar. » 8350 door swinging all day long. » 624 W. 3rd St., L.A., 323-655-2285 or S. La Brea Ave., L.A., 323-939-6813 or joansonthird.com. labreabakery.com. FROM TOP: COURTESY LA BREA BAKERY; JIN PATISSERIE LOS ANGELES 114 FEBRUARY 2009 L talent in the service of simple plea- ness, and for the luminous coquitos a provence sures. » 10850 Washington Blvd., en almibar—Ping-Pong balls of patisserie Culver City, 310-559-9933 or platine coconut paste encased in a golden CROISSANTS (with fi llings of choc- cookies.com. candied shell. The shortbread kisses, olate, almond, and Nutella, no less), fi lled with dulce de leche, melt on tarts, scones, muffi ns, and macar- impact. » 315 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, ons (chocolate, pistachio, caramel Porto’s bakery 818-956-5996 or portosbakery.com.