Need Birthday Cake-PURPLE FROSTING! Help!

[janie]

Love Cannelle, but did them last year for my son's birthday, and this year he is insisting on a Purple Cake. He is obsessed with Burt from Mary Poppins, so would like to have the cake decorated with dancing Burt, umbrellas and kites---saw one online at a bakery up in Yonkers that looked like this. So, a purple psycho version of Mary Poppins is what I'm after!

Would like to find a delicious one, and was hoping the purple could be obtained with blueberry extract or some other natural way--but I'll settle for food coloring, if need be---I'm in Queens, and prefer to find one in Queens, but would venture to Long Island, or Manhattan, or Brooklyn if it there was a great one there. Never been to Baked and on their website the cakes look so plain, and very "magnolia Like"---Just for the record, I can't stand Magnolia--or anything betty crocker looking...I need purple frosting, but still want a beautiful delicious cake--something chocolate inside would be good--no jam fillings either!

Please help!!
Was thinking that Titan might be able to make me something, a recent post said Guli was not that great, Artopolis always has the same stuff, Lety's doesn't seem to have something like this---As an aside, Recent NYC inspection reports don't look good for alot of my favorite bakeries, I really think this is shameful, because baking supplies especially need to be in airtight containers so they don't get contaminated with mickey and his poop.

So, please see if any hounds can wrack your brain, for a nice cake...was thinking that Lulu's in Westchester, but it seems a bit far........

Thank you !!!!

[Pan]

What did you decide to do, and how did it turn out?

[doughreme]

Baked is great and not really like Magnolia. I bought a malted cake from there recently and it was very tasty. The decorating was plain though. The cakes don't really look like "kids" cakes. The prices are not inexpensive, but they generally match the quality.

But, it does sound like you are more interested in the decorating. One year my daughter had a crazy doll cake that she wanted and I ended up getting it at .... ready for this?? A & P (or now Food Emporium) in the Zechendorf Building in Union Square. They have a huge bakery and will make you anything you want. They can really decorate too. It tasted really good and more importantly, looked exactly like the cake she wanted. The prices are ridiculously cheap too.

One other place that I have gotten a few cakes from is Lassen and Hennings on Montague Street in Brooklyn. Their cakes are delicious and the decorating depends on who is working there at the moment. One year they decorated fantastically and another year I had to give them a picture and beg, because they didn't think their decorator could do it. For the record, it came out really good, but not perfect. Prices are very good too.

[angelhair]

If you're willing to come to Brooklyn you really should consider Ladybird Bakery (the former Two Little Red Hens). Their designer can reproduce just about any pic you have in mind. They always did my kids' birthday cakes and could work from an illustration, a book, or just the imagination. Really fabulous and the cake is good too!

But honesty, since this is for a child's cake, you might as well save the money and go to someplace more commercial where they can do a photo reproduction. Of course, the cake won't be nearly as good but if it's for kids they won't care - they might even like the commercial product better since it probably won't be as rich.

[seb]

If you are willing to travel to Brooklyn, I wouldn't rule out Baked just by the looks of the cake. It is my favorite bakery in the world and have never been disappointed (I go about once/month). They are consistently excellent.

[jen kalb]

I suggested a ube cake, below, but I am thinking that the purple CAKE may be less important for your kid than the images - a lot of bakeries do fancy images of superheros, etc for their cakes - in brooklyn I see places that do this in hispanic neighborhoods - you surely have such a place in Jackson Hts or Corona - get a copy of the pic you want and look around to see bakeries that do this kind of work. Its not a fine baking type of product, its more mass-market, IMO. Or, probably better, go to the place that you KNOW does it in Westchester, it may be less work in the end.

[The Turtle Bay Dove]

I don't have their contact info, but it might be worth seeing if Ambrosia Bakery (a couple based in Jackson Heights) could work with you. I'm pretty sure I've seen their contact info posted here on C'hound in the past if you wanted to call them.

[Da Vid]

If you're a bit adventurous, you can try the Ube (purple yam) cake at Cindee's Cakes located at 198th Street and Jamaica Avenue. In fact the entire cake is purple. It's made with purple yam. While you're there, you can also can get one of those prepacked purple yam ice cream.

[IWantFood]

You could try Aphrodite's Sweets on Francis Lewis Blvd. in the Whitestone/Bayside area, phone [phone]. I stumbled upon the bakery by accident about a year ago. Everything I've tried has been quite good, and the owner seemed nice and accommodating. Maybe you could give them a call and describe what you're looking for.

[jen kalb]

Filipino bakeries, such as Krystal's in Woodside make bright purple cakes with purple yam - it makes a delicious cake - they can also be made with macapuno (I kind of young coconut) filling.

If you want to make your cake, you can get Wilton paste food colorings that will give you a purple color - Party city stores sell the Wilton cake making supplies.

[JungMann]

Those ube cakes used to be one of my favorites when I was a kid, not too sweet with a bright purple hue that boggled the mind.

[catherine]

Ditto ube cake - love the not too sweet pinoy deserts in general. Not sure if they'll do custom stuff but it's worth a try. Engeline's or Krystal's (woodside) would be the places to check.

[MahatmaKanejeeves]

Philippine Bread House in Jersey City is better than Krystal's.

[Judyluvs]

Well, the other day I had picked up a nice cake from Villabate Pasticceria in Brooklyn (http://www.villabate.net/about_us) that was sort of purple. It was a raspberry mousse cake; mostly made of a lavender-ish shaded fruity cream and a tiny amount of chocolate cake in there too. Topped with whole blackberries and raspberries and a fruit glaze. Down side to it was that the girl told me it was blueberry and I was looking for a non chocolate cake...yet they do make lovely cakes there.

[janie]

Villabate does have some very nice stuff, but Bensonhurst is a bit far to go..was hoping for something a bit closer...I stop by there when in Brooklyn though--thank you....