Good Cake in Thousand Oaks area

[j]

Does anyone know where I can get a good birthday cake in the Thousand Oaks area? Can't find much outside of grocery store cakes. Yuck!

[PeterC]

There aren't a lot of bakeries in T.O. You might want to try Viktor Benes in Gelson's. They are not related to the supermarket.

[Snackish]

Yes, they make good pastries and cakes. They do the classics - opera, princesstorte, etc. They also make special orders. Their decorating is beautiful.

[Lorenzo Boido]

If you find anything, let me know. As far as I'm concerned, when Erika's in Westlake closed this town went down about 3 notches.
.Lorenzo

[liu]

Agreed. I still remember a strawberry whipped cream cake I bought there...

[Judy]

I have not tried this place yet, but looks good.

Link: http://chocolatine.net/

[maybelle]

I tried Chocolatine (finally!) last Friday. I ducked in for a quick dessert after lunch - I split a Nutella Crepe with a friend, and had a latte and macaroon. Sad to say that I was disappointed. The atmosphere is lovely, but the crepe was expensive ($4.50), small and boring (no whip cream! no strawberries! just a sad little crepe on a plate. Latte was decent. Pistacchio macaroon ($2.25 each) had little pistachio flavor, and oddly enough, was very chewy!

My friend tried the chocolates and the rasberry macaroon and gave the chocolate a thumbs up and said the rasberry macaroon was better than pistachio, but still not worthy of ordering more.

I saw other people ordering food like French Onion Soup and Caprese Salad. Since I like the atmosphere so much, I'll return and try their food and will give some of their other desserts a try.

[liu]

When Chocolatine first opened their doors I tried one of their cold chocolate drinks; it had chunks of chocolate in it. The chocolate was quite good, but I have not returned since.

maybelle, if you do return for some of their other items, I'll be anxious to hear the details.

[Cake lover]

The pastry chefs at L'Artiste Patisserie in Encino can make you a beautiful custom cake like no other!

L'Artiste Patisserie
17312-A Ventura Boulevard
Encino, CA
[phone]

Link: http://www.lartistepatisserie.com

[the donut]

I once had a slice of a decent cake from the Bread Basket in Camarillo at a party. They seemed to use a lot of fresh fruit to top the cake.

Link: http://www.breadbasketcake.com/home.htm

[VC]

I agree that Bread Basket makes great cakes.....and everytime I am in there, it seems there are customers that come down the Conejo Grade for their cakes (so maybe it is the closest good place)

[nancyc4fun]

It may not be what some consider a high end bakery, but we like the cakes from Plusko's.(T.O. Blvd before Hampshire). We got a good cake there for my parents 50th anniversary. We were able to taste a couple of options before we made a final decision.
We found Victor Benes (inside Gelson's) to have beautiful looking cakes and pastries but the flavor just wasn't there.

[liu]

nancyc4fun -- Plusko's: where is it? What is next to or nearby? Thanks!

[sel]

I haven't been so I don't know what it is next to or nearby but Google says:

Plusko's Valley Bakery
2838 E Thousand Oaks Blvd
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362-3201
[phone]

You might give em a call!

[mum59]

They aren't Plusko's anymore even though they post the same name with their new name, Valley Bakery. Beware. We thought they would provide a nice wedding cake, but the icing was bleeding upon delivery and they said that was normal - all other bakeries say it is unacceptable - and the decorations were very sloppily done, to which, when pointed out to the owner/baker replied, 'I'm human' - she made not a hint of apology, didn't explain why the scrolling wasn't done as specified on the contract and claims no responsibility.

[mum59]

We were hoping for a good cake for my daughter's wedding. But, we should have been wary when we observed an employee licking her fingers, wiping her nose, and then rubbing her baby's feet as she held her in the shop. But they seemed to explain everything so well my daughter wanted to go with them. We ended up with a very poorly decorated cake, the scrolling not how our contract stated and the decorative icing bleeding which the baker/owner states is normal even though we hadn't been told so prior and all other bakeries state it is unacceptable. We have received no restitution, not even a hint of an apology. It is one thing to have a poorly decorated cake but as a wedding cake in pictures forever is really unacceptable and it is expensive!

[nancyc4fun]

Thanks sel - I was just about to post the same info. The bakery is on Thousand Oaks Blvd in between Conejo School and Hampshire. Next door is a balloon shop that often has a large display outside. Give em a call.

[liu]

Oh, of course I know this bakery, but I have never been in to buy anything. I think the sign outside just says "Valley Bakery," but correct me, please, if it also says "Plusko's." Isn't or wasn't there also a Plusko's in the SFV?

What else is good there if I don't want to buy a whole cake?

[mum59]

One of the employees of the prior owner (Plusko) bought the bakery which is now called Valley Bakery. We thought we'd get a nice wedding cake - the pictures we looked at and what we chose to have copied were nice, but the cake we got was sloppily decorated and bleeding when it arrived and the employee that helped deliver it tried to say it was due to it sitting in the sun (it was in the shade and, again, it arrived bleeding) and the tablecloth hitting it . (The cloth was held down and pinned by the reception attendants when the cake arrived and had no frosting on it; if it had hit the cake that would not have caused it to bleed, especially not as they carried it from the van to the table.) There has not been a hint of apology. Other bakeries have all said it is unacceptable and they would have offered restitution, even full refund.

[a213b]

I understand your frustration, but you only needed to post your story once in the thread ... three times seems a bit like overkill, no?

[nancyc4fun]

yes, there is also a Plusko's in Canoga Park. I think at one time they were related (same owner) but I do not think that is still the case. Haven't gotten anything but whole cakes for a while but it sure smells great in there. The way a bakery should smell.

[liu]

OK...I'm there, if only for the fragrance! Actually, I drive by frequently, so one time I will stop. Thanks for the rec.

[nancyc4fun]

It has been a while since I was in there - let me know how it goes.

[LesThePress]

Not too far from TO (about 20 minutes) is Skiff's Cakes.

We just had a cake made for my granddaughter's first birthday and it was wonderful. The people there were so nice and helpful, the cake came out exactly as we expected except it tasted even better than we thought it would. It wasn't very expensive (1/4 sheet $40) especailly considering how nice it looked and how delicious it was.

Skiff's Cakes
2335 Tapo St # 14, Simi Valley, CA 0.91mi [phone]

[morerootbeer]

I would say try ForHeavens Cake, just off of Thousand Oaks Blvd. We have found their samples terrific and the cakes have been delicious. We've ordered chocolate as well as velvet cakes for special occasions. They also have a very helpful manager and staff.