looking for a good birthday cake - St. Paul

[latte4me]

I'm stumped... Surely there's a decent bakery where one can find a good birthday cake in/near St. Paul? Bonus if it has a fabulous chocolate cake. I don't get the affection for Cafe Latte - meh - but surely there are other places as we're not exactly a small town. Where did all the bakeries go?

Many thanks!

[latte4me]

Wow - thanks for all of these great ideas! The CHers come through, once again! May need more than one cake. No, make that definitely need more than one.

[KTFoley]

I have no argument whatsoever with the Bravo recommendations. But if you're looking for chocolate, then check out Shish.

The owner is there often enough that you can ask to speak to him about ordering a full cake -- or buying one out of the case if they have a full uncut one there already. The original thread on thiis topic noted that La Patisserie makes the cakes for Shish, so that would be another option. (It would also mean that the one output of La Patisserie that I genuinely like was sold someplace other than at their shop.)

[shoo bee doo]

I was at Shish for breakfast this morning and viewed (not tasted) the beautiful cakes. The fellow at the counter said they had their own pastry chef.

[AnneInMpls]

If the birthday cake *MUST* be from St. Paul, I love the Chocolate House Cake from the Keys Cafe on Lexington & Larpenteur. OK, it's in Roseville, but it's mere blocks from St. Paul. You must order ahead to get a whole cake (they normally sell slices only), but it's worth it. Rich, moist chocolate cake with a great sour cream frosting drizzled with more chocolate. Yum!

[karykat]

An off the expected possibility might be cupcakes from Sweets bakeshop.

They are truly excellent and beautifully decorated.

You can get mini-ones and then people can try more than one kind.

Especially a few kinds the birthday guest would really like.

There are good ways of displaying and serving them.

Here's their assortment of flavors:

http://sweetsbakeshop.com/menu/cupcakes/

[jaycooke]

Also the Baker's Wife has a great birthday cake (with some odd decorations). Not in St. Paul, but not too far over the Ford Bridge, either.

[karykat]

What are the decorations like? I've never been there. But certainly heard of them a good amount.

[jaycooke]

They throw all sorts of stuff on there -- hersheys kisses (in the wrapper), toys, etc. Even on adult cakes. Here's one photo of a kid's cake: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4120/47...

[katebauer]

I have personal loyalties to TBW, but the past 2 birthday cakes I've had from there have been terribly dry. I'm not sure what's changed as we got fantastic cakes from there a few years ago.

[Brad Ballinger]

A Piece of Cake on Selby Avenue does a good job. In the CAKES menu on their site, you'll want to select Buttercream Cakes.

http://www.apieceofcakebakery.net/

[gildeddawn]

Ditto to that. I had a great one this year from them.

[Bobannon]

Me too...I've had really good luck with everything from A Piece of Cake and they are reasonably priced for the quality. I prefer buttercream (good buttercream not the crap grocery stores turn out) to whipped cream and theirs is good.

[eastlakovore]

+1 for a Piece of Cake - I've had nothing but great results from them for birthday cakes, they're my preference.

-----
A Piece of Cake
485 Selby Ave, St Paul, MN

[The Dairy Queen]

What do you want in a birthday cake? If you don't need a traditional cake Bravo Bakery on Grand does some very beautiful fruit filled cakes. http://bravobakery.net/documents/inde...

~TDQ

[mtullius]

+1. We got our daughter's birthday cake there a couple of years ago, and it was superb-- everyone kept talking about how delicious it was. And pretty. If you don't like goopy buttercream, it's a great option, since (at least for the cake we got) they use whipped cream....

[karykat]

I have to get in there for a slice. (I assume they serve it that way with coffee.)

[Ummm]

This looks like Hong Kong style cake?

[The Dairy Queen]

I don't know what a HK style cake is, alas, but it could be I suppose. What are the qualities of a HK style cake? The owners are from Taiwan. http://www.citypages.com/2007-03-21/r...

~TDQ

[Ummm]

I don't know if I have had Taiwanese style cakes so I don't know if it's the same HK style, but the decorating style is quite similar! Guess I'd have to try it sometime. Mango mousse sounds good :)

[moomon]

+1 for cakes from Bravo Bakery

Ive had their taro cakes, mango cakes, and green tea cakes, and they were all divine. Their cakes are moist but light and not overly sweet. I especially love that their cakes dont have this thick sickeningly and grossly sweet frosting, but they have lighter frosting with fresh fruits.

They also have one of the most AMAZING tiramisu. Ive ordered their tiramisu a couple of times to some parties, and they were always major hits. The other really good stuff that they have is cream puff. It's again .. amazing.

:)

[karykat]

I looked at their website yesterday and the pictures are beautiful of cakes with fruit decorations.

But it sounds like they use whipped cream for frosting. How does that hold up? Do you need to serve it right away?

[moomon]

Ive only had their cakes by the slices so they were pretty much eaten right away. Only their tiramisu that Ive ordered by the whole rectangle sheet. Im pretty sure they can give you suggestions on how to store the cakes before serving though.

[Ummm]

OH I like taro, green tea and mango cakes! Roughly how much is it per slice? Do they always have these flavors in stock (without ordering ahead?)

[moomon]

I dont really remember how much is the cake per slice cos it's been quite a while since I got the cakes by slices there. Id say 3-5 bucks? No so sure though

As for the cake flavors, maybe you can call them before going there and ask? Im looking at their website now, and they have other fruit flavors too .. kiwi, peach, pineapple, strawberry, mocha walnut, chocolate fruit, and even durian!

So id suggest you give them a call and ask about the flavors.

:)

[Ummm]

Thanks, will do!