Troubled tomatoes? Skip the problematic produce and dig into divine desserts. This spring yielded a bountiful harvest of sweet treats. Here’s what sprouted up:

Winning cupcakes
It was a delirium-inducing task, but hundreds of Angelenos accepted the job of taster and judge at the great Cupcake Challenge of 2008. More than a dozen participating bakeries put their best cupcakes forward at Montmartre Lounge in Hollywood for the friendly competition benefitting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

As if the sweets weren’t enough, wine tasting ensured that you wouldn’t be able to see straight on the drive home. Nonetheless, the voting public persevered, ballots were cast and winners were declared.

First-place winners were:

Best traditional: Vanilla Bake Shop’s Red Velvet
Best original: Sugar Jones’ “Paradise”
Best overall: Leyna’s Kitchen’s “Strawberrilicious”

Other winners included Yummy Cupcakes’ Red Velvet, Hotcakes’ Red Velvet, The Oinkster’s Peanut Butter and Jelly and Essential Chocolate Desserts’ Blood Orange Fudge.


Cherish the Crumbs
Larchmont Boulevard welcomed a new neighbor named Crumbs. The New York bakery opened its second L.A. shop in early June, six months after seducing BevHills with 1,000 free cupcakes on opening day. The crowd-pleasing stunt was repeated at the Larchmont store, where a small but determined group of cupcake lovers waited eagerly for the 8AM opening.

Once inside, the hard part began: choosing a free cupcake. The stunning eye candy created a serious dilemma. The supersized cupcakes come in dozens of innovative and classic flavors, including the signature “Artie Lange,” an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink creation by the Howard Stern Show personality.



Milk Hearts ‘Got Milk?’
Milk, the WeHo ice cream parlor and café, dished out its secret recipes in a partnership with the Got Milk? campaign. Milk chef/owner Bret Thompson has had a life-long love affair with whole milk. He drinks it by the glass, pours it on cereal for dessert, cooks with it and even collaborated with a local dairy to produce old-school milk bottles with his Milk logo.

So, it was only natural to team up with Got Milk? to divulge his milk-based recipes. “Thompson’s milk recipes are just amazing,” said Steve James, executive director of the California Milk Processor Board, the creators of Got Milk? “You can taste his passion for cooking in his food.”

Thompson’s recipes for ice blended drinks, signature sweets, breads and soups are posted at www.gotmilk.com. You can also taste them already made at his Beverly Boulevard shop.


SusieCakes Goes South
Two-year-old SusieCakes has expanded to Orange County, bringing its “sentimental dessert favorites” to Newport Beach. Through its Brentwood and Calabasas shops, SusieCakes gained fame for its frosting-filled cupcakes, puddings, pies, cookies and other home-style treats like Mom would bake.

Owner Susan Sarich doesn’t do traditional advertising. To spread the word, she announced the shop in her newsletter, made friends with nearby businesses, hung balloons and opened the doors to her Newport-Mesa area shop.

Business has not disappointed. “We are loving Newport Beach,” said Sarich. “The sense of community is fabulous and we’re thrilled with the support we’ve received from our neighbors.”

Sugar junkies of SoCal, rejoice. Take a staycation down sweet street this summer. Steer away from those suspicious red vegetables and fill ’er up with red velvets instead. Enjoy your trip. —Andrea Adleman