A Stop at Vanilla Bake Shop

For those who bake, vanilla is as essential as sugar to most sweet recipes. Vanilla Bake Shop has recently opened a small storefront in the Westfield Century City Mall. One of my friends is already a regular and as soon as we entered, she was greeted with "Welcome back"! (Being a regular in any bakery may be a sign that you may have a sweet tooth :)

The cupcakes are moist, made with quality ingredients, and they serve organic coffees if you want to enjoy your cupcake at one of the two tables outside.

The variety of flavors changes daily with a few daily offerings, like the Bittersweet Dark Chocolate, made with Dark Chocolate Cake, Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting, and Sprinkles, and the Mom's Birthday Cake, made with All American Yellow Cake, and Milk Chocolate Frosting (the sugar flower on top makes this the cutest choice). Since I don't have a huge appetite for sweets, I loved the little baby cupcakes which were literally two bites each and only $5.25 for three.

The regular size cupcakes ($3.50 each) are for those who want a full dessert, and they also make regular sized 6"-14" three to seven layer layer cakes which can be ordered for special occasions with flavors like black and white raspberry, dulce de leche crunch, and fleur de sel. The pink cupcake below is the Vanilla Bean, made with Creamy Vanilla Bean Cake, Madagascar Bourbon, and Vanilla Bean Frosting.

Every day has some unique cupcake flavors, like Meyer Lemon raspberry on Saturday, made with Yellow Butter Cake, Lemon Curd Center, Vanilla Bean Frosting, and Raspberries, or Marshmallow Graham on Tuesday, made with All American Yellow Cake, Graham Cracker Chocolate Crust, and Toasted Marshmallow.

With so many choices, it's easy to take the owner's motto, "Remember to take a moment out of each day to enjoy something sweet" literally!