If cooking is something of an improvised art, baking is surely a precise science, a patient act completely reliant upon exact measurements and perfect timing. While all-purpose recipes run with a certain pliability, just about every baked good keeps a strict list of do’s and don’ts. Worst of all is the fact that there’s no going back once you thrust something into the oven. And so baking for big occasions is a nerve-racking process. Luckily, for those who feel disinclined to even pick up a whisk and a bowl, there’s Creative Cakery. Every shop in the small chain is devoted nearly exclusively to Bundt cakes—and only a few flavors, at that. But that’s the draw: classic Bundt flavors done with gaudy decorations for every possible occasion. But you can pick up naked cakes, too, simple circles of vanilla, carrot, banana, poppyseed or chocolate. The vanilla cake is probably the best (though there’s a good argument for chocolate), but they’re all just as dense and just as good—free of the endless layers of icing piled on most sheet cakes and yet still rich enough to fill in for more intimate occasions.

CREATIVE CAKERY 6467 E PACIFIC COAST HWY | LONG BEACH 90803 | 562.493.6550 AND 10900 LOS ALAMITOS BLVD | LOS ALAMITOS 90720 | 562.598.8801

Tags: bundt cakes, creative cakery, Long Beach, los alamitos