Lily's Bakery

It's always nice to see small bakeries survive, especially during the recession.  I no longer reside in Orange County (though visit quite often), but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Lily's Bakery.  It's a small Vietnamese bakery located in Westminster, CA.

My mother is a health nut (good for her!), so we normally do not buy cakes that have buttercream frosting.  It's always been fruit tarts.  As a teenager, I remember how much I loved Lily's Vietnamese coffee (must try, if you are in the area) and their fruit tarts.  My family used to go to this bakery for every birthday to purchase a fruit tart cake.  It was tradition.

Fast forward and now I'm much older and it has been a while since I had anything from Lily's Bakery.  It's not to say that they do not have great desserts (apparently their beignets are a hit), but I truly do not have a reason to go there.  We no longer buy their fruit tarts.  I hate to say this, but my family has moved onto another bakery.  Oh boy, this is beginning to sound a relationship.

Anyway, one of my brothers came home in the late afternoon, holding a Lily's Bakery fruit tart cake as the other bakery ran out of their delicious fruit tart (will post about this "other" bakery soon).  I wasn't disappointed at all as I was curious to try Lily's cake that I loved so much as a teenager.  Did they change the recipe?  Does it still have the sponge cake?

Mother's Day cake from Lily's Bakery

Sponge cake base with a thin, crunchy pastry middle, topped with fresh fruits.

I took a bite of it, and let me tell you, a gush of memories came back to me.  It sounds pretty silly, but I really don't know how to describe what I felt.  After all this time, the cake tasted the same as it did fifteen years ago.

The sweetness of the sponge cake was right, and the thin pastry between the fruits and the sponge cake was flaky and crunchy--just the way I like it.  The fruits were exceptional and the whipped cream around the cake tasted very light. 

One of my complaints is that you can never cut a perfect cake slice.  Once you cut into the cake, the fruits move all over the place, and it becomes messy (seriously, visually unappealing).  You won't get a wonderfully displayed slice of cake. 

Back in the day, Lily's Bakery used to come in this generic white box with their cursive logo.  When asked if we could have a plastic cake knife, they would deny us of having one.  Now, the cakes come in this colorful box with a plastic "stainless steel" looking knife.  Oh how the times changed thee.

Lily's logo

Lily's Bakery in a Box

Lily's Bakery, it was great walking down memory lane with you.  I'm glad you guys have survived through this economic downturn too.  Keep it going!

Until next time...

xo,
Tammy