Buttercake Bakery
Ever since we watched SNL's Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell mack on some cupcakes in Lazy Sunday, it seems that the whole country has gone cupcake crazy. The sugary fad has been going strong for a few years now. Here in LA, loads of cupcake establishments continue offering the happy little cakes. Many will debate whether Sprinkles, Toast, Joan's on Third, Dainties or Leda's have the best cupcakes. Lately it seems like everytime I ask for a recipe for a dessert at a party, I am told the cake or cupcake is from Buttercake Bakery on Pico.
So last week, I put my kids in the car and drove to West LA to check it out.
Walking into Buttercake, the staff greets you with a warm smile. My daughters immediately chose their favorite treats. Mini vanilla cupcakes for my three year old and a tart lemon square for my eight year old. I ate a yummy chocolate Dream Bar and ordered a marble cake for my husband's birthday.
Helmed by owner Logan Levant, Buttercake has the warm feeling of a cozy neighborhood bakery. I asked her about baking for a living, childhood memories, and Buttercake Bakery's focus on homestyle sweets.
What was your favorite dessert as a child?
I have always been a sucker for anything lemon. We had a lemon tree in the backyard growing up and the first time my mom made lemon bars, I was hooked.
When did you bake your first cake and what kind did you make?
At four years old I helped my mom make a coconut cake for my dad's birthday.
What inspired you to bake for a living?
Homemade food makes people happy. I have always enjoyed cooking at home, and love seeing people's reactions as they bite into something I have made. Today, I get to see that look hundreds of times a day.
The cakes in Buttercake have a homemade look. Do any of your
customers try to pass them off as their own creations?
We have had several requests to have our goods placed in boxes without our stickers. I know of two women who showed up at the same bridge game both trying to pass off our marble pound cake as their own.
It seems like LA has gone cupcake crazy. What do you think is going on?
It's all about size. People have given themselves permission to eat a smaller portion of something naughty. We serve mini-cupcakes which are virtually guilt free.
My family obsessed with Ace of Cakes on the Food Network. Are you
ever going to join the world of over the top cake decorating?
My staff and I are huge fans too, but it's just not our style. We enjoy making simply decorated cakes that taste really good.
What is you favorite thing to do in LA when you are not at the bakery?
I spend most of my free time cooking and trying to entertain my seven month old Newfoundland puppy appropriately named, Baker.
Petit Fours
The Dream Bars
And of course a plate of cupcakes.
Buttercake Bakery
10595 West Pico Blvd.
310-470-6770