pasadena

Where are the best bakeries to buy celebration cakes? I want to get a cake for one of my college friends — we’ve been friends for 40 years — who is retiring from teaching kindergarten. I’m having a small brunch party for her at a restaurant in Long Beach. It’d be great if the bakery is in Pasadena or on the East Side, but I will travel for awesome cake! She loves chocolate and espresso martinis. — Roberta Tragarz

Looking for things to do in L.A.? Ask us your questions and our expert guides will share highly specific recommendations.

Here’s what we suggest:

Roberta, I think it’s so sweet that you are throwing a retirement party for your longtime friend. In my opinion, no celebration is complete without a good cake and I, too, will drive just about anywhere for one that I think the recipient would love. Here are some bakeshops that might just have “the one.”

With Pasadena being convenient for you, you’re in luck. Times restaurant critic Jenn Harris calls the city a “pastry and dessert destination.” She writes about six stellar new bakeries that have opened within a one-mile radius, including Salted Butter Company, which offers a gorgeous round cake topped with seasonal florals, and Sweet Red Peach, which can create just about any custom cake you can dream up.

Given that your friend loves chocolate, consider buying a cake from Proof Bakery in Atwater Village. The worker-owned cooperative shop used to sell a chocolate espresso cake, which would’ve been perfect because your friend loves espresso martinis. However, they swapped it out for a chocolate blueberry cake with chocolate mascarpone mousse and blueberry compote. Thankfully, it looks just as delicious. And you can still make Proof’s chocolate espresso cake at home.

No L.A. bakeshop has been recommended to me more than SusieCakes. With multiple locations spread across the county including one in Pasadena, the classic bakery makes an array of delightful desserts: old-fashioned chocolate cakes, flourless chocolate cakes, rainbow sprinkle cakes and even a cake flight so you can try all of their signature slices. Former Times food editor Amy Scattergood wrote about SusieCakes, “You can pick the flavor of cake and color of buttercream frosting, get stuff written on top, even order a pretty impressive Barbie cake (they provide the doll; the cake is the dome of her massive skirt).” A “Teacher Barbie” that looks like your friend would be adorable.

Now, this isn’t a traditional cake but hear me out. My good friend Tori Johnson had a cinnamon roll cake at her recent birthday party and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. It was gooey, soft and slathered in a classic tangy cream cheese frosting. Her boyfriend got it from BadAsh Bakes, the viral bakery based in Pasadena best known for its cinnamon rolls, cookies, brownies and layer cakes. You can preorder the cinnamon roll cake, which comes in a classic, red velvet or matcha flavor.

For an eye-catching, avant-garde cake that you won’t find at a traditional bakery or grocery store, consider ordering a custom dessert from Celeste Perkins, the L.A.-born baker who makes “cakes with big personalities, for big personalities,” as Times contributor Tasbeeh Herwees writes in Image. Perkins, who works out of her home kitchen, got her start baking cakes for friends and has since made them for an array of celebrity clients including Tunde Adebimpe (frontman for the band TV on the Radio), Japanese American singer Mitski and British singer Suki Waterhouse. Not only are the cakes yummy, they are photo-worthy.

Now for some rapid-fire picks across L.A.: My colleague Jason Lew recommends Phoenix Bakery in Chinatown, specifically the strawberry cake with sliced almonds. Times Features reporter Lisa Boone also suggests Valerie Confections in Glendale. “I’ve ordered cake from Valerie several times for different occasions and they’re always really special, pretty and so good,” she says. Her favorite is the fallen fruit cake, but the bakery also sells a flourless chocolate almond cake and German chocolate cake. There’s also République, the French-inspired bakery and cafe known for its salted caramel chocolate cake. Finally, you can never go wrong with Porto’s, which sells an array of cakes including chocolate raspberry, Parisian chocolate, mango mousse, strawberry cheesecake and more.

Retiring is such a big deal, so I love to hear that you are celebrating it as such. I hope that these recommendations help you find the perfect cake for your friend. Be sure to send us a photo of the one that you choose. Have a wonderful time!

Designers Jeanine Hattas Wilson and Julie Hattas Kennedy’s magical transformation of a 4-foot-by-4-foot storage closet at this year’s Pasadena Showcase House of Design almost feels like a metaphor for design showcases themselves: not quite real, but pure fantasy.

“It was inspired by our dad, who used to read to us in Woodstock, Ill.,” Wilson says of their immersive storybook escape, which features a delightful hand-painted mural on the walls and tiny lanterns that, when touched, offer a narrated fairy tale. “We wanted to create a special, intimate space for kids.”

Showhouses are always extravagant, and this year’s event takes place inside the 8,000-square-foot former home of Clara Baldwin Stocker, daughter of land investor and racehorse breeder Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin. Like her father, Stocker was known for her colorful personality and love of lavish things, including parties that lasted for days. (Baldwin Stocker’s 1929 obituary noted that out of her $10-million estate, about $1.5 million was jewelry, “the collection and wearing of which was her hobby.”)

Many of the 30 revamped interior and exterior spaces in the 1907 shingle-style home include details Baldwin Stocker would have loved. The Midnight Garden Dining Room by the House of Pontovi, for example, has an Italian Murano glass chandelier, feminine Art Deco-style swivel chairs with flapper-style fringe and a gold-leaf ceiling that has replaced Calico Corners fabric. The Entertainment Room by Studio Joshua features statement lighting by Los Angeles designer Jason Koharik, an 11 Ravens custom billiards table and a Champagne cooler built into the marble bar.

And the Bloom Lounge by the Art of Room Design is so large that it can accommodate several different seating areas, a game table and a hidden liquor cabinet — another nod to Baldwin Stocker, who was also known as “the Diamond Princess.”

It’s hard to decide what stands out more at the Baldwin Oaks Estate in Arcadia: the layered interiors that look ready for a shelter magazine, or the smaller spaces, like the closets, mudroom and hidden powder rooms that have been transformed into something special.

Here are a few examples of what to expect at the event, which supports youth music programs throughout Los Angeles County.

The Enchanted Room by Hattas Studios

Identical twins Hattas Wilson and Hattas Kennedy of Hattas Studios transformed a small 4-by-4-foot storage closet into a magical forest with their hand-painted mural depicting characters from stories like “Cinderella,” “The Little Mermaid” and “The Frog Prince.” A young Clara Baldwin appears with her dog, Lucky. You can touch the tiny lanterns to hear a story in each scene or simply curl up in the soft green fuzzy chair, close the velvet curtains and let your imagination wander.

Laundry and Craft Room by Arterberry Cooke Architecture

Architect Barrett Cooke turned laundry into a pleasure in this beautiful room, which doubles as a craft room outfitted with new rose-colored cabinets, playful circular Fireclay Tile, quartzite countertops and stunning views of the San Gabriel Mountains. “I straddled making it utilitarian with how beautiful it can be,” Cooke said of the local artists represented, including ceramics by Jen King, stained glass by Molly Miller, oil paintings by Lareina Holsopple and a print by local artist and Jungalow designer Justina Blakeney. “The art ties it all together.”

The vault in the Family Parlor Room by Jamie Loren Home

The family room is the only space with a television, but with a mah-jongg table, the TV hardly seems necessary. “We wanted to create a room where the family can congregate,” said designer Jamie Loren, describing the cozy parlor painted in the color Viridian Odyssey by Dunn-Edwards Paints. She also turned what used to be a gun closet into a “vault” filled with family heirlooms, including a typewriter, perfume, photos, jewelry and a flask. “This is an ode to Clara,” she said.

Powder Room by Rebecca J. Hansen Design Studio

Details make all the difference in the small powder room by Rebecca J. Hansen, who explains that both the room and the nearby vestibule are focused on mixing patterns while keeping a consistent color palette. Hansen chose patterned terra-cotta tile from Foothill Tile & Stone Co. in Pasadena for the walls, and just outside, she used wallpaper from House of Hackney with mythical animals. Brass hardware from Corston Architectural Detail, chalk pastels and bold wood trim painted a marigold color brought everything together. “It feels like I’m in a castle in England,” she said.

The second floor landing by Blue Brick Design

Designer Lara Hovanessian has transformed the foyer walls of both the first and second floors into a striking display for local artists Blakeney, Susanna Speirs Ali and Lareina Holsopple. The spaces feature the newly released Huntington Collection wall covering by Morris & Co. in the iconic Strawberry Thief motif, pink ceilings and Alberto Giacometti-style lighting from Visual Comfort.

The Mudroom by Gex Designs

Inspired by the shingles of the 1907 home, Noelle Gex Djokovich, known for last year’s playful flower-cutting room, has reimagined this space with custom cabinets, patterned floors and charming details such as a dog bed, a Lewis & Wood fabric skirt and a rag rug from Nickey Kehoe. “Adding layers to a small room makes you feel good when you come home,” she said.

The Magnolia Room by Cordrey Collection

Designer Steven Cordrey says the Magnolia wallpaper reflects his Southern roots and the Phillip Jeffries grasscloth on the walls is practical (“It’s easy to clean,” Cordrey says). He also likes to bring the outdoors in, pointing to the views of the estate’s grand oaks and pool from the second-floor bedroom. There’s a hidden touch too: Rock Zehler’s stylish dressing room, inspired by Art Deco and the 1970s, has a secret closet tucked behind a pocket door.