Cakes and more from America

Earlier this year, I went to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It was my first time to the west coast and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Apologies for the delay in blogging about the trip but better late than never! Just to be clear - I did more than eat cake on the trip although you wouldn't guess by looking at these pictures ;-) 

We did a lot of the usual touristy stuff, lots of shopping and definitely a lot of eating! So sit back, relax and enjoy :)

 Karas Cupcakes in San Francisco - I had a peanut butter milk chocolate cupcake and fleur de sel cupcake and they were both delicious! The cakes were moist and the frosting was heavenly. I wish I could have tried a few more but had to save room for everything else :) 

 They sell these cute T-shirts 

 and cupcakes! 

 

 SF - home of Ghirardelli chocolates 

 I did see some sights :) 

I met a friend of a friend Jennifer and her mum Cindy who took us to Nopa in San Francisco for lunch. Voted the top brunch spot in SF where the french toast is #6 on the top 100 things to eat before you die.  The food was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed the french toast. We ordered quite a lot of food to share but it meant we could try more items on the menu :) 

 Meyer lemon scone with a lemon cream - delicious! 

 homemade donut - really light, soft and tasty

 the infamous french toast - it was very, very good 

 scrambled eggs and something else (can't remember now) 

 Excellent food! 

 I also paid a visit to Miette where I tried a macaron (yum) and a chocolate cupcake. The gingerbread cupcake is the most popular but I don't like ginger hence the chocolate choice. 

 I'm sure this cake or a similar one is on the cover of their book 

 A visit to LA is not complete without a visit (or two) to Sprinkles cupcakes - The original Cupcake Bakery. I tried a few of their cupcakes and they were absolutely delicious!

 This is the pink cupcake ATM which was operational the day I left LA so I didn't get a chance to see it in action. I LOVE the idea of a 24 hour cupcake machine - yes please!! 

 Does anyone else watch Cupcake Wars? Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles is one of the judges 

 The perfect breakfast - red velvet and chocolate cupcakes! 

 I love this picture with the reflection of the sky and trees and the pretty cupcake :)

 Sadly I didn't get a chance to eat the cheesecakes at the cheesecake factory as there was a long Q and we were in a hurry but I did have a sneak peek at the cheesecakes. 

 This is my favourite bakery of all the bakeries I visited on my trip. There are 2 branches in LA and I went to both :) The guys at the West Hollywood branch were really nice and friendly. They had this amazing tea called 'Paris tea' If anyone knows where I can buy it in the UK please let me know. 

 Jennifer (who took us to Nopa SF) claims this is the best cake she has ever eaten. I have to say I agree with her. It was so light and moist and fruity - I wish I could have another slice now! 

 This is their triple berry shortcake - yellow butter cake filled with 3 layers of whipped cream and fresh berries. If you ever visit LA, you MUST try this cake! 

 the Santa Monica branch 

 same cakes but bigger space 

 This time I tried a mocha praline - Dark chocolate cake filled with mocha buttercream and fresh candied pecans - YUM! 

 Dessert bar at a buffet at Rio Hotel in Las Vegas

 In the Bellagio hotel where we stayed - world's largest chocolate fountain. 

 it was a truly impressive chocolate fountain! 

 They had lots of pretty cakes, chocolate, pastries, muffins and ice cream at the Jean Philippe Patisserie. We had savoury crepes for breakfast which were decent but the cakes were definitely the best! I wish I'd tried the pastries as well but there is a limit to how much one can eat, right? 

 

 Look at the desserts!! 

 everything looks amazing!! 

 just look at the pastries... 

 more pretty cakes

 I tried this nutella mille-feuille and it was delicious. Light and crispy base with a creamy centre - definitely a good choice! 

Well I hope you enjoyed reliving my food memories from the trip. These were just the highlights as it would take too long to post about everything here. Makes me want to go on holiday again!