(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
With 6 new bakeries, Pasadena is your next dessert destination
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- Pasadena is home to a crop of new bakeries that have turned the city into a pastry and dessert destination.
- The city is now home to some of the most unique bagels, gluten-free desserts and traditional French pastries in the greater Los Angeles area.
In the last month, I waited 18 minutes for an onion bagel filled with sour cream and onion cream cheese, and the stickiest sticky bun. I stood for 21 minutes in the sun, hoping for a taste of a French onion soup danish. There was a line for the vegan chocolate tart adorned with a Labubu; the banana bread to rival all banana breads; for a gluten-free cookie that may be better than all the gluten-filled cookies in the city and for a cinnamon roll that made me dance.
I didn’t have to traverse the city for this diverse crop of desserts and savory pastries. It was all in Pasadena, where six stellar new bakeries have opened within a one-mile radius.
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Bad Ash Bakes
Pasadena Bakery $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
Ashley Cunningham opened BadAsh Bakes on East Colorado Boulevard last spring. She drew early lines and praise for her cookies, cakes and cinnamon rolls. Part of the lore was Cunningham’s social media following, with the more than half a million followers she amassed as a private chef cooking for celebrities. But the real draw was her monster cinnamon rolls, slathered in either the classic tangy cream cheese frosting or vibrant green frosting flecked with matcha.
And the crowds stuck around for Cunningham‘s layer cakes, brownies, cookies and loaves of banana and cornbread. Her cornbread cookie was an early favorite, with the slightly sweet, earthy flavor of good cornbead, and the texture of a crisp-edge chewy cookie.
It doesn’t matter which cookie flavor you choose: s’mores crowned with melted marshmallows, oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, brown sugar, matcha or red velvet. They all are all the perfect cookie.
And the crowds stuck around for Cunningham‘s layer cakes, brownies, cookies and loaves of banana and cornbread. Her cornbread cookie was an early favorite, with the slightly sweet, earthy flavor of good cornbead, and the texture of a crisp-edge chewy cookie.
It doesn’t matter which cookie flavor you choose: s’mores crowned with melted marshmallows, oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, brown sugar, matcha or red velvet. They all are all the perfect cookie.
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Hello You're Welcome
Pasadena Bakery Gluten Free $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
I’m going to introduce you to your new favorite chocolate chip cookie. It’s a sizable bronze round with big boulders of semisweet chocolate buried into the surface. The center is soft and chewy, with a lavish brown butter flavor that carries notes of toffee. It’s surrounded in a halo of crisp, golden cookie and finished with a sprinkling of salt. The cookie can go toe to toe with the one you make at home, and whatever other cookie you love around town.
“We had a cookie, but it didn’t work because it was too gluten-free tasting,” says owner Leah Di Bernardo. “I tasked Helen Cho, our lead baker, with using brown butter to make the cookie, and she did.”
Di Bernardo and her daughter, Gigi, run the Pasadena bakery, where the cookie, and everything else at the restaurant, is gluten-free.
In the bakery case, you’ll find tender, cheesy biscuits made with almond flour, decadent doughnuts topped with passion fruit, mini Basque cheesecakes with almond and coconut flour crust and wedges of vegetable frittata.
Di Bernardo transitioned out of a career in film production in the early 2000s to open Eat Marketplace in Temecula. She grew up on a small farm in Oregon, cooked throughout Europe in the ‘80s and ‘90s and was an early adopter of the slow food movement before it had a name, or a following.
“We choose to not be too preachy, but to gently encourage people to understand the connection of your food and the beauty of your food and what it can do for all of us,” says Di Bernardo.
The Pasadena bakery and coffee shop was mostly gluten-free when it opened near the end of 2023, but after feedback from customers, Gigi and her mother transitioned the business to completely gluten-free in 2024.
The biscuits incorporate almond flour, yogurt and eggs, based on a family recipe developed by one of Di Bernardo’s sisters. For breakfast, they’re split and used to cradle eggs, bacon and cheese.
The doughnuts are baked into small rounds and glazed with chocolate, maple, matcha and seasonal fruit flavors. Recently, a passion fruit doughnut featured a dollop of the sharp, tropical fruit in the center.
“All the baked goods have always been culinary driven, or farm-to-table, before it was cool,” says Di Bernardo. “We built really strong relationships with our farmers and anything that can be upcycled, we do it.”
“We had a cookie, but it didn’t work because it was too gluten-free tasting,” says owner Leah Di Bernardo. “I tasked Helen Cho, our lead baker, with using brown butter to make the cookie, and she did.”
Di Bernardo and her daughter, Gigi, run the Pasadena bakery, where the cookie, and everything else at the restaurant, is gluten-free.
In the bakery case, you’ll find tender, cheesy biscuits made with almond flour, decadent doughnuts topped with passion fruit, mini Basque cheesecakes with almond and coconut flour crust and wedges of vegetable frittata.
Di Bernardo transitioned out of a career in film production in the early 2000s to open Eat Marketplace in Temecula. She grew up on a small farm in Oregon, cooked throughout Europe in the ‘80s and ‘90s and was an early adopter of the slow food movement before it had a name, or a following.
“We choose to not be too preachy, but to gently encourage people to understand the connection of your food and the beauty of your food and what it can do for all of us,” says Di Bernardo.
The Pasadena bakery and coffee shop was mostly gluten-free when it opened near the end of 2023, but after feedback from customers, Gigi and her mother transitioned the business to completely gluten-free in 2024.
The biscuits incorporate almond flour, yogurt and eggs, based on a family recipe developed by one of Di Bernardo’s sisters. For breakfast, they’re split and used to cradle eggs, bacon and cheese.
The doughnuts are baked into small rounds and glazed with chocolate, maple, matcha and seasonal fruit flavors. Recently, a passion fruit doughnut featured a dollop of the sharp, tropical fruit in the center.
“All the baked goods have always been culinary driven, or farm-to-table, before it was cool,” says Di Bernardo. “We built really strong relationships with our farmers and anything that can be upcycled, we do it.”
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ID-Eclair
Pasadena Bakery French $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times. )
ID-Eclair boasts one of the most extensive vegan bakery programs in Los Angeles. Glossy cinnamon twists and chocolate croissants share real estate with neatly domed caneles, powdered sugar-dusted almond croissants, trays of both sweet and savory danishes, slabs of focaccia bread and an entire section devoted to patisserie, with tarts and, of course, eclairs.
Behind the operation is pastry chef Romuald Guiot, who worked at the three-Michelin-starred La Maison de Marc Veyrat in France. He opened the bakery and adjacent wine bar, called La Cave, in late 2024.
His viennoiserie manages to achieve a rich flavor and flaky texture without any traditional butter. The baguettes are crusty and airy. The colorful macarons are flawless. And if you’re a Labubu fan, there might be a chocolate tart adorned with a cute, furry monster in the case with your name on it.
Behind the operation is pastry chef Romuald Guiot, who worked at the three-Michelin-starred La Maison de Marc Veyrat in France. He opened the bakery and adjacent wine bar, called La Cave, in late 2024.
His viennoiserie manages to achieve a rich flavor and flaky texture without any traditional butter. The baguettes are crusty and airy. The colorful macarons are flawless. And if you’re a Labubu fan, there might be a chocolate tart adorned with a cute, furry monster in the case with your name on it.
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Miopane
Pasadena Bakery $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
Bring a fully charged phone and an open mind to Miopane, which occupies the corner of Raymond Avenue and Holly Streets at the northern edge of Old Pasadena. The battery power is for the line that will inevitably spill out the door and down the block. And the open mind is for the high probability that whatever Miopane croissant you were eyeing on Instagram, may not be in the case when you reach the front of the line.
Miopane is the first U.S. outpost of a bakery that originated in Taiwan. Founder Jimmy Liu, who is originally from Pasadena, has a small team of six bakers who make 30 different bakes a day, including croissants, sweet and savory bagels, and buns of both the cinnamon and sticky varieties.
Pray, hope and wish that the upside-down sticky bun makes an appearance during your next visit. The plush dough is wrapped around a thick cinnamon paste that swirls throughout the bun. It’s heavy on the spice, with a strong, almost bitter cinnamon flavor that helps balance the intense sugary sweetness of the thick caramel and pecans splayed over the top. Some of the caramel remains sticky, while certain parts harden over the nuts to create a sort of brittle.
While the bun is worth every second in line, the bakery is known best for its filled bagels and a line of flavored croissants. The bagels are soft with a slight chew, and filled with an inner core of a variety of cream cheese or other flavorings. A roasted tomato with herbs and cheddar bagel was like a tightly coiled round of stuffed crust pizza studded with sweet tomatoes, chunks of cheese and leaves of basil.
“The idea started as me not wanting to have to do anything to my bagels, because I feel like, cutting the bagel and spreading things on top is cumbersome,” says Liu. “Why not put things inside the bagels? If a flavor combination makes sense, it makes sense to put it in a bagel.”
Liu has turned everything from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to strawberry shortcake into a bagel. He applied the same logic to the croissants, with flavors like the everything and egg breakfast croissant with pesto, or the jalapeno and cream cheese croissant.
Miopane is the first U.S. outpost of a bakery that originated in Taiwan. Founder Jimmy Liu, who is originally from Pasadena, has a small team of six bakers who make 30 different bakes a day, including croissants, sweet and savory bagels, and buns of both the cinnamon and sticky varieties.
Pray, hope and wish that the upside-down sticky bun makes an appearance during your next visit. The plush dough is wrapped around a thick cinnamon paste that swirls throughout the bun. It’s heavy on the spice, with a strong, almost bitter cinnamon flavor that helps balance the intense sugary sweetness of the thick caramel and pecans splayed over the top. Some of the caramel remains sticky, while certain parts harden over the nuts to create a sort of brittle.
While the bun is worth every second in line, the bakery is known best for its filled bagels and a line of flavored croissants. The bagels are soft with a slight chew, and filled with an inner core of a variety of cream cheese or other flavorings. A roasted tomato with herbs and cheddar bagel was like a tightly coiled round of stuffed crust pizza studded with sweet tomatoes, chunks of cheese and leaves of basil.
“The idea started as me not wanting to have to do anything to my bagels, because I feel like, cutting the bagel and spreading things on top is cumbersome,” says Liu. “Why not put things inside the bagels? If a flavor combination makes sense, it makes sense to put it in a bagel.”
Liu has turned everything from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to strawberry shortcake into a bagel. He applied the same logic to the croissants, with flavors like the everything and egg breakfast croissant with pesto, or the jalapeno and cream cheese croissant.
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Salted Butter Company
Pasadena Bakery $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
Haruna and Johnny Romo opened Salted Butter Company out of a small storefront across from Huntington Hospital.
The pastry case is brimming with copper croissants filled with ham and cheese or rich chocolate. There’s a brown butter almond croissant, a croissant cinnamon roll and something called a croissant apple fritter. There’s a caramelized onion and cheese danish that resembles French onion soup and another meant to evoke the cheesy wonders of spinach artichoke dip.
The base croissant is appropriately flaky, with a rich, butter flavor and crisp shards that soil the table. The different flavored croissants are fun, but if a classic croissant is what you crave, this is the place.
The croissant apple fritter is somewhat misleading, but a first-rate hybrid pastry nonetheless. Think of it as more of an apple and cinnamon monkey bread with icing. Most of the lamination has been condensed into knobs of tender dough you can tug at and enjoy in pieces. The white icing that hardens ever so slightly along the ridges of the top of the pastry are reminiscent of a good fritter. Call it whatever you want. You should eat it.
The pastry case is brimming with copper croissants filled with ham and cheese or rich chocolate. There’s a brown butter almond croissant, a croissant cinnamon roll and something called a croissant apple fritter. There’s a caramelized onion and cheese danish that resembles French onion soup and another meant to evoke the cheesy wonders of spinach artichoke dip.
The base croissant is appropriately flaky, with a rich, butter flavor and crisp shards that soil the table. The different flavored croissants are fun, but if a classic croissant is what you crave, this is the place.
The croissant apple fritter is somewhat misleading, but a first-rate hybrid pastry nonetheless. Think of it as more of an apple and cinnamon monkey bread with icing. Most of the lamination has been condensed into knobs of tender dough you can tug at and enjoy in pieces. The white icing that hardens ever so slightly along the ridges of the top of the pastry are reminiscent of a good fritter. Call it whatever you want. You should eat it.
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Sweet Red Peach
Pasadena Bakery Southern $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
In the fall of 2024, Karolyn Plummer opened Sweet Red Peach bakery near the corner of Arroyo Parkway and Del Mar Boulevard. It’s the fourth location of the Inglewood-founded bakery, known best for owner Plummer’s red velvet cupcakes, sweet potato pie and peach cobbler.
Plummer, a former teacher, actually named the business after the three best sellers (red, sweet and peach).
At the Pasadena shop, you’ll find cupcakes, slices of layer cake, pound cake, banana pudding, cobbler and cones of soft serve.
Plummer’s red velvet cake features a soft, moist crumb and that signature red velvet tang. It’s not overly sweet, layered with cream cheese frosting. The Sock-It-To-Me pound cake is the perfect marriage of coffee cake and pound cake. The banana pudding cake is slathered with the equivalent of a small bowl of pudding.
Maybe try one of everything, but don’t leave without a cinnamon roll. They’re served in individual foil bowls with icing spread across the entire surface. During a recent visit, the rolls were still warm, and the icing still gooey. Imagine a cinnamon-flecked pillow blanketed in sweet icing that sinks into every crevice. It’s the sort of dessert you bite into then can’t help but start dancing.
Plummer, a former teacher, actually named the business after the three best sellers (red, sweet and peach).
At the Pasadena shop, you’ll find cupcakes, slices of layer cake, pound cake, banana pudding, cobbler and cones of soft serve.
Plummer’s red velvet cake features a soft, moist crumb and that signature red velvet tang. It’s not overly sweet, layered with cream cheese frosting. The Sock-It-To-Me pound cake is the perfect marriage of coffee cake and pound cake. The banana pudding cake is slathered with the equivalent of a small bowl of pudding.
Maybe try one of everything, but don’t leave without a cinnamon roll. They’re served in individual foil bowls with icing spread across the entire surface. During a recent visit, the rolls were still warm, and the icing still gooey. Imagine a cinnamon-flecked pillow blanketed in sweet icing that sinks into every crevice. It’s the sort of dessert you bite into then can’t help but start dancing.
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