Not only is Azucar great for an impromptu visit for coffee and a pastry, but they also have delicious lunch options like the Cubano sandwich, ground beef filled fried mashed potato balls, and a plethora of sweet treats! You can check out my previous post here, but this review will cover our recent experience placing a special event order for my son’s 1st birthday and baptism celebration.
For the party favors, we ordered 7 dozen of my favorite cookie in all of San Diego – Azucar’s salted toffee oatmeal cookie. My go-to cookie flavor is usually the traditional chocolate chip cookie, especially when it’s warm and just out of the oven. But, this oatmeal cookie is by far the BEST alternative to the traditional chocolate chip cookie. The sweet toffee pairs contrasts perfectly with the crunchy crystals of sea salt, and the oatmeal in this cookie provides a nice crumbly texture. My friend asked if there was “crack” in the cookie because you can li26terally devour this cookie in a matter of seconds. This cookie is generously sized – 4 inches in diameter, but once you taste one, you will wish you had another. Whenever Michael and I are able to make a visit to Azucar, we make sure to pick up a few of these cookies. If you need a bulk order, they will give you 12 cookies for the price of 11.
My favorite cake at Azucar is their Divina cake, and it is truly divine. Moist white chocolate cake, passion fruit curd, raspberries and finished with toasted marshmallow frosting. We ordered two 10” short Divina cakes and asked for blue and green decorative chocolate pieces to go with our party theme. Each cake serves 20-25 people. Everything about this cake is delicious. The white chocolate cake is so moist, and the passion fruit curd with raspberries packs a sweet and tart punch. My favorite is tasting the vanilla bean seeds in the toasted marshmallow meringue frosting. See my other post for pictures of the individual sized Divina cakes.
We also ordered one 12” short chocolate cake with chocolate mouse, cocoa bean brittle, old fashioned fudge frosting, and finished with chocolate crunchies. This was no ordinary chocolate cake. You can tell premium chocolate was used as an ingredient in all parts of this cake. My favorite were the hidden morsels of cocoa bean brittle and adorable white and brown chocolate crunchies, which provided a nice crunch in every other bite or so. This cake serves 30 people.
Finally, we ordered a single cupcake as a “smash cake” for our son to enjoy. It was a vanilla cupcake with chocolate fudge frosting and chocolate crunchies. I tasted some of the cupcake and it was delicious like all the other cakes.
When I picked up our order, I had the opportunity to chat with the owner and baker, Vivian. She said she personally bakes the special event cakes in the kitchen just behind the store front. Since she had 11 cakes to make that weekend, she said that she was not taking any more orders for the weekend. I told her that I loved her cakes and prefer them over Extraordinary Desserts. She did such a great job with our son’s cakes. Wouldn’t you agree?
If you would like more information on specialty cake orders and to see samples of her cakes in their gallery, go to http://www.iloveazucar.com/.
Azucar4820 Newport Ave
San Diego, CA 92107
619-523-2020
I have yet to try this bakery but this post makes me want to jump in car and drive over there now. What beautiful treats to buy for your son’s celebration (congrats btw!). My go to dessert place has always been Extraordinary Desserts but I can’t wait to try azucar to see if they can de throne the goliath. The salted toffee oatmeal cookie looks amazing. How are the cake and cookie prices compared to Extraordinary Desserts?
Thanks Faye! Extraordinary Desserts is great, but you could eat a whole meal at Azucar – Cubano sandwich, meat-filled potato balls, cake, coffee, and their cookies are so delicious! Plus, down the street is Ocean Beach, Dog Beach, or Sunset Cliffs so that’s hard to beat. Azucar’s Divina cake is priced similarly to Extraordinary Desserts’ cakes, but the chocolate cake we ordered can serve 30 people, instead of 20-25. In a way, it’s priced about a 1/3 less. Cookies were reasonable $2/each. Have you tried Le Parfait Paris in Gaslamp? It’s another of our favorites!