California to visit with family and close friends before we headed to the Coast. Before doing so though, I had to visit a bakery in Danville that was recommended to me by a friend of my Mother-in-Law. This was not just any bakery it was a Gluten Free Cupcake Shop! I was very excited to visit as I myself am Gluten Free and bake our Gluten Free products for Scrumptious. There are not many places near my home that produce and serve sinful Gluten Free desserts. It's kind of an oxymoron, they don't really exist. Which is why I have found a new passion for researching and experimenting with Gluten Free recipes and desserts. When you are Gluten Free, it's things like the homemade cookies, cinnamon rolls and scones that I miss the most. The flavor, texture and light n' fluffy bites are tough to replicate in Gluten Free baking. (If you are Gluten Free you know what I mean; these bland, crumbly, cardboard "desserts", or so are they called, are usually terrible!) Besides baking Gluten Free desserts from scratch (my preference is with lots of chocolate), the closest that I have found are various sweets from Whole Foods Market, (my favorite grocer for specialty dietary needs). So, a new Gluten Free treat is what I was looking forward to! I met an old High School friend with her kids at Miglet's Cupcake Shop in Downtown Danville. It was adorable and I wanted one of everything! It was fresh and clean with a pretty in pink feel. There was a whole display case filled with specialty cupcakes, beautifully decorated and they tasted as equally wonderful. I purchased four different cupcakes(Carrot cake, Lemon Blueberry, Toasted Coconut and Strawberry Shortcake), some fresh cookies and brownie bites that were so moist and very chocolaty! I savored each bite! If you are in the area and are on a Gluten Free diet, you should make the time to check it out.
So, our family then headed to Half Moon Bay where we spent the 4th of July holiday with friends. And, it is here where our camping experience began. After leaving Half Moon Bay we headed to Big Sur where we camped at Pfiffer Big Sur State Park. It was gorgeous, we all loved it! A few days later on our way out and on to our next destination we stopped at a little turn off on Hwy 1, where we found the Big Sur Bakery and Restaurant tucked behind the beautiful foliage. It was small, quaint, quiet and I so badly wanted to sit on the rustic patio to enjoy
a mimosa and taste a bite of a local sweet breakfast treat.
The bakers here are keeping up the traditions of old, as the building has been around since 1936. They serve "soul food" pastries, in my mind, they are simple and just look delicious. I loved it so much so that after we left we stopped not more than 8 minutes further down Hwy. 1 at Nepenthe, where I had to purchase the Big Sur Bakery Cookbook, A Year in the Life of a Restaurant. Each chapter in the book is a new month that spells out a whole new menu with recipes, revolving around a favorite fruit or vegetable or spice that is popular for that time of year. Nepenthe is an eclectic spot to stop off at as well. No bakeries, believe me I looked! But it has a very artsy, sort of old hippie town feel, with a great book store/gift shop called The Phoenix, fountains throughout the grounds and lookout points to the coastline. Then we continued walking up the path to the top of the hill where you will come to Nepenthe Restaurant and Bar with a "rim of the world" view. Beautiful scenery to say the least.
The final stop on our camping tour was in Morro Bay. Our first full day in Morro Bay was packed! Starting out by attending a Marine Animals of Morro Bay Talk at the camp ground where my kids became Jr. Rangers, to spending quite some time at the Natural History Museum which had great interactive expos for the kids, to driving into town to check out the local streets.
There were three local bakeries, however; my favorite was the Sun N' Buns Bakery at the Embarcadero. They had two very large display cases with every pastry, sweet roll, danish, cookie, sugar twist, etc. etc. that you could think of, then a third case filled with various cupcakes and bars.
Thus rounded out my personal bakery bonanza and our family camping expedition. This will become a new tradition for me as I travel to now seek out new and different bakeries, while I'm sure collecting more "coffee table" cookbooks and recipes along the way. As my passion for baking and our business at Scrumptious continues to grow, I am forever learning and always inspired. My cup has runneth over this Summer in things that I am thankful for and this, a new found love for baking on a different level, is one of them.
~Amy~
- Miglet's Gluten Free Cupcake Shop in Danville, CA~ www.migletsgf.com
- Big Sur Bakery and Restaurant in Big Sur, CA~ www.bigsurbakery.com
- Sun N' Buns at 830 Embarcadero in Morro Bay, CA~ 805.772.4117
