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View Winners → Fantasy Frostings Finds its Sweet Spot in Pasadena
Arcadia Weekly Mar 01, 2019
– Photos courtesy of Chabad of Pasadena
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Fantasy Frostings offers custom-order cakes and desserts as well as a full-service retail shop full of cookies, pastries and fun cake flavors like Strawberry Champagne, Banana Nutella and more.” – Photo by Emily Glory Peters / Beacon Media News
By Emily Glory Peters
Congratulations: you’ve made it two months into 2019 and we bet you’re ready for a break from all those health-centric resolutions. Enter Fantasy Frostings.
With a 2018 “Best of Pasadena” win to its name and longstanding popularity for its custom cakes and desserts, Fantasy Frostings is the bakery dream come true for second-generation baker and owner Leslie Maynor-Anderson.
“I definitely inherited my mother’s passion for baking,” she explains, noting how her mother Joyce started the bakery in Whittier in 1971. The shop spent a few more formative years in South Pasadena, but recently found a true retail home in Pasadena—with Maynor-Anderson’s daughter Lauren also picking up the piping bag. But these kind of family ties aren’t exclusive to the Maynors.
“This year alone, we have done around 20 weddings for couples that booked with us because we had done their parents’ wedding cakes 20 or 30 years ago!” says Maynor-Anderson. She credits Fantasy Frostings’ longevity to marrying quality ingredients with style.
“We stay relevant in flavor and design trends, but flavor comes first,” she says. Quality is king here: small batches, nothing ever frozen, and baked goods loaded with real butter, real cream and fresh, seasonal fruit from local markets. Special orders for vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free bakes are welcome, too.
Established in 1971, Fantasy Frostings in Pasadena is the work of three generations of bakers from the Maynor family and a bona fide community favorite. – Photo by Emily Glory Peters / Beacon Media News
It goes without saying that you can taste the effort. Signature pieces like their cupcakes—which also come in minis if you’re being conscientious—are downright flavor bombs. But if you’re new to the Fantasy Frostings realm, Maynor-Anderson suggests a cake flight.
“We serve a tray of five slices from our daily menu for you to sample before you decide which cake you want to order. From our recent menu, I’d suggest Creme Brûlée, Almond Poppy Apricot, Salted Caramel Trio, Banana Split and Lemon Lavender,” says Maynor-Anderson, “but honestly, it’s hard to pick a favorite!”
The sweets find new life beyond the counter, too. In addition to hosting “give-backs” where a portion of the day’s proceeds benefit local nonprofits, Fantasy Frostings regularly donates its unpurchased items.
“We drop off goodies at the end of the day to the local women’s shelters, hospital emergency rooms and to local servicemen and women,” Maynor-Anderson noted. “I absolutely love Pasadena, and we strive to participate in the community as much as possible.”
So if you’re feeling a little guilty about picking up a treat (we humbly suggest this month’s special, the Strawberry Champagne cupcake), know that you’re supporting a business that supports others. As for the calories, they’re the collective work of 40-plus years of baking expertise—definitely worth a bite. After all, as Maynor-Anderson says, “If it’s not worth eating, it’s not worth making!”
Fantasy Frostings is located at 3731 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. For more information, contact the Fantasy Frostings team at www.fantasyfrostings.com | leslie@fantasyfrostings.com | 626-799-2900 and follow along on Facebook and Instagram @fantasyfrostings.
