Black Forest Bakery & Cafe

This place is closed: (. There was a for lease sign in the window.

Sad to discover this place is now permanently closed. Sniff. Will have to find another favorite Red Velvet cupcake :(

I’ve been here about 3 – 4 times and each time its a horrible experience. Their cakes are really pretty and good but very pricey… Its good but not out of this world good where you must die to have.
It was so hard to get someone to help you. Understandable if it was the lunch rush but twice i came when it was slow. The staffs where chatting away & just ignore us. Until I stated that i need to place an order… did someone came out to help (10 mins)… you need to let them know that you gonna spend money to get sevice… there’s not alot of option for they’re cakes flavor and varities… very basic…

There are many reasons to visit Black Forest Bakery, but if nothing else, do it for the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Given that I can’t even pronounce that, you can also call it Black Forest cake, which just happened to be invented to Germany.
As a child, I was a regular of this bakery, whether it was for breakfast before school, for chicken noodle soup on sick days, or for buying their awesome Black Forest cake. The bakery is a very nostalgic place for me, and although the original German owners have long departed and the interior look of the bakery has changed, their pastries and cakes are still awesome.
I was recently compelled to visit the bakery again after constantly experiencing mediocre Black Forest cake. One location came close, some bakery in Irvine that my friend bought me a slice of cake from — but it missed that cherry filling that really complements the chocolate and cream layer in the cake. One slice of that cake and a cold glass of milk is probably my favorite dessert of all time — assuming the cake is Black Forest and it was baked at the Black Forest Bakery.
However, Black Forest Bakery, to my knowledge, also omits a key ingredient in Black Forest cakes — a specific German liqueur made from cherries. Nevertheless, their cake is awesome! Moist chocolate cake is accompanied with a generous whipped-​cream layer inside, and a sweet cherry filling rounds out a flawless cake. It’s seriously the best, and you can pick up individual slices of it!
Their raisin snails and danishes also looked awesome, and if they taste anything like they did before, good luck avoiding the urge to eat them everyday.

Excellent Bakery! I searched and called several bakeries looking for the perfect Hello Kitty Baby Shower cake and found it here! The cake was a smash hit! Everyone loved it and it was gone in an instant. The detailed airbrushing and fondant work was more then I excepted. I HIGHLY recommend using this bakery. Super nice people too!

Delightful!
Living in the OC, sometimes I feel as though I am living in the «mom-​and-​pop» store desert. This area, especially south OC, really is dominated by the big chains. Anyways, I’ve been craving a cookie. A freshly baked cookie. One that was made on-​site, not in a factory or processing center somewhere in Modesto. (And being «baked» or heated in the oven at the neighborhood Albertson’s does not count.) A cookie measured, mixed, rolled, cut and baked by the very people in front of you in the bakery. From a recipe they developed. Not from a mix. Anyways, I’ve been craving a cookie (preferably snicker doodle or chocolate chip) and did not want to go to the supermarket where the options are packaged cookies or the ones in their «bakery» section. (I’d also ruled out coffee shop baked goods.) I wanted an old-​fashioned bakery, with basic American baked products. (I had also determined I was not craving Mexican or Asian style baked goods.) This brought me to Unilocal. (I know this is a lot to write about a bakery… but I seriously thought about this for a week!)
Based on the Unilocal reviews, I decided this was my best bet for what I was searching. I was very pleased! The fiancé and I bought an apple strudel, a snicker doodles cookie, a black & white cupcake and a chocolate chip cream cheese cupcake. The fiancé reported that the apple strudel was «decent» when I asked him after he took his first bite… but then he proceeded to inhale the thing in like 3 seconds flat. That strudel was either more than just «decent» or he’s just being a hungry dude… not sure, now that I think of it…
Anyways, the cupcakes were delectable! Not too dry (ahem, Frostings on El Toro… ahem). Not too sweet. Not overly frosted. The «black & white» is a cupcake version of your standard black & white cookie from a Jewish deli. Genius! I expected this cupcake to be frosted to be more like your standard buttercream or icing on a cupcake but once I actually got the thing in my hands I realized it was glazed in the same way that the cookie is! So very seriously awesome if you love the cookie! The flavors were spot-​on! Totally mimics the cookie. The choc chip/​cream cheese was equally tasty even though less ingenious. The frosting was not too tart from the cream, nor too sweet. The cookie actually was maybe the low man on the totem pole (can’t fairly judge the apple strudel). My gripe with the cookie isn’t a big deal at that… I thought the edges of the cookie were a bit hard/​overbaked. But this is definitely not a thing that will dismay me from coming back.
Pros: Cupcakes! Not too sweet. Fair prices ($ 1 for a fairly large cookie… all the aforementioned did not go over $ 10). Very friendly, genuine staff. Easy to spot (visible right on the corner of Lake Forest & Trabuco). Small patio for enjoying some coffee and pastries. Freshly baked and on-​site!
Cons: The price points for the full cakes are on the higher-​end of the spectrum, deeming a cake purchase (for us non-​ballers) to be one that will likely be reserved for special occasions.

I think it’s a good thing that I live in San Diego and this bakery is in Irvine (Lake Forest). They, hands down, have the best brownie cookies. What is a brownie cookie? Cookie on the outside, brownie on the inside. It’s not a thick cookie so I have no idea how they do it and believe me I’ve googled! The other cookies are pretty darned good too and the croissants are so buttery and flaky. If I’m driving through OC, I will detour a bit and clean them out of whatever brownie cookies are remaining! YUM!

Every time there’s a birthday, a special occasion, an anniversary, their cakes never fail.
A little pricey, but it’s worth every crumb, by far one of my favorite bakeries in Orange County. I’ve been getting my cakes from here for a few years now, my favorite has probably got to be their carrot cake, and the black forest, being an avid fan of cherries, it’s just the right moisture and sweetness. I never need to find another bakery again!

Black Forest Bakery seems to be under new ownership. The coffee is not excellent anymore. They must have switched to bulk coffee, instead of the air-​roasted … mild and tasty coffee. They still seem to sell it as air-​roasted, but it’s definitely not the same as before.
But, their pastries are as good as ever. Had the almond croissant (or danish) the other day … still very very good!

They stopped serving sandwiches, salads, and other lunch food last November 2009 :(
Their cakes and cupcakes are great, but I am sad my lunch place is no more.

A bakery with tables and chairs, what a great idea. It’s not really a café at all but they do serve coffee and cold beverages. The smell in this place is incredible. I had a perfect Strawberry Cheese Croissant. Fresh, not too sweet, soft, flaky and only $ 2…just perfect. They also have free wi-​fi. What more can you ask for!

This review is based purely off their scones. My co-​worker brought in scones from Black Forest and I don’t typically like scones. They’re usually dry and too sugary, even if it’s heated up or fresh it’s still dry and crumbly… BUT.
Black Forest scones are the best I’ve ever tasted! The top is still a little crisp, but it’s soft and delicious on the inside. Not too sugary and absolutely wonderful with coffee! :)
I’ll have to go and try their other items some time!

Three words: Best Croissant Ever.
Flaky, buttery, moist and large. Just amazing. Well worth it.
To see a pic:

Our original breakfast plans for today included Bagels & Brew but the wait was long, the place was packed, and it didn’t look like a seat would open up anytime soon so we hopped the parking lot and came here.
We had never been so this was a neat surprise. This bakery and café is a quaint little shop located on the corner of the shopping center and is close to Togo’s and Ralph’s. I ordered the breakfast sandwich and my friend got the Nuts and Berry salad.
This place has a great assortment of dessert, a cool atmosphere, and some amazing cakes on display and I would love to give this place 5 stars but service is slower than molasses here. We stood in line for a few minutes browsing the menu and the cashier looked bored as did the cook. We didn’t get offers for help with the menu or a friendly greeting when we walked in; it’s almost as if serving us was another redundant choir for her.
One has to wonder if the café owners are struggling for business. Anything extra is either 50 – 75 cents and any extra meat is $ 2.50. Orders are taken on post-​its notes and a really really old cash register machine. There’s also a huge Monavie display.
We took a seat outside since it was nice day and waited a good while for our food even though we were about the only people there. If we had wanted to wait, we would have gone across the parking lot. When our food did arrive, they forgot what drinks we had ordered and switched around who had what but we quickly remedied that.
Despite all that, the food was pretty good. My breakfast sandwich was served on a croissant and the eggs mixed with tomatoes, avocados, and cheese were yummy. My friend’s salad was light, delicious, and crispy and made up of Baby Leaf Greens, Feta Cheese, Cape Cod Cranberries, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, toasted
Sliced Almonds and topped with Balsamic Vinaigrette. Yummy!

15+ years ago, an aunt used them as her bakery for her wedding cake. I remember as a young teenager, loving every bite. Years later, my office is right down the street, so I decided to hit them up for some cupcakes. I ordered 9 various cupcakes to take to the office for my team.
Everyone liked them and said they would be checking out the bakery. Next time I want to try out the café, but I would guess they are better known for cakes and pastries.

I came for a quick lunch and ordered a chicken salad sandwich and a peanut butter cookie. The cookie was a little disappointing. Not bad, but I’ve had better.
The sandwich was so-​so too. The chicken salad had yellow/​red peppers, pine nuts and was pretty good, well put together with tomato and lettus, with enough filling to go with the bread. But I was not a fan of the bread. You have a choice of ciabatta or mini baguette. I had mine on a baguette. It was a bit hard. Maybe the ciabatta would be better?
They’re probably more known for their cakes, so I’ll round up to 3.

I tried a slice of cake here. eh, it was quite dry. I was not impressed.
The staff was friendly.

I was planning on gate crashing a high level event and needed to get a special, novelty cake as a peace offering — um, ok, as a bribe — so that they wouldn’t kick me out.
After searching through the web, I selected Black Forest Bakery based upon their pictures. Some of their examples looked very sophisticated, which was exactly what I needed.
I was extremely worried because I couldn’t see how it would turn out before hand and I all could do was point them to some web images, which I posted.
They did an amazing job! The cake was right on the money! Everybody loved it! Check out the pics! What do you think?

Not really a thorough review… but
I ordered sugar cookies upon the recommendation of the workers and they were very delish! So fresh and soft :)
I love the homey, comfortable cottage feel of this bakery which is a nice contrast from all the chain bakeries like JJ or Diamond or Mrs. Fields or Auntie Anne’s…
The two young workers are very friendly too. Plus points.

This is quite an impressive independent bakery. They do gorgeous birthday and wedding cakes. If you wanted corporate cakes, they can do them too. I quite liked their café. It serves gourmet sandwiches and a host of other delights. The young staff are very friendly and helpful. So far there are 2 independent bakeries making seriously great cakes, one is this place and the other is Blackmarket Bakery. Hmmm, black is in!