hey everyone! time for an OC field report from reader nicky tracy. in the following post, she explores a mostly vegan and gluten-free bakery called sensitive sweets in fountain valley. i can’t wait to check this place out!

Vegan dining options in Orange County aren’t exactly few and far between, but when you’re gluten-free and have an insatiable sweet tooth, that can be a whole ‘nother story entirely. Naturally when I got wind that an all gluten-free and vegan-friendly bakery had opened up in northern Orange County, I couldn’t wait to investigate. Sensitive Sweets, located off of Brookhurst and Slater Ave in Fountain Valley in a little strip mall next to Le V Cuisine and Golden Scorpion Tattoo, offers some of the best vegan gluten-free breads, cupcakes, cookies and muffins I’ve had yet, without charging an arm and a leg and without the nasty aftertaste typically left behind by garbanzo/fava bean-based baked goods.

Although not everything in the bakery is vegan (the lemon bars and fudge brownies both contain egg and the marshmallows they use contain gelatin), most of their sweets are vegan-friendly and those that aren’t are clearly marked otherwise.

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hey everyone! time for another field report from rachel of power cut jewelry (check out her etsy site for awesome vegan and beatles-related items!). today she blogs about LA’s newest all vegan bakery, no udder desserts in woodland hills. check it out.

“The San Fernando Valley…it’s not the hippest place in the world, but it’ll do. It’s so unhip that it’s probably hip.” -Tom Petty

I suffered through the LVUSD school system and I’ve been engulfed by a bubble called “the valley” my whole life. Besides Tom Petty songs that make me happy to be a valley citizen, I have a strong dislike of the place. It’s too hot, the people are conceited, rude and terrible drivers lurk everywhere. One of my favorite restaurants, Madeleine Bistro, is hardly open and most recently the only somewhat decent vegan Thai place began serving meat. Although I complain, the most important thing about the valley is that my dog loves it here.

About two months ago, I randomly read about No Udder Desserts opening a storefront in Woodland Hills. Started by Trisha Lobefaro a few years ago, No Udder Desserts has been sold at various places in the L.A. area and can now be found at a quaint little bakery smack dab in the valley.

The umbrella is hiding the word "vegan", but it IS there!

The shop is nestled in a little outdoor mall near a Target and Payless Shoes, it might be hard to find if you’re unfamiliar with the area, but luckily a sign reading “Vegan Bakery” adorns the main window. Inside is very small, with two tables and one outside the doors; although I didn’t eat inside, I can imagine sitting there with friends over some coffee and sweets would be quite nice.

I first went here about a month ago and was pleased to see that many of the cake offerings were petit fours. They’re the perfect size for when you want to indulge, yet not overdo it. I left No Udder Desserts with a pecan bar which was delicious. I immediately told Quarrygirl that I wanted to do a field report on this place!

I finally made it back to No Udder Desserts earlier this week, and got myself more than just one thing to try. Various bite-sized cakes that caught my eye were carrot, coconut, and chocolate. I also tried a lemon bar, pumpkin “cheezecake”, whoopie pie, chocolate chip cookie and I couldn’t leave without another pecan bar.

Carrot cake, chocolate cake, lemon bar, coconut cake, and a pecan bar in the middle

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today is a great day, because i get to announce that earth cafe (one of my favorite vegan dessert companies ever) is introducing a new pie to their already delicious line of cheesecakes!

life is sweet potato pie. by earth cafe. 🙂

earth cafe’s “life is sweet potato” pie is definitely one of their best creations to date. it’s thick and rich with a smooth velvety texture and packed with sweet complex flavors. the pie itself is moist and fluffy, and the crust has just the right amount of crunch. it’s seriously the perfect indulgence, because it tastes amazing, yet isn’t full of bad ingredients. everything made by earth cafe is completely raw, vegan, and gluten free with no refined sugars or hydrogenated oils.

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UPDATE 3/6/10: i went to cruzer last night and they were selling huge slices of the candy bar cheesecake for only $6.50 (down from $12)!! go get them while they last!

check out my slice:

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one thing the los angeles vegan scene is really lacking is vegan donuts. luckily, that may change very soon thanks to a couple of food science college students named jessica and amanda. the two girls came up with some killer recipes for the deep fried treats during a product development class, and BAM—just like that their company the righteous fryers was born.

they hooked me up with some samples of their punnily-named wholly donuts, which were drop dead delicious. the flavors i tried were apple crumble and boston creme, and i was blown away by what these college kids created.

the first one i sampled was the boston creme. dense thick chocolate cake coated in chocolate frosting, and filled with moist and fluffy cream. gah, it was so tasty. it was small and artfully made, yet rich and messy…it was like the cross between a madeleine bistro and a ronald’s donut. LA would be a better place if stuff like this was readily available.

next i tried the apple crumble, and lemme preface my description by saying i usually hate baked fruit. this thing, however, won me over with one bite. the fruit flavor wasn’t strong, and everything was coated in sticky sweet cinnamon. plus, it had this sugary crumbly coating on top that was off the charts—it tasted like a deep fried donut, an apple pie, and a piece of coffee cake were having a threesome in my mouth. wowowow.

unfortunately, the righteous fryers are not in business yet because one of them is still finishing school. they are well on their way though, so look out for these donuts in the future. they definitely have the dessert skills down already, let’s hope they smooth out the business affairs and get rolling ASAP.

good luck, amanda and jessica!

oh, and you can follow jessica (@raspberryrush) on twitter. yay!