The in-house bakery at a Del Mar grocery store is about to get a sweet upgrade: it’ll be turned into a Little Cakes Kitchen – a beloved North County bakery known for its killer cupcakes.
Gelson’s Del Mar – located at 2707 Via De La Valle – will transform its bakery next week to revolve around the treats of Little Cakes Kitchen, a family-owned, Vista-based bakery that launched in 2010.
Over the past nine years, Little Cakes Kitchen has become a cupcake standout in San Diego County – and on TV. The bakery has competed The Food Network Show, “Cupcake Wars,” and won twice.
The cupcakes that brought home victories were the “Tuxedo” – a chocolate cake dipped in white chocolate ganache, topped with vanilla buttercream and crispy chocolate pearls – and “The Pearl,” a sweet almond cake filled with Bavarian cream, topped with champagne Italian buttercream and edible pearls. Both are listed as top-sellers on the bakery’s website.
In addition to those two cupcake creations, the bakery makes more than 100 rotating flavors such as Red Velvet, Chocolate Toffee, Lemon Berry, Strawberry Milkshake and something called the Pancakes and Bacon – maple cake with real bacon inside, topped with maple buttercream and a sprinkle of sugared bacon. The bakery is known for topping many of its treats with authentic Italian buttercream frosting.
Little Cakes Kitchen also offers full-size cakes, cheesecakes, pies, cookies, and other baked goods, and takes special orders.
Vista resident Don Hein, who owns the bakery with his wife, Becky Hein, said he’s thrilled about his new partnership with Gelson’s, calling it a “dream come true” in a press release Thursday.
Meanwhile, Gelson’s President and CEO Rob McDougall said he’s impressed by how far the Little Cakes brand has come and is looking forward to having the bakery inside the Del Mar store.
Gelson’s Del Mar was remodeled not too long ago and reopened last February with new wine, craft beer, and tapas bars, plus a cold-pressed juice bar kiosk and seafood and sushi bar. It is one of 27 Gelson’s Markets in Southern California and one of three in San Diego County. The other local stores are in Pacific Beach and Carlsbad.
