Best of the East Bay - Kids

Best birthday cake, science camp, swim lessons, party place, theater extravaganza...

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Kids' Birthday Cakes

Editor Pick

→ A cake that’s ready to set sail? How about one in the shape of a carousel? The following two bakeries create cakes that will both taste good and wow your birthday girl or boy. Both bakeries recommend you order the cakes in person, anywhere from four days to two weeks in advance.

• Primrose Bakery, Pleasanton. French-trained pastry chef Larby Amamou can draw images on your cake from a photo or party invitation. He also makes three-dimensional figures that look like flip-flops, edible presents wrapped in fondant bows, and two-tier carousels. The milk chocolate truffle and the white princess cake with marzipan frosting are most in demand. Cakes cost $32–$200.

350 Main St., Ste. D, Pleasanton, (925) 249-1261, www.primrosebakery.com.

• Le Gateau Elegant, Martinez. Owner Karen Del Bontá specializes in elaborate three-dimensional cakes: big red fire trucks, a train engine, a treasure chest, and a pirate ship complete with mast and sails. She’ll also create flat cakes in the shape of animals or use frosting to paint a scene on a round or sheet cake, such as the underwater world of Finding Nemo. Most popular flavors are Swedish princess and chocolate mousse. Cakes cost $29.95–$500.

712 Main St., Martinez, (925) 313-9076, www.legateauelegant.com. —Martha Ross

 

Q&A

Future Celebrity Social Activist

Editor Pick

→ “I’m not a light-topic person,” says Dani Cox, an incoming freshman at Amador Valley High in Pleasanton. Cox is just 14 and has already made her mark as an actor in TV shows, commercials, and independent films, and as a published author, but she still finds time to examine big issues.

In her essay “Ms. President,” which was included in Red: the Book—a collection of 58 personal stories by teenage girls—Cox explores 9/11, negative female body image, and the subjugation of women around the world.

Besides continuing to write and act, Cox would like to become involved in politics. So far, she’s got our vote.
If you got to be president, what’s the first thing you would do?
I would abolish poverty in the United States of America. Like Martin Luther King, Jr. pointed out, slavery and prejudice will never end until the evil of poverty has been overcome.

You come from a loving, supportive family. Where does your interest in writing and acting in psychological thrillers come from?
I am very interested in the human mind and what we are capable of as human beings. I’ve been wanting to watch A Clockwork Orange for the longest time now. I’ve read enough about the movie to know what happens, but I haven’t yet convinced my parents to let me watch it.

What’s a nonprofit you’d like to start?
I’d like to set up a program that allows teens of every nationality to come together and voice their opinions and concerns about the world we live in, like a United Nations, but run by the youth of the world.
For information about Red: the Book, visit www.redthebook.com. —M.R.