A Delightful Experience at Crème Caramel LA

By Bryan Tsunoda on June 25th, 2014

Back in March, I attended a pop-up event in Downtown LA. There I discovered some interesting and unique desserts by a company that I had not heard of: Crème Caramel LA. I made a mental note to myself that I needed to visit their bakeshop.

Crème Caramel LA is located in Sherman Oaks on Burbank Blvd just east of the 405. I was fortunate to time my visit when I did because one of my favorite food trucks, The Hurricane Kitchen, was parked in front on their Food Truck Friday weekly event.

In front of Crème Caramel LA

Walking up to Crème Caramel LA, there are tables and benches on the sidewalk in front of the bakeshop. Standing up and eating is not enjoyable and I appreciated having the seating available.

Inside Crème Caramel LA

Despite having a small storefront, they have quite a few items to choose from. True to their name, they feature many custard confections. Seeing desserts with names like ube and pandan would be expected in Carson and I was surprised to see the diverse set of flavors and offerings.

I was able to sample a number of crème caramel desserts and bread pudding.

I was able to sample a number of crème caramel and bread pudding desserts.

They offer free samples to their customers. In fact, they have a tray set up and they patiently allow you to sample all of the creme caramel and bread pudding desserts! Based on my experience, I can see how they can go through a lot of spoons!

Bread pudding is also a large part of their offerings. Their original is a mix of brioche and challah bread. It’s topped off with their salted caramel sauce. I thought I misread caramelized bacon bread pudding and I learned that they caramelize bacon and layer it with their bread pudding. They also partner with their neighbor across the street, USA Donuts, and make a donut bread pudding.

Crème Caramel LA also has gluten free offerings: coconut pandra, spanish tortillas and coconut pandra.

Pictured left to right: Angela Fernandez, co-owner, Kristine de la Cruz and Gino Vo

Baker and co-owner Kristine de la Cruz began Crème Caramel LA in 2010 and at the time it opened, she learned the business and decided to work both efforts. She eventually left her corporate job in 2012 and opened the bakeshop in 2013. Sean Gilleland is the other co-owner.

Prior to opening her bakeshop, Kristine attended school with the intent on obtaining a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. After checking the job market, she discovered that there wasn’t a future in that career. She decided to switch her major to business with a focus on marketing.

Growing up, Kristine was raised old school and was taught to hand stir everything. After starting the business, she quickly realized that she would have to give up hand stirring in order to increase her output. She attributes her success to “a lot of trial and error”.

Cookie butter and nutella croissants

I ended up with a large “to go” box so that I could sample and share everything with my family. The cookie butter and nutella croissants were a big hit. Kristine said that she prefers Biscoff cookie butter over Trader Joe’s and uses that. The flavors worked very well together.

The original bread pudding and the donut bread pudding (before salted caramel sauce is applied)

My daughter is a huge donut fan and so I had to get their donut bread pudding. My daughter said that it was “soft and gooey, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.” It was topped with sprinkles and a butterscotch sauce.

An assortment of creme caramel desserts – Earl Grey with lavender was an unexpected surprise

Caramelized bacon bread puddings finished with their salted caramel sauce.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the original and the caramelized bread pudding. The challah bread was perfect for this and the bacon & salted caramel sauce was a smart addition.

Their custard is tasty and rich and in my mind this is what flan should be like.

If you are located near K-town, you can try Crème Caramel LA’s desserts at Park’s BBQ.

Since the carpool lane on the 405 is now open, I recommend you take a friend, hop on the carpool lane and make a trip to Crème Caramel LA. You won’t regret it.