Vegan Bakery Near Me in Boyle Heights: Cake Girl's Pharmacy Counter

Cake Girl bakes everything vegan and gluten-free, and it sells it from the original soda fountain counter inside Saint Louis Pharmacy at 2100 E 1st Street in Boyle Heights. A Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcake costs $5.50 and a Churro Donut is $4.50. Before you set out on a vegan bakery near me run this week, note the shop is closed from Sunday, October 11 through Monday, October 19, and reopens Tuesday, October 20 at 10:30 am.

That setting is the whole story. In July 2019 the Eastsider reported that Amy Tam and Andy Fuentes had been running Cake Girl since June of that year inside the still-active, 99-year-old drugstore, serving baked goods from the original counter. Fuentes was raised in Boyle Heights. The bakery's own page says it is locally owned and operated by Amy Tam and was established in 2018, before it found this unusual home on 1st Street.

The allergy list is what sets Cake Girl apart from most LA counters. The shop's homepage says everything is vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, peanut-free and nut-free, and its FAQ calls the bakery a dedicated gluten-free kitchen. One caveat sits on the menu: the cookies contain gluten-free oats, which matters to some people with celiac disease. For a child with several allergies, this is one of the safest birthday stops in the city.

Cupcakes are the main event. The Vanilla Sprinkle, Chocolate Sprinkle and Double Chocolate cupcakes cost $5.50 each. At $5.95, the Cream Filled Cupcake is a chocolate cake dipped in chocolate with a white swirl on top, which the menu compares to a Hostess snack cake. The Strawberry Churro Cupcake, also $5.95, hides strawberry jam inside and wears a mini churro donut on its frosting, which makes it the item regulars photograph before eating.

Thursday through Saturday, the Gansito Inspired Cupcake joins the case at $5.95: vanilla cake filled with strawberry jam, dipped in chocolate, a nod to the Mexican snack cake that many people in Boyle Heights grew up with. If you only make one trip, plan it for one of those three days. A Monday or Sunday visit is not an option at all, since the shop is closed both days every week.

The baked donuts run $4.50 each and come in flavors like Churro, Churro with Chocolate, Hibiscus Lemon and a dark Chocolate Cake donut. Hibiscus Lemon is the one to try if you like tart glazes, since the flower gives it a deep pink color and a sour finish. These are cake donuts, baked rather than fried, so anyone hoping for a light, yeasted ring should temper expectations and order a cupcake instead.

October brings two seasonal specials. The October Cupcake is a pumpkin spice cake filled with naturally orange frosting and dipped in chocolate, $5.95. The October Donut is a Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Snickerdoodle, topped with snickerdoodle cookie crumb, $4.50. A plainer Pumpkin Spice Vanilla cupcake and a Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodle Cookie at $3 round out the fall list. Buying a full dozen cupcakes or donuts takes 10% off, the best value on the menu.

Cookies and bars are the budget picks. A Chocolate Chip Cookie or a Funfetti Cookie costs $3, and either one turned into a cookiewich, two cookies sandwiching frosting, costs $6. A Brownie and the Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake are $6 each. There is also one savory item, a Savory Pizza Square of herb flatbread with marinara and Follow Your Heart mozzarella, $5.50, which is a decent snack if you are bringing a friend who does not crave sugar.

For cakes, two paths exist. Daily cakes are six-inch rounds, $70, in vanilla with vanilla frosting, vanilla with pink strawberry frosting, or chocolate with chocolate frosting, sold from the case or reserved by email or phone. Custom cakes need much more lead time: the menu suggests at least two weeks, and the homepage currently says the bakery is booked for custom cake orders through October 27. Daily cakes are not offered during holiday weeks.

Timing advice. Cake Girl opens at 10:30 am, Tuesday through Saturday, and closes at 6 pm. Phoned-in pickups run in three windows, 11:30 am to 1 pm, 1 to 3 pm, and 3 to 5:30 pm, so call early for a specific flavor. There are no refunds or returns. If you arrive during a closure or the case is bare, Postmates and UberEats carry the menu, but for a walk-in alternative you will need to look elsewhere in the city.

Make it a Boyle Heights walk. Mariachi Plaza, where musicians in traje gather near the gazebo waiting for gigs, is a few minutes west on 1st Street. The Breed Street Shul, a restored early 20th-century synagogue that recalls the neighborhood's Jewish history, is a short walk away. Hollenbeck Park, with its lake and old shade trees, is a pleasant place to eat a cupcake on a bench before riding the E Line back downtown.

Practical notes: the address is 2100 E 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033, inside Saint Louis Pharmacy. Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10:30 am to 6 pm. Upcoming closures are October 11 to 19 and Friday and Saturday, November 6 and 7. Gift cards are sold online through the bakery's website.

Who will love Cake Girl: parents juggling egg, dairy, nut and gluten allergies at once, East LA locals who want a Gansito-style treat without animal products, and transit riders hopping off the E Line. Who might skip it: anyone after flaky laminated pastry, since this kitchen focuses on cake. For that, Chaumont Vegan in Beverly Hills is the better trip, while Cake Girl stays the neighborhood answer for allergy-safe cupcakes.