(photo from my "A & D Hawaiian BBQ - National City" post, Nov. 2011)
The bakery had been on Highland Avenue since 1946 and sadly, closed in 2010...
George's Wonderful World of Cakes later morphed into the short lived "Hot Papas", a potato based eatery. The photo below had a "Coming Soon" sign. This was in 2013. I honestly don't recall this ever being open. Using my Columbo like research skills (pause for sarcasm alert), I saw on yelp that the oldest review was from March 2014 and the last review in October of the same year. Well, this certainly did not last that long, did it now.
(photo from my "A Compilation of various photos (some Christmas related) and recipes" Dec. 2013)
Fast forward to this...when the former beloved bakery space became a Japanese/Korean eatery, Sushi & Galbi which opened in early 2015. Gone is the alternating red and blue striped awnings which are now solid red.
(photo from George P., yelp, July 2016)
Why all of this history of the storefront? Well, I think it's important to know where things come from and how spaces evolve. But also to segue into the fact that although George's Wonderful World of Cakes closed over six years ago (and sadly, I never had the chance to visit, but Mary DID so see her post at the end), the former owner is still around and baking select items from the bakery's repertoir, including the famous lemon snow cake, out of his home. Say whaaat?
Hellz yeah.
This past Tuesday, our department celebrated two birthdays. One of the co-workers had requested coconut cake on her cake flavor request when we picked birthday buddies. It was originally cherry pie and holy $%#@ am I ever glad she changed her mind. Her birthday person was the one who chose the lemon snow cake (which has coconut) for her cake.
It was brought into my office, which is the biggest (and where we hold all of our meetings) and when I saw it, I was immediately curious. My co-worker said she got it from Little George's and then gave me the card. I got really excited because this was the first time I'd ever seen one of this bakery's famous cakes. She knew the guy from years past and he has baked cakes for other occasions for her family gatherings.
I have to tell you that this lemon cake was one of THE best I'd ever tasted. The lemon curd was not too tart nor was it too sweet. The white coating you see on the cake is coconut. For me to like a lemon dessert is saying something. I normally don't like lemon flavored sweets because they are usually too sour and/or sickeningly sweet. Not this cake. Plus the combination of lemon with coconut is fantastic!
As I sliced my piece, I marveled at how soft and fluffy the cake layers were. It was lighter than chiffon. I couldn't get over how light and airy this was. And to find out that the cake only cost $15? OMG, I'm going to have to think of an excuse to order a cake or two!
Here is Mary's post before George's Wonderful World of Cakes closed:
"George's Wonderful World of Cakes/National City - San Diego, CA" July 7, 2010
Eugene Bartlett, former owner of George's himself responded to several commenters on Mary's post. The phone number he listed is the same as on the business card and below.
Let's not forget this post from Wayno's World" featuring the very same cake.
Little George's
3624 Valley Vista Rd.
Bonita, Ca 91902
(619) 477-9369
www.lilgeorges.com/fb page + reviews from yelp
This is a home residence and he only makes three items, lemon snow cake, brownies and strawberry pie. According to the website, seasonal pies are apple, pumpkin, and pecan, but I'm not sure how updated the site is. In any case, I will definitely be ordering that dreamy lemon snow cake for the holidays!
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