Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Lynn Magnoli owns Icing on the Cake bakery, which just moved to a new location at 50 W. Main St. Magnoli says lots of butter, precise measurements and a policy against freezing ingredients contribute to the rich taste of her wares.
New location is icing on the cake for local bakery
By Suzanne Cristallo
As a child, Lynn Magnoli remembers making pies out of wet sawdust. Their aroma as they sat lining the windowsill of her playhouse reminded her of graham crackers. Now she makes pies, cakes, cookies and muffins, and they line the shelves of a display case in her bakery, Icing on the Cake, in Los Gatos.
There is a mix of smells to tantalize the senses the minute one steps through the freshly painted green door: vanilla here, cinnamon there, a touch of lemon and chocolate. The little sign on the door sets the mood: "Nobody can be uncheered with a cake."
Customers from Los Altos to Gilroy are familiar with Magnoli's bountiful creations. She's been offering them since l985, from a little old house behind Dolce Spazio on N. Santa Cruz Avenue. But there's been a big change, and Magnoli says it's all for the better.
Look for the new bakery on W. Main Street across from Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company. Magnoli and her staff moved on Feb. 13, into a building, just completed by local builder Dave Flick, on what was probably the last vacant lot downtown.
The building and the bakery share what Magnoli says is her trademark--nostalgia. Surrounded by walls tinted with a soft putty green and trimmed in a crown molding reminiscent of a room built 100 years ago, the cases are filled with goods that look like what many of us remember from our childhood, including a Hostess-like cupcake filled with cream and sealed in a chocolate icing. "The difference is, ours must be eaten today. They don't have a 10-year shelf life," Magnoli jokes.
A staff of 15, some permanent, some part time, run the ovens from midnight until around 6 p.m., handling both the retail and wholesale businesses. The bakers produce big, oversized cookies like the "Oreos" they developed for opening day and classic cupcakes. "Go ahead. Pick one up," she says. "They feel like you're holding a baseball!"
"Dense," "chunky," "fat" and "buttery" are words Magnoli loves to use to describe her creations. While she's both quotable and passionate about her work, she's also precise.
"Our customers love what we bake because of the taste. We use lots of butter--up to 500 pounds a week--and precise measurements. Each item is like a little science project, and we don't freeze anything, like your big volume places do," she emphasizes. "Freeze is our 'F-word'."
Underbaking is also part of the science. "We remove our baked goods before they're done, because they continue to cook in the pan outside of the oven. Underbaking retains the moisture," she explains.
Prospective brides and their mothers deluge Magnoli with up to five calls a day about cakes. As a result, she offers a free wedding cake-tasting on the first Saturday of each month, so planners can judge for themselves whether they want chocolate buttermilk, fresh banana, carrot, lemon poppy seed or a host of others. While the average cake sells for about $27, wedding cakes can run up to a $1,000.
Magnoli and her staff are delighted with their new home, the culmination of a search they have conducted since 1994. The big front windows allow them to see, for the first time, the passing throngs, cars and "trucks with wagging dogs," making them feel more a part of the town.
"I parked out front the other day and just watched people looking in our windows," she relates with a touch of wonder in her voice.
Icing on the Cake, 50 W. Main St., Los Gatos. Open Tues.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 408.354.2464.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
