An ongoing list of outstanding items from past events
By Erin Jackson
Chocolate, cherry & pistachio croissant babka by Adrian Mendoza
This magically delicious creation by Adrian Mendoza of Knead Artisan Bakery for the 2025 International Bake Sale took puff pastry to uncharted territory and blew our minds in the process. Adrian spread chocolate babka filling on croissant dough, then braided it like babka before baking. Once cooled, the tasty treats were filled with pistachio ganache and sour cherry jam, then topped with chocolate ganache, candied pistachios, and a cherry!
Hazelnut Rocher and Dubai Chocolate Brownie Bar by Kristianna Zabala
If you were lucky enough to snag a box to our first 420 Bake Sale in 2025, you’ll remember this outstanding brownie bar by Kristianna Zabala of KRZ Kitchen, which featured four layers of fudgy, creamy, and crunchy goodness: a base of rich dark chocolate brownie, middle layers of milk chocolate hazelnut rocher and Dubai chocolate, and a top layer of dark and white chocolate ganache topped with pistachios.
Chocolate Nemesis Cake by Tina Gamel
The chocolate nemesis cake Tina Gamel of Seneca Trattoria created for our 2025 Chocolate Bake Sale takes the prize for the best chocolate cake ever featured at a Friendly Feast event. Tina’s take on the famous flourless cake—which originated at The River Cafe in London—was amped up with velvety tamari namelaka, salty miso caramel, and puffed grains for a bit of texture.
“Red Eye” Doughnut by Jeremy Harville
In 2025, we brought the Pop-Up Doughnut Shop back to Cardellino and were amazed by the creativity of the featured chefs. Host chef Jeremy Harville’s “Red Eye” doughnut was an instant classic. Inspired by the coffee and espresso beverage, the soft and fluffy doughnut featured cookie butter dip and coffee glaze topped with Biscoff cookie crumbs and espresso powder. Fun fact: though named after a highly caffeinated beverage, this doughnut was completely caffeine-free.
Espresso Raspberry Brownie by Laura Warren
Laura Warren’s brownies were the star of the 2024 Chocolate Bake Sale. The talented pastry chef for Puffer Malarkey Collective used raspberry purée, coffee, espresso powder, and freeze-dried raspberries to complement the fruity notes in the chocolate, elevating the classic treat to another level of deliciousness!
Turon Tiramisu by Jamie Decena
During her time as pastry chef for Cowboy Star, Jamie Decena was the host chef for several events celebrating the talent of AAPI pastry chefs and bakers. All of her creations for these events were delicious, but nothing tops the turon tiramisu she created for the 2023 AAPI Chefs Bake Sale. With alternating layers of jackfruit and banana mascarpone mousse, caramelized lumpia wrappers, jackfruit gel, and homemade lady fingers soaked in Mostra Coffee’s Son of Ghost Bear beans, the unique item was a standout in that year’s box.
Coffee Custard Pie by Madison Miley
Madison Miley of A+M Catering made her Friendly Feast debut at the 2023 Pop-Up Pie Shop with this towering coffee custard pie with caramelized banana and homemade chocolate cookie crust. Something about the textures, flavors, and pop of caffeine made the pie feel like the perfect thing to eat for breakfast. Only six of these beauties were available and they sold out fast!
Chunky Monkey Brownie by Adrienne Davey
Adrienne Davey of Animae made her Friendly Feast debut at the 2023 Chocolate Bake Sale with a triple-layer treat inspired by Chunky Monkey ice cream, with a base layer of brown butter blondie with banana chips and walnuts, topped with dark chocolate fudge brownie and velvety banana dulcey ganache. Yum!!
Coconut Key Lime Almond Polvorons by Ashley Papa
Our Cookie Club events sold out in record time during the Covid-19 pandemic, when travel was restricted and opportunities for fun were few and far between. At a time when many people were dreaming of a tropical vacation, Ashley Papa brought a taste of the Philippines to our 2021 Tropical Vacation Cookie Club with these coconut key lime polvorons with white chocolate drizzle. The crumbly, crunchy texture of the cookies and the refreshing pop of citrus made them an instant hit.
Lemon Meringue Doughnut by Jose Alonzo III
Chefs at the Pride edition of our 2021 Pop-Up Doughnut Shop were challenged to design a doughnut flavor inspired by a color of the rainbow flag. Jose Alzonzo III of Nine-Ten chose yellow and created these pucker perfect doughnuts with lemon glaze, creamy lemon-mascarpone filling, and crunchy bits of meringue on top. It was the perfect bite for a sweet, summer event.
Kumquat Galette by Kari Cota
Kari Cota made her Friendly Feast debut at the 2021 International Bake Sale with these elegant kumquat galettes made with fruit picked from the property at La Valencia Hotel. The flaky crust and fresh zest sprinkled on top made the ultra seasonal treat one of the most memorable items in the box.
Chocolate Caramel Pecan Truffle Cookie by James Foran
If Christmas meant looking forward to a opening box of Turtles chocolates, James Foran’s entry for the 2021 Christmas Cookie Club delivered a taste of nostalgia along with the requisite chocolate, toasted pecans, and caramel. These dangerously delicious cookies were so moist and fudgy, they had us hooked after one bite and secured James’ invite for many chocolate themed events to follow.
Brownie with Cookie Butter Blondie Swirl by Faye Rodriguez
Indie baker Faye Rodriguez of Faye’s Desserts made these outstanding brownies for our 2020 Bake Sale at Herb & Wood. The multi-dimensional bars feature a fudgy bottom layer of dark chocolate brownie topped with cookie butter blondie swirl and ribbons of chocolate and caramel sauce. We loved them so much we brought them back for Friendly Feast Favorites in 2022.
Strawberry and Blood Orange Hand Pies by Gan Suebsarakham
These sophisticated hand pies with sweet and zesty strawberry and blood orange filling by Gan Suebsarakham of Pop Pie Co. were a huge hit at our 2019 Bake Sale at Herb & Wood and Friendly Feast Favorites in 2022. If you missed your chance to try them at one of our events, they tend to pop up at the shop as a special flavor around Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.
Chocolate Rose Cardamom Cruller by Jessica Scott
Pastry Chef Jessica Scott went all out to create this cardamom and rose French cruller topped with chocolate glaze topped with a rose shaped doughnut hole for our 2017 Pop-Up Doughnut Shop. To this day, it remains one of the most stylish and original creations in Friendly Feast history. Jessica relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 where she works as a corporate executive pastry chef.
Strawberry Jalapeño Brioche by Rocio Siso-Gurriaran
Rocio Siso-Gurriaran stole the show at our 2016 Chef-Driven Bake Sale with this buttery brioche topped with strawberry, fresh jalapeño, and parmesan cheese. At the time of the event, Rocio was working at Nine-Ten in La Jolla. She is currently the Culinary Visionary for MIHO.