Food Stuff

Traditions die hard in East Sacramento. Take , established in 1926 and once renowned for its fruit basket cake. Since 1982, the Philipp family has contracted out the bakery’s operation, with mixed results. The most recent baker took too many shortcuts, and the place slid downhill. Even Philipp’s vaunted fruit basket cake became indistinguishable from a cheap supermarket cake. When the bakery closed unceremoniously not long ago, the Philipp family decided that it had seen enough. The family brought in German master baker Andreas Hoffmann, an East Sacramento resident who also owns a bakery in Auburn. Hoffmann and the Philipp family brought real butter, heavy cream and other quality ingredients back to the kitchen. They displayed poster-sized photos chronicling the bakery’s history and even restored the vintage neon sign to its flashing glory. Philipp’s and the fruit basket are back in top form, right where tradition wants them to be. 3300 Folsom Boulevard, (916) 455-5535.