Valhalla Cakes

Sam Slade opened this sunny little bakery in the Berkeley neighborhood in the spring of 2016, but she's been turning out pieces of edible art for years now, first at Le Bakery Sensual and then out of Temple Bakery. Her cakes, cookies and cupcakes emerge from the kitchen in forms familiar (flowerpots and rose blossoms), unconventional (garden gnomes) and edgy (Audrey II) — but all beautifully crafted and richly colored.