Walking down University Avenue, you will see many a pastry shop...and I am sure they are all pretty good. But, if you turn right on Waverly Street, you will find a bakery called The Prolific Oven whose delicious desserts are truly worth your time. The amazing array of pastries, pies, cakes and cookies make up for the lack of decoration in the rest of the shop. Plus, if you are indecisive like me, you will not even notice what the store looks like because all of your attention will go into choosing which tasty treat is right for you.

The food not only looks great in the clear displays, but it also tastes great. As a huge pumpkin pie fan, I know a good pumpkin pie when I eat one, and the Prolific Oven’s pumpkin pie definitely made my good list. Also, I would definitely suggest trying one of their many coffee concoctions. The Avalanche, which was a mix of white chocolate, caramel, coffee and ice cream, was a huge hit for my friends and I; it was undeniably a step up from your typical Starbucks frappuccino. The White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cake was delicious also, but it was a little too rich and had too much whipped cream (if you believe in such a thing). The only big disappointment was that they were out of carrot cake (although that does, in a way, show that the cake must be pretty popular).

Also, if you don’t want to believe me that the desserts were truly special, The Prolific Oven has won the “Best Dessert” category in the Palo Alto Weekly for the past few years. In fact, you can see the numerous awards it has won in the “Best Cake” and “Best Dessert” categories hung on the wall to the left of the register.

The prices are not great, but not outrageous ($3.50 for a slice of pie, $3.25 for the frappuccino), and the staff is very friendly. Unfortunately, the wooden seats and tables are kind of boring, and the high ceilings make the store a little less cozy than most other pastry shops. But, like I said before, the quality of the food makes up for these blemishes, and if you want to have a tasty dessert in a casual, fun store with your friends, I would definitely recommend The Prolific Oven. Trust me, your extra walk down Waverly Street will not go unrewarded.