French’s Pastry Bakery, Mission Viejo

Any neighborhood bakery that's been around a half-century is likely to have a signature treat, and at French’s Pastry Bakery, it’s the wagon wheel. The shop's in-house bakers layer this oversized danish with a generous smear of cream cheese, then sweeten it with a combination of fresh fruit, such as apricot or cinnamon apple.

Other breakfast items include coffeecakes and muffins in flavors like cranberry orange and honey bran. Fresh banana filling tucks into chocolate cakes, and ganache icing tops a cake layered with raspberry Bavarian cream. And as seasons change, so does the menu, with fruit cakes, gingerbread men, and yule logs showing up just in time for the holidays.