What`s for dessert?

What’s for dessert?
by Suzanne Pollak
Special to WJW
W
hile shows like Cake Boss
might convince a fledgling
baker to attempt to create a delicious cake shaped and decorated to highlight the hobbies,
careers
or
favorite
sports teams of a
party’s guest of honor, it’s
reassuring to know that
there are some great bak-
Two versions of CakeLove’s best-selling
Strawberries and Cream cake, an any-occassion sized cake, right, and a tiered wedding
cake
Photos courtesy of Warren Brown
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May 26, 2011 • Washington Jewish Week
eries out there to do it for you.
Just as numerous as the multitude of dessert and bakery shops
in this area are the choices. In fact
just having one dessert choice is
unusual these days, and that goes
for weddings as well as many other
celebrations.
“Everyday
is
cake
day,”
explained Randi Brecher, owner of
Creative Cakes in Silver Spring. In
business since 1981, Creative
Cakes is known for making cakes
that cause people to say, “That’s
not edible, right?” she explained.
That’s how real they look.
“The trend is to look like something,” she said. A cake shaped like
a Louis Vuitton piece of luggage,
she’s done it. Football helmets,
drums, boots and dice are also part
of the store’s vast examples of
cakes. People like 3D and glitter,
she noted.
Since she sells her cakes in Maryland, Virginia
and Washington, D.C., it seems only natural that
her store has created a cherry blossom cake.
Her cakes feature gumpaste and fondant to create the icing shapes.
Another trend Brecher has noted is that the tier
cake is no longer reserved just for weddings.
“That’s been huge this year,” she said, noting
that she has baked them “for all kinds of parties.”
But if cake shapes and decorations aren’t what
you are looking for, the Red Velvet Cupcakery
might be a better choice. It has three area locations including two in Washington and one in
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Reston Town Center.
“Our style is very special. Our ingredients and
presentations speak for themselves,” said Tracy
Wilson, general manager of the store in Penn
Quarter.
Here they create a feature seasonal flavor of
the week. Recently it was cucumber mojito,
based on the rum drink. It is a rum cake with
mints. Another feature flavor was macadamia
and came with a coconut marshmallow topping.
Their most popular cake is the Southern Belle,
featuring red velSee DESSERT, next page
vet cake. “It kind
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of trumps our other
cakes,” she said, noting
it’s usually chocolate
with whipped cream
cheese topping.
Red Velvet Cupcakery
uses Valrhona chocolate, European butter,
buttermilk and 24-karat
gold leaf for garnish.
In the world of great
desserts, the temptations are endless, and
over at Eden Cakes in
Potomac, the choices
are all certified kosher.
While they don’t make
shaped or theme cakes,
there is still plenty of
delicious desserts to
choose from. There are
at least six types of
brownies, including a
s’mores blondie and an
ultimate
chocolate
brownie covered in
chocolate ganache enhanced with
espresso. Eden Cakes also specializes in “a wide array” of brittle,
including spicy and sweet sunflower and coffee crunch, as well as
chocolate and vanilla fresh fruit trifles, said Rachelle Ferneau, pastry
chef and owner.
Fudge is very popular here, especially at large gatherings, she said.
Baby shower cake, top, and potted plant
cake by Creative Cakes
Photos courtesy of Randi Brecher
“It’s a line that I developed earlier
this year for large scale events.”
New lines and stores are always
happening at CakeLove, which
recently opened on Fenton Street
in Silver Spring, adding to its two
locations in Washington and three
in Virginia, at Shirlington, Tysons
Corner and Fairfax.
Currently, the flavor of cupcakes
is up to the customer in its summer
promotion.
“The cupcakes
are free style,
free form. The
staff can give
customers what
they want,” said
founder
and
owner
Warren
Brown.
Recently,
a
cupcake
with
fresh
orange
folded into a butter cream and a
tiramisu with lime
and strawberry
have been created, he said. By
the end of the
summer, Brown
plans to add
some of the best
ones into his regular menu and
retire some of the
older flavors.
Brown, whose
show SugarRush
was aired on the
Food Network,
says Cakeloves’
Strawberries and
Cream cake has
been his best seller for quite
awhile. “It’s one of those ones that
covers birthdays, anniversaries and
See DESSERT, next page
PARTY PLANNER
Washington Jewish Week • May 26, 2011
B11
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weddings,” he said.
Brown believes that when
his customers like something, they stick with it.
“They taste a cake, and they
like it. They set their sights
on what they like. People
save up their taste preferences,” he said. There are
no special shape cakes sold
here. “All our cakes are
round,” Brown noted.
At Hollin Hall Pastry Shop
in Alexandria, the motto is
“Eat dessert first.”
The
vanilla
Bavarian
yellow
cake with fruit atop
is probably their
most popular cake,
notes
Tammy
Swann,
general
manager. “Bavarian
has been an old
standard forever,”
she said.
What is really big
here are the mini
pastries, including
b i t e - s i z e
Neapolitans
and
eclairs. “That’s relatively new,” Swann
said, noting a table
full of small pastries
gives the guests
choices. It is not
unusual for a party
to feature lots of
pastries and no
large cake at all, she
noted.
“Cupcakes are still
hot. You would think
they would start
wearing down,” but
that’s not the case,
she said. She attributes that to the cupcakes being easier
than cake to eat,
especially in the car.
Her shop makes
S'mores Blondies, top, and Peppermint
Fudge from Eden Cake
Photo courtesy of Rachelle Ferneau
Glenview Mansion
AT RO CK V I L L E C I V I C C E N T E R PA R K
Weddings Receptions Private Parties
Enjoy 1920’s Grandeur with 21st Century Amenities
Parkland Vista Spacious Floor Plan Formal Gardens
www.rockvillemd.gov/glenview for a virtual tour
Contact [email protected] or 240-314-8660
603 Edmonston Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20851
B12
May 26, 2011 • Washington Jewish Week
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cakes for every occasion, from large
and extravagant celebrations to small
parties. She attributes the upswing in
party cakes partially to television
shows, and the variety of cakes created there.
Besides the shop, Hollin Hall has a
space at the Farmers Market in
Alexandria every Saturday during the
nice weather.
The result for typing “bakeries in the
D.C. area” in Google is a list of
1,580,000 entries, and while it goes
without saying that some of those
entries are repetitive and others don’t
truly fit the category, the message is
clear. There’s a place nearby to order
something delicious for that next big
event, big or small.