CakeSpy Undercover: Little T American Baker in Portland, OR

If there's anything we love, it's getting reader suggestions for bakeries we should visit.

So when CakeSpy reader Cynthia dropped by and visited the CakeSpy booth at Crafty Wonderland in Portland last weekend, my friend Danny and I were delighted when she told us about one of her favorites: Little T American Baker. So delighted, in fact, that Danny went right on over to pick up some treats to sample.

Little T boasts an awesome pedigree: it was opened by Tim Healea of Pearl Bakery and Kenny & Zuke’s (both CS favorites!). It's a stylish little space, and while the service wasn't necessarily swift, it was friendly. 

We sampled their peanut cookie, a shortbread cookie shaped like a puzzle piece, and the lemon tart. 

Let's start with the cookies. First was the "peanut cookie"--not a "peanut butter cookie". And it seems that there is a difference--this cookie, which was fat and very buttery, didn't have a strong peanut butter taste throughout, but rather got its nuttiness from a generous smattering of whole peanuts throughout. It was pretty delightful.

The shortbread cookie, which Danny declined to share, was declared "very good". 

But oh, the lemon tart. Lemon tarts and bars can be tricky territory, often falling into the category of too eggy or too sweet. A well-balanced filling is hard to come by, but so wonderful when you find one. And Little T's lemon filling was perfect. Smooth and creamy, rich and yet still tasting of fresh citrus, it was perfectly complemented by a shortbread-y crust. Heaven!

Our most sincere thanks to Cynthia for introducing us to Little T American Baker.

Little T American Baker, 2600 SE Division, Portland OR (503) 238-3458; online at littletbaker.com.

Sweet Mystery: CakeSpy Needs Your Help!

There's no delicate way to put it: this pastry, purchased at Hess Bakery in Tacoma, kind of looks like a mound of poop. A delicately swirled mound of poop, mind you.

But it's got a secret inside:

What makes up this mountain of yum? Well, what you've got is a bottom layer of yellow cake, topped with a mound of cake crumbs mixed with buttercream, which is then topped by a cascade of rich chocolate which is firm but yielding (not crunchy) when you bite into it. 

It is completely decadent and delicious--and officially the newest CakeSpy obsession.

However, what is unclear is the confection's story and name. It being that it was purchased from a German bakery, it likely has Teutonic roots; the bakery employee I spoke to called it a "granachebitter" -- but I am spelling this phonetically as she was not sure how it was spelled and the baker was not around to field questions. It's possible that I mis-heard and the first part was "ganache" (which seems like it would make sense), but I am not sure!

And so I appeal to you, dear readers: does anyone know what this baked good is, or where a recipe might be found? 

UPDATE! Per a tip from German CakeSpy reader Iris, I've learned that the pastry in question is actually called Granatsplitter, which translates to "Shrapnel" or "Shell Splinters". Well, it certainly is an explosively delicious treat! This recipe suggests Granatsplitter as a good way to use leftover cake.

Also, we've gotten a recipe! Savvy CakeSpy reader Teresa enlisted the help of a German acquaintance to translate this recipe for the Granatsplitter! 

Granatsplitter Recipe

Dough:

• 150 gm flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 50 gm sugar
• 2 teaspoons "vanilla sugar"
• 1 tablespoon Rum
• 2 tablespoons millk or water
• 50 gm butter

To be put on the dough:

• 125 gm coconut-fat
• 65g powdered sugar
• 1,5 teaspoons vanilla-sugar
• 25 g cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon rum
• 75gm chopped almonds (have to be chopped as a pencil, long shaped)

topping:

• 75g powdered sugar
• 25g cocoa
• 2,5 tablespoons hot water
• 25g melted butter

1. Mix flour and baking powder and put through a sief on a baking board.
2. Make a hole in the middle and put sugar, spices and liquids in and part of the flour.
3. Put the cold fat, cut in pieces, on top of it, cover with flour and form dough.
4. If it is sticky, refrigerate for a while. Then make a thin dough from a round mold (like for round cookies) and bake 10 minutes at 175-195 degree C.
5. Let the coconut fat melt and refrigerate. Put powdered sugar through a sief, add vanilla sugar, cocoa (sief) and rum in a bowl and stir bit by bit with egg and handwarm coco-fat. Break half of the cookies in pieces and mix with the almonds in the cocoa-dough. Put this dough hill-shaped on the rest of the cookies.
6. Topping: put cocoa and powdered sugar through a sief and add water and liquid butter until like liqued chocolate. Put on top of the cookies and refrigerate.

If you're in the Tacoma area, you can get one for yourself (and don't forget to pick up a Pretzel Roll too!) at Hess Bakery, Hess Bakery & Deli • 6108 Mt. Tacoma Drive SW • Lakewood, WA (253)577-5888; online at hessbakery.com.

Sweet Days and Starry Nights: Delicious Cake in Kirkland, WA

When it comes to wedding or fancy occasion cakes, I am sad to admit that I usually don't have very high hopes. Often, the look trumps the taste, which can range from oversweet to too-dry to simply flavorless. This assessment is based on having tasted quite a few wedding cakes in my time--including the five at my own wedding (no, really).

So when the owners of Starry Nights Catering & Events in Kirkland recently invited me over to their commercial kitchen to try out their cakes, I have to confess to feeling slightly wary. They assured me their cake was the best, but doesn't everyone say that? No way were we going to miss the chance to see for ourselves, so Cake Gumshoe Kris and I headed over.

Starry Nights' exterior is fairly nondescript, but inside there is a reception area that is decorated in deep, dramatic blues--inspired by the famous painting which provides the company's namesake. In the back, they have a large commercial kitchen in which we were greeted by a sweet, sugary aroma, and saw cake decorator Melanie working on cakes. So far so good.

They do cakes by custom order--mostly wedding cakes, but they also do party or occasion cakes too. In fact, they were working on the pretty Mother's Day Cake shown at the top of the post when we arrived.

After looking around a bit, Matt brought out the cakes. He presented us with a plate of several different options, including their two bestsellers, the Elegant Lemon (handmade lemon mousse filling, vanilla chiffon cake, raspberry jam, topped with lemon curd) and the Signature Chocolate Truffle Cake (chocolate fudge cake layered with bittersweet Belgian chocolate mousse), along with an assortment of other flavors like the Sevilla (a creamsicle-esque confection) and the surprisingly not-too-Christmas-y North Pole (a peppermint bark-inspired cake with alternating chocolate and vanilla chiffon layers, filled with white chocolate peppermint Bavarian cream mousse and candy cane chunks).

We both tried a tentative forkful. I tried the Elegant Lemon first. Upon taking a bite, the lemon taste hit almost immediately, yet it was not overpowering--neither too sweet nor too tart. The creaminess of the frosting and added hint of raspberry were a perfect complement; the butter dissolved perfectly into the cake as it melted in your mouth. Sweet thoughts swirled in my mind, finally settling on a buttercreamy, sweet conclusion: this is good cake. Looking at Kris, I could tell she agreed. Yum.

We sampled the rest of the flavors, and found that while certainly we each had flavor preferences, it was clear that each and every one of them had a well balanced, not too-sweet flavor, and incredibly moist cake.

So what's their secret? 

In my opinion, the not-so-secret ingredient to their success is that they think of their cakes as things that will be eaten, and not just as centerpieces--and therefore are committed to making cakes that taste good. They tend to shy away from super-sweet fondant and gumpaste in favor of melt-in-your-mouth, subtly sweet fillings and luxuriously buttery frostings; they use quality ingredients and keep things fresh (except in rare cases, cakes are never frozen, and are baked to order). The flavors, while sophisticated, are not complex to the point of distraction. 

They're crowd pleasers too; we got to take home a cake, which we shared with friends, who all but licked the plates clean.

As for the cake's moistness, though? A simple sugar solution guarantees that the cake will have an achingly tender crumb when it is served.

Overall, we were most impressed with Starry Nights' cakes--we'd absolutely recommend them for weddings and events.

For more information or to schedule a cake consultation, visit starrynightscatering.com. Check out their flavors here; you can also connect with them on Facebook and Twitter!

Bittersweet: Amai Tea and Bake House's Last Days

When I was recently tipped off by my friend Not Martha about the bittersweet story of Amai Tea and Bake House, I was immediately intrigued. 

On the weblog lovescool.com, you can read the story of the cafe, from the point of view of the owners, including this sweet mission statement:

Both Kelli and Andrew have always had a dream of opening up a bakery (a restaurant in Andrew’s case, but close enough). They are not afraid to say that they are still amateurs in the pastry world. But in a way, Lovescool is a documentation of a journey to discover what sweet things are out there, why people love them so much, and perhaps what it takes to start something new. And the fact of the matter is, the world would be a lot better if it was just a touch sweeter.

Their dream of opening a cafe was realized in October 2007, when the shop opened its doors at 171 3rd Avenue. They garnered accolades from the likes of the New York Times and Time Out New York; the cafe seating was frequently all taken, with lines going out the door. However, it wasn't enough to make it all work, as owner Kelli said in a letter last week on her site, citing that largely because of the failing economy, the shop would be closing its doors on April 19, 2009.

Of course, having read this, my immediate reaction was sadness that I had never tasted their sweets--and so I put my favorite NYC Gumshoes, Phil and Matt, on the case.

Here were their thoughts:

From Cake Gumshoe Phil's Spy notebook:

They were nice, but a bit mournful. People kept remarking about them closing.

Got a green tea cupcake and a peanut butter chocolate. The green tea tasted a bit bitter--definitely an acquired taste for a cupcake, not awful though. The peanut butter had a good balance of sweet and salty--erring on the sweet side.

Also got some "tea cookies" although should have had them with tea- very dry. The green leaf one is green tea. The square is white tea strawberry (definitely the best) and the other is almond chai.
------------------------------

At this point Amai's future is unclear, but we're all very happy that we got to experience a little piece of their story.

If you're in NYC and would like to visit, then make haste--their last day will be Sunday, April 19. Amai Tea and Bake House is located at 171 3rd Ave., New York, NY; (212) 863-9630; online at amainyc.com.

4.17.09: Baked Good of the Day: Cupcakes from Sweet Cakes, Kirkland

(CakeSpy Note: This post appears concurrently on Monkey Around Seattle)

The other day a friend and I took a trek over to the Eastside to try some of the bakeries over there. One of the ones I was most curious about was Sweet Cakes, a cupcake shop that opened about 4 months ago.

Walking into this bakery, I was really pleased to see that they had more than just cupcakes--as much as I love cupcakes, I do adore other sweets too, and they had a nice variety of baked goods, including yummy-looking bars, cookies, and morning pastries. But of course the cupcakes were front and center--after all, they are the prettiest of all sweets!

We picked up a couple of mini cakes ($1.50 each), including the red velvet, chocolate mint, vanilla cake with strawberry frosting and chocolate-frosted vanilla cake.

We didn't eat all of them (after devouring a couple of them, we gave the rest to our friend Nicole, who owns Immortal Dog), but we did like what we tasted. The red velvet in particular was very nice. They weren't really "fancy" cupcakes, but upscale-homey; these are the type of uncomplicated cupcakes that kids would love, but that sweet-loving adults could enjoy as well. The frosting was buttery-smooth, and the cake was very moist and fresh. Overall, I'd say Kirkland is lucky to have Sweet Cakes. It's definitely worth a stop if you happen to find yourself on the Eastside!

Sweet Cakes, 128 Park Ln., Kirkland WA; online at sweetcakeskirkland.com.

2.5.09: Baked Good of the Day: Birthday Cake from North Hill Bakery

When I tell people how much I love North Hill Bakery, I'm constantly surprised that they don't know about this little gem in Capitol Hill. Even residents of the Hill often don't know about it. I think their birthday cakes are spectacular though, and always recommend them to friends.

And I was very happy to see that a friend followed my advice on a recent birthday, buying their "Grandma's Chocolate Cake" but choosing to frost it with raspberry buttercream instead of the regular fudge frosting. Good call--the raspberry was refreshing and a nice contrast against the rich, decadent chocolate cake, and the color was so pretty.

For chocolate lovers, the off-the-menu version of Grandma's Chocolate cake is a study in chocolate excess: that is to say, extremely delicious. A little goes a long way, but oh how enjoyable that little bit can be.

North Hill Bakery, 518 15th Ave E.; online at northhillbakery.com.

2.4.09: Baked Good of the Day: Linzer Tart Cookie from Pauline's Pastry

Finally, I made it over to Pauline's when they were actually open (their hours are strange--closed Mondays and not open til 12 on some days).

Unfortunately, even when I arrived at 12.30 it looked like the cases hadn't yet been filled--kind of a bummer in such a small place (I like a well-stocked bakery case--part of the fun is looking before you buy, no?). However, the cookies that they did have out looked tempting, so I chose a Linzer tart. It was an adorable fruit-filled cookie sandwich with a sweet heart cutout, and a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

The cookie was buttery and sweet--subtle, but very good. If I had to make one change, I might have put slightly less powdered sugar on top, but this is likely because I'm a messy eater. The jam in the middle was the perfect complement to the rich, buttery cookie. And at $1.25, it was a steal!

I've been told that the cupcakes, scones and tarts are also worth a try--based on what I've tasted, I am definitely interested enough for a return trip!

Pauline's, 2315 NW Market St., Ballard; (206) 588-8098.

1.23.09: Baked Good of the Day: The Josephine from Hot Cakes

Today I made a new discovery: Hot Cakes at the Ballard Farmer's Market. It's a small operation run by Autumn Martin, of Canlis and Theo Chocolate fame; the limited menu consists of just three types of cakes: the "Ari Cole", a ready-to-bake molten chocolate cake which can be baked at home or at the market for you; the "Josephine", an almond-rum financier; and one savory option, the "Dean Martin", a savory consisting of dates, bleu cheese and bacon.

I tried a sample of the "Josephine", which I thought made a very pleasant morsel--buttery, lightly nutty and with a taste of rum which didn't hit me right away, but was rather a pleasant lingering aftertaste. Apparently it's a hot seller at the market, and with good reason--this would be an ideal breakfast or teatime cake, à mon avis.

Hot Cakes are available Sundays at the Ballard Farmer's Market; according to the website, they are now available at the Theo Chocolate retail store as well. For more information, visit autumnmartin.com.

1.22.09: Baked Good of the Day: Pistachio Cream Puff from Gelatiamo

When it comes to cream puffs, I like mine a little bit more dense--that is to say, full of cream filling and generously iced. The delicate ones that have a mere dollop of filling have never been my cup of tea.

I was thrilled to find that Gelatiamo does cream puffs just the way I like them: a delicate pastry filled with luxuriously thick cream, and topped with sweet icing. The pistachio cream puff was subtle and didn't overwhelm; however, I liked the fact that it didn't have the typical chocolate icing ; also, the slight crunch from pistachio bits on top didn't hurt. And in keeping with the "small bite" trend, these cream puffs aren't huge, so are a perfect portion for after lunch or dinner.

Pistachio cream puff, Gelatiamo downtown.

1.21.09 Baked Good of the Day: Vegan Russian Teacakes from PCC

I love these cookies. Whether they're called snowballs, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Armenian sugar cookies or whatever--I love them.

I found this variation--the vegan Russian Teacake--at PCC. I can't be sure, but it *might* be from Flying Apron. It was a crumbly and slightly messy cookie, but the sandy, sugary, nutty taste was pure deliciousness. With a touch of salt (so important to sweets!) it was nicely balanced; in fact, I liked this cookie so much I went back for a second one. As for the vegan aspect, to be honest, if it hadn't been labeled as such, I probably would not have known that it lacked dairy; certainly there was nothing lost flavorwise.

Vegan Russian Teacake from PCC in Fremont.