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Seven Days: Cake In The City
by Meghan Jones  Oh, the Variety! photo by Allison Carter Since it was Saturday evening, Black Forest Bakery and Deli was closed, so we headed downtown to Last Resort to commence our dessert journey. Despite the early evening dinner crowd, the bartender was cordial enough to describe the daunting array of cakes and cheesecakes to us, and we carefully chose a slice of each. He boxed up our white chocolate cheesecake and Italian crème cake, and we took it to go. We sat outside of Hot Corner Coffee with two glasses of milk and opened our white bakery boxes as if they were presents under the tree on Christmas morning. After much debate, we decided that Allison would take the first bite of white chocolate cheesecake, and I would have the first taste of Italian crème cake; then we dug in. The only sounds emanating from either of us for the next few minutes were variations on the "yum!" sound.  Never, ever forget the milk. photo by Allison Carter As for the Italian crème cake, it was a lighter-than usual, fluffy version; Allison accurately described it as "banana bread-textured." It was three layers of cake filled with some sort of spice mixture and topped with an airy, whipped cream frosting and chopped nuts. The cake was definitely good, but I thought it could have used a little more flavor (maybe some Italian liqueur?), and it didn't stand a chance against the cheesecake. Last Resort has a pretty constant selection of cakes and cheesecakes by Cecilia Villaveces Cakes (620 N. Milledge Avenue, 706.543.3308), the cake-making guru of Athens. They have cakes for every set of tastebuds, ranging from German chocolate, lemon and classic carrot to New York-style and Heath bar cheesecake; at about $4 per slice, they are the perfect way to end a dinner date at Last Resort.  Who doesn't like caramel? photo by Allison Carter Our second day found us gazing into the dessert case at The Grit in the hip square on Prince Avenue. The thing about The Grit's cake display is that they have an ever-changing selection, and each day is more interesting and unique than the last. In addition to the cake we chose, they also offered mint chocolate chip cake and vegan carrot, and the last time I ate there I thoroughly enjoyed a slice of the chocolate chip swip-swap. They used to be fellow purchasers of Cecilia Villaveces Cakes; however, they have since changed to an in-house baker, meaning all of the cakes, pies and cheesecakes are fresher than fresh. They also have the best variety of vegan cake in Athens. Allison and I decided to agree on only one piece of cake this time (having to mind our girlish figures and all), and settled on the scrumptious looking caramel cream cake. I had been leaning towards the lemon poppyseed, as that is my favorite variety of muffin, but Allison doesn't like lemon. We arrived close to closing time, so again took our cake to go and decided to feast on the outskirts of the Myers Hall quad on campus. The cake was dense and moist, just how I like it, and comprised of three glorious layers. Although the caramel was not too apparent taste-wise, the slice was kind of caramel colored. It was topped off with a fluffy vanilla frosting similar to that of the previous night's Italian crème cake, but had an odd aftertaste to it. It was as if the cake had been left too close to the grill while they were icing it, and a bit of the grilled taste had seeped into the frosting. No worries; this did not prevent the cake from being thoroughly enjoyable, and I would call it overall delicious. It, too, set us back about $4. We're told on good authority that The Grit is now offering whole cakes and pies. Check their web site for details. Day 3: DePalma's Italian Cafe (Downtown: 706.354.6966, Eastside: 706.369.0085, Westside: 706.552.1237) Day Three was rainy and gross, making it perfect for DePalma's warm and gooey Chocolate Torte. They do not bake it themselves – it's ordered from a company – but they do a good bit of doctoring up. The warm chocolate cake with the liquid chocolate center is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate fudge sauce, resulting in a rich, decadent dessert. They were pretty empty since it was after the lunch crowd and before the dinner crowd, and I was getting it to go, so the bartender helped me. She was very nice, and that bar is just gorgeous! Anyway, she put all of the components into individual little plastic cups with lids so Allison and I could assemble it ourselves when we were ready to eat it, which was nice. She answered all of my questions, and then I was back out in the yucky weather. After putting our cake together, which was fun, we took our much-anticipated first bites. The combination of warm and cold surprised our palates in a good way, but we found ourselves rushing through the outside cake part to get to the oozy middle. When we finally reached it, though, the liquid chocolate melting out of the cake's center made those last few bites extra delicious. All in all, the cake was tasty, but not as original as DePalma's dinner plates, and at $6.50 including tax, is easy to sit out on after a satisfying meal of meatball breadsticks and pasta margherita.  Our future stretches out before us. photo by Allison Carter Tuesday night means one thing to me, and that's jazz night at Farm 255. So, it being Tuesday, Allison and I headed down to the cool end of Washington Street to enjoy the ambiance and test out their version of the chocolate torte. And so I could stare at that beautiful red piano they have in the dining room, which I adore. Farm 255's version is called Molten Chocolate Cake, which sounds pretty tempting to me, right off the bat. Unlike DePalma's, it is actually baked in-house – probably with all kinds of tasty, local, ingredients, I would imagine – and the difference is evident. It comes in a little white ramekin topped with homemade crème fraiche and a mint leaf, and is perfect with a glass of organic milk. The outside of the circular cake was light and fluffy, obviously baked with authentic chocolate, not the processed kind one might find in a store-bought chocolate cake. The middle "molten" part of the cake was very hot and the consistency of a brownie that hadn't quite been baked all the way through. The crème fraiche had gotten all melty and mixed in with the oozing chocolate, and the resulting taste was transportive. With two glasses of milk, our Molten Chocolate Cake cost us about $10, which does seem like a lot. It was totally worth it, though, so I'd say if you're on a budget, still have your cake... just have it with water, instead.  We went to Cups to study (the cake). photo by Allison Carter So we'd heard that Cups Coffee Café over on the East side had some of the famous Cecilia Villaveces Cakes as well, and not having had our fill at Last Resort, we headed over there to taste some more. There are only a few things I really ever go to the East side for; one is Inoko Express, and the other is Choo Choo Express (if Inoko is closed late at night). However, I think I'm going to add Cups onto my list as a good study spot. We made our way through the tables upon tables of studiers to the cake counter and saw a much smaller selection – about four types – of cake, along with a few cheesecakes ordered from The Cheesecake Factory. We chose the strawberry cake because it had caught our eye at Last Resort but neither one of us had ever had it before. We paid our $4 and made our way to the one and only open table we could spot, right next to a Guiness poster with a penguin on it. So this is how it went, starting at the bottom of the slice: cake, strawberry filling, cake, white pudding, cake, strawberry filling, cake, frosting. Yeah, I know! A lot of cake, and all very tasty; it was like a new, yummier spin on the classic strawberry shortcake (I never had cared much for the shortcake part, so replacing it with yellow cake is a definite improvement in my book!). The frosting was again fluffy and white, just like on Cecilia's Italian crème cake, except this time instead of chopped nuts it had the occasional fleck of strawberry. And the cake itself was very dense and moist, and the fact that it was all fresh out of the cake case meant it was super cold and even more wonderful. The one and only problem with this slice was that Allison and I were both tempted to eat only the middle parts with the strawberry in them and leave the rest. And once we had done that, all it really was was white cake with white frosting. But since that was our only problem, I'd call this piece a success. Next time you're studying at Cups and in need of a sugar rush, I think you should have some!  Its like cheesecake and chocolate cake, all in one! photo by Allison Carter Our sixth day was my favorite day because we finally got to go to Big City Bread, quite possibly my favorite eatery in Athens!! Those nice autumn trees in the courtyard, all of the dogs that patrons bring with them, the chalk drawings on the walls and the sandwiches on rustic cornbread…there's just something about it. After ogling the cake display for quite some time, I carefully considered all of my options. There was a French chocolate cake that had chocolate mousse between the layers of chocolate cake and was topped with chocolate fondant; there was a sweetheart cake, which was chocolate layered with strawberry buttercream frosting (that was my second choice); the classic American cake was comprised of yellow cake with chocolate frosting. A caramel toffee cake looked appetizing, but we'd already tried a piece of caramel cake; their signature flourless chocolate torte was covered with dark chocolate shavings, but I figured we'd already had enough of that as well. And then I spotted The Brooklyn Cheesecake. It was two layers of moist chocolate cake topped with some sort of chocolate pudding or mousse, and between the two layers was a thick layer of classic cheesecake. It had the thick, shiny kind of frosting that was reason enough to buy a slice, and I knew it was for me. The fact that I don't have much else to say about this particular piece of cake is actually a good thing. It was just delicious, and that's all there is to it. The amazing thing to me was how they actually got the cheesecake inside of the chocolate cake; it seemed as if they baked them separately, cut off whatever crust the cheesecake had had, and then slipped it inside of the chocolate cake. I suppose it was a bit of Big City magic. At $4, this was hands-down my favorite cake so far.  This should be a breakfast food. photo by Meghan Jones By the end of my cake research, I had already made so many failed attempts to go to Black Forest Bakery and Deli in Normaltown that I had their hours pretty much memorized. After all, I had been there the day before as well, and my only company was a man sitting disappointed in his car because he had wanted to have a chocolate éclair as a snack. Much to his dismay and mine, they were closed. Just for the record, they are open from before you probably wake up until 3 in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. I finally got there on time one Friday afternoon. When I made my long-awaited entrance into the quaint-looking shop, I realized that, as their donut-shaped sign would indicate, breakfast pastries really are their specialty. There wasn't much in the way of cakes, and the only cake they had available by the slice was Italian crème. So I bought a piece, and also made an impulse oatmeal cream pie purchase so I would have something to munch on in the car on the way back to my apartment. The grand total was $5.35 for my slice and my pie, which was like a Little Debbie but infinitely better; I would highly recommend it (or an éclair, if you take the man in the parking lot's suggestion) as an afternoon snack! There are usually too many raisins, but these oatmeal cookies were just right. When I got around to eating the Italian crème cake later on, I decided kind of immediately that I liked it better than the one from Last Resort. The two thick slices of cake were filled with nuts, giving it the punch of flavor that was missing from our first slice of Italian crème. And this time the icing was cream cheese topped with more nuts, which appealed to me much more than the fluffy whipped cream frosting Cecilia's version had used. The Verdict: The Grit and Big City Bread definitely had the best dessert selections overall, and I'd say the two are pretty much on a level playing field taste and creativity-wise. If those two are tied for first, then Last Resort is coming in second. The cheesecake alone made navigating our way through the date night crowd totally worthwhile. Farm 255's laidback but classy atmosphere, complete with overhead twinkling nights and wooden stage would make pretty much anything seem delicious, but the Molten Chocolate Cake would have earned that title even if we had to eat it at the dump. DePalma's and Cups' cakes, although tasty, would be easy enough to pass up if you were on a tight budget. For some reason, Cecilia's cakes just seem more appealing in the fancy dessert case at Last Resort than under the study lights of Cups Coffee Café. I guess I really am a sucker for atmosphere. Finally, Black Forest Bakery and Deli reminded me so much of an old bakery from home that I wanted to buy a birthday cake there for a family party. And the cake wasn't half bad either. Whichever cake you choose and wherever you decide to get it from, don't forget that the best part of dessert is sharing it. Just kidding. The best part is the frosting! Comments [post a comment] |
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Thursday, July 03, 2008
Weather: Fair, 91°
Weather: Fair, 91°
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