Pistachio cardamom cake from Iconica

Pistachio cardamom cake from IconicaIconica has five different regular cake flavors, of which I’ve already had four, so this completes the set – and I think it’s my favorite! It’s gorgeous to look at, lovely gold layers with warm brown frosting decorated with whole nuts and rose petals, and it smells wonderful. I bought it early in the day to make sure they didn’t run out but didn’t eat it until later, so I kept sniffing it (I do call myself a “cakesniffer,” which I got from the A Series of Unfortunate Events books but define more descriptively than pejoratively). I’m not very familiar with cardamom outside of Indian cuisine and wouldn’t have guessed its presence, but it might contribute to the almost lemony fragrance (Wikipedia describes it as “intensely aromatic, resinous”). This is part of the challenge I’ve given myself – if I were only eating I’d call it delicious and move on, but trying to figure out why it’s delicious is interesting. As cake it hit every mark: very moist but kept its integrity under the fork, clearly-delineated layers with the creamy texture of the frosting complementing the softly-grainy crumb dominated by ground pistachio, complex flavors, not too sweet, just the right amount of frosting, the perfect serving size.

  • Compared to a platonic pistachio cake – this is my holotype since I’ve never had any kind before! 5/5
  • Originality: 4/5
  • Value for money: 5/5 ($4 before tip)
  • Effort factor (1 = could make in my sleep; 5 = no way would I ever make this for myself): 4.5/5
  • 13 minutes to eat, 40(!) minutes to write

Coconut cake pastry from Roost

My goodness, what a ridiculous and ridiculously-delicious little Smurf house (actually proportioned more like a Moomin house – the image is forshortened)! The Roost is a cooperative so I’m extra-happy to support them now they’ve re-opened. I’ve been on the search for ideal cake for a few years—Iconica holds the current title—and had tried Roost’s coconut cake near the beginning of my quest, when it was a classic slice form factor, yummy but a little too sweet and with way too much frosting. This small tower gets the proportions much much better. There’s sour cream in the frosting, which balances the sugar, keeps the texture smooth, not grainy,  and allows enough stickiness to prevent the toasted coconut from falling off without adhering to the fork too much. The cake itself is fine – decently moist, unassertive crumb, a little bland but a good carrier. The marshmallow top adds fluff and a just-right bitterness from the browning. The whole thing held together surprisingly well – I ate half and have another half to enjoy!

  • Compared to platonic coconut cake: 4.5/5
  • Originality: 3/5
  • Value for money: 4/5 ($5.50 before tax for 2 big servings)
  • Effort factor (1 = could make in my sleep; 5 = no way would I ever make this for myself): 4.5/5
  • 12 minutes to eat, 22 to write (lots of links)

French toast from Iconica

French toast from IconicaIconica‘s full description is “FRENCH TOAST w/ MAPLE + VANILLA CREME ANGLAISE:  Sourdough toast with egg, milk + grapefruit zest custard; sweet maple syrup + vanilla bean cream, nectarines, blueberries.” It was gorgeous to look at, absolutely delicious, and very substantial, with three thick slices of sourdough. I devoured it all and licked up the little bit of extra creme anglaise! I couldn’t taste the grapefruit zest specifically but the flavor profile had a lot going on. The toast was properly cooked with a crusty top and bottom, moist but not soggy in the middle. For truly platonic French toast I’d expect it to be a little bit eggier and soft enough to cut with a fork, but this variant lets the chewiness of the sourdough assert itself. The blueberries and nectarines were perfectly ripe, the creme anglaise was just sweet enough and the exact consistency for pouring over without dripping off, and the proportions of each element were right. A high point of my Sunday!

  • Compared to platonic French toast: 4.5/5
  • Originality: 3.5/5
  • Value for money: 4/5 ($9.50 before tip)
  • Effort factor (1 = could make in my sleep; 5 = no way would I ever make this for myself): 4/5
  • 13 minutes to eat, 16 minutes to write

Iced lemon loaf cake from Starbucks

A new experiment, possibly short-lived: as a writing exercise that doubles as a savoring and observation challenge, I’m going to try describing my food treats. I’ve been indulging in these far more frequently during the pandemic, not only to add enjoyment to my day (I’m missing museums and races…) but also to support local businesses – this is a weird start because I had Starbucks stars that are expiring and it wasn’t a purchase.

Starbucks iced lemon loaf cakeNot bad for industrial-scale baking – after the chain shook up their food years ago, this was the one thing I still found palatable. Nice appearance – I like a hefty slice – and a pleasant lemon sugar aroma. The texture is a little too soft, with a dense fine crumb that turns pasty when chewed. It’s properly moist and the icing has enough bracing citrus to balance out the sweetness, applied at just the right thickness. Overall the lemon profile is decent but there’s not enough butter or other interesting notes so it’s somewhat bland. The crust, my favorite part of a pound cake, looks nicely browned but doesn’t have much flavor.

  • Compared to a platonic poundcake: 3.5/5
  • Originality: 1/5
  • Value for money: would be 4/5 if I had to pay ($3.30 but free with stars, otherwise I wouldn’t pick a chain product when there are so many great indie options in Northampton)
  • Effort factor (1 = could make in my sleep; 5 = no way would I ever make this for myself): 2/5
  • 10 minutes to eat, 20 minutes to write