Gone Bananas!

I find myself growing more progressively hysterical than ever thanks to the Banana Upside Down cake I sampled at Lili's Bistro in Fort Worth, Texas. My expression made no attempt to disguise the inevitable. It was a many-splendored thing...a congregation of baked banana slices coupled with pieces of shredding banana "mush" and a mixture of rich caramel and deep brown sugar with itty bitty pieces of walnuts. This densely moist cake was served warm with a heaping side of whipped cream and topped off with a beautiful fuchsia-colored orchid. It was definitely palate pleasing but a bit pricey, perhaps it was the ornate flower. Licking the stems and outer edge of the petals, I took the delicate flower, placed it just so behind my ear and enjoyed my cake! Every bite added a daylong supply of contentment. A supply that I will soon be needing on reserve for this is pre-Lent day and soon cake will be non-existent. What? I know. I've literally gone bananas!

Sweet Ruthlessness!

Oh, the ruthless insanity of cake once again became evidently clear when I finally made the pilgrimage to the Blue Bonnet Bakery only to be schlepped by the never-ending, irrevocable temptation of something insatiably floury and sweet. There, shamelessly confined within the glass counter was the last piece of Italian Cream cake, romancing and summoning my senses. How could I possibly resist? Moreover, did I want to chance stirring up some sort of unacceptable scenario for the sake of oppressing my one true addiction to sugar? Nah...that would be so uncivilized and so not worth the energy! The prevailing and cloyingly sweet cream cheese frosting mixed in with pixels of chopped walnuts knocked me silly. The inside layers consisted of a hash of sweet coconut flakes and walnuts, giving it that excitably nubby texture. I was squealing, giddy and slap-happy with every bite. This over-the-top slice of sweetness will ransack your palate and dither your spirit. Barbaric! I know. Oh, oh, oh cake enthusiasts of the world, let's consider ourselves fortunate to have our hedonistic cravings satisfied by such an astonishing treat. What more can I say, the restitution of cake to the human spirit is profoundly ruthless! Ode to cake!

Raspberry Razzle Dazzle

McKinley's Bakery and Cafe's signature slice of White Chocolate Raspberry Ganache cake completely outwitted my senses today. The moist and excitably dense slice of manipulation was smothered by rich white chocolate ganache. The vanilla-caked layers were compressed with butter cream frosting and seedy raspberry preserves. Every razzle dazzle of a bite began stirring up the most intelligible musings usually captured with cake-eating. Amusingly, the first thing that came to mind was Prince's Raspberry Beret ballad and began humming over this harmonic piece of heaven. Hence, with my undoubtedly overtly, distasteful, engrossing obsessive behavior, and short of any vocal talent, I had utterly exhausted the chorus of the Eighty's popular ditty. My most sincere apologies to any Prince fans. But fear not, this aspiring treat does not withstand the typical 'song and dance' and is nothing short of making its own musical leitmotif. Just like Prince with his unpronounceable symbol, this rockin' cake has definitely earned its own trademark. Until my next venture, rock on fellow cake enthusiasts! YEAH!

Topsy-Turvy of a Treat

I was well beyond delighted the minute I walked into a charming venue called the Pie Place Café & Bakery in Burleson, Texas. Would one expect less than a beautiful showcase of desserts with a name like that? All hail, Delusion! Uh… negative…more like a bona fide manifestation; it was too surreal for just a sighing moment. Scanning the beautifully adorned pies, my eyes were drawn to the glass cake dome treasuring the Upside Down German Chocolate cake. This treat was typical of the nostalgic German chocolate cake, moist with all the abiding ingredients, the chocolate sweetness encompassed by pecan pieces and grated coconut. The tapestry swirl top of semi sweet chocolate and caramel set this fascinating dessert apart from the rest. It was swanky and stylish in its own existence and would put to shame any other pseudo cake daring enough to take the same cake runway. Whether you eat this cake upside down or right side up, it permeated every aspect of my topsy-turvy state of mind. And so until our next conviction, um, I mean convention, eat more cake, it wards off the H1N1 virus…well, not really but thinking it while eating cake might make it so!

L'Art de Roulade

In my paramount belief of the French Paradox, my senses were hypnotized by the mesmerizing Chocolate Roulade gussied up in a pretty silver-foiled, fanned paper cup. The poshed ‘sweet roll’ was composed of a light brown chocolate spongy cake intermingled with a slightly cool indulgent whipped filling. The thick, semi sweet chocolate topping coupled with flourished white chocolate lines on top added to the intensity of this already pretentious pastry. One bite and I could hardly contain my lady like poise and nearly disrupted what should be the proper savoir faire of cake eating! In short, this Roulade was like a French woman, effortlessly elegant and refined. The conviction of this treat was quite engrossing and I can recommend it whole heartedly. The chic, uh, err, I mean classe...chic is so passé it seems, pastry set me in french mode and had me celebrating the utterance of a compliant syllable or two: Délicieux! Ah, Merci Becoup Swiss Pastry in Le Funky Town, Fort Worth! Until my next venture, Bonjour my fellow cake enthusiasts.

Dos Amores ♥♥

I've always found some sort of diversion when drab, somber feelings creep up and intrude. Typically, I'd opt for a power hour shopping spree that might rejuvenate an outfit or buying some senseless item merely because it yelled out clearance! The other option, the most novel idea I had that day of a way to rid the blasphemous feelings, was to bask in the glory of having TWO desserts in the same sitting. This was so much more therapeutic, delicious and might I add, easier on the pocketbook. So, I had an amorous encounter with two very ambrosial desserts, a special Walnut cake and Tiramisu. The Walnut cake, House Specialty, in all its glory was accentuated by a brown sugar and maple syrup concoction making the cake unsoundingly moist. The hint of nutmeg and vanilla, boundless amounts of cinnamon, cute little chopped walnuts and sprinkled snowy-like white powdered sugar perfected its unique being. It was almost suggestive of a meshed composition of Baklavas. It was instant gratification for my tamped soul. Now, meandering to the charming Tiramisu: layers of glamorized Lady Finger biscuits soaked in a savoring espresso coffee, provoked by a double layer of a slightly cool whipped mascarpone cheese filling and finally accentuated by cocoa espresso powder hovering over hints of white powdered sugar. It was refreshing, slightly cool and left an inevitable impression. So, if you ever feel the need to conquer self worth and defeat what is mere melancholy, you might just find a way to do it at a quaint little diner known as Scampi's in Fort Worth, Texas. "Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay...Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli, that's Amore!"

Ausgezeichnet! Lost in Translation

P and I visited Swiss Pastry in Fort Worth today. I was craving a California Croissant sandwich with avocado and the likely excuse to covet a slice of Black Forest cake. The American version of the originating German Black Forest cake, served here without the cherries, is by far my ultimate favorite treat. It's simple, but in my humble opinion, oh so special! It’s opulent and divine. Perhaps it's the textural combination of crumbly with smooth and rich. Made up of a light and airy wafer enhanced with two consecutive layers of whipped cream adorned with perfect chocolate shavings, this impressive cake makes me giddy all over. Because it is light and airy in texture, NOT in calories, the cake must be knocked over to it's side in order to get a forkful of all the layers at one time or risk losing the most sensational sensory satisfaction known to woman! The Germans would say “Ausgezeichnet!” The multitude of feelings that I get from this cake alone gets lost in translation!