Cake Monkey Bakery
Sample – Crispy Oatmeal Cookie with Maple Buttercream
The Big O – Mexican Dark Chocolate, Crystallized Sugar, Vanilla Cream
‘Nuff Said – Chocolate Crumble Cookie, Marshmallow, Dark Chocolate, Pecans, Cocoa Krispies, Fleur de Sel
Summer Camp Chocolate Chip Cookie – Caramelized Rice Krispies and Marshmallow
Chocolate Cake Pudding – Chocolate Cake soaked in Chocolate Custard, Salted Caramel, Chocolate and Marshmallows
Almond Croissant
Blueberry Pop Pie with Streusel
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Monkey Bread
Sticky Toffee Blondie with Pecans and Sea Salt
Making the jump from online-orders to Brick and Mortar just over a year ago, the tiny storefront at 7807 Beverly Boulevard offering merely a two-person bar at the window and a park bench outdoors to sit and stay, Cake Monkey Bakery has collected a fair amount of accolades by retail sales at various outlets over the years, a Saturday morning stop at the Flagship giving a pretty good indication as to why.
Owned by Lisa Olin and Elizabeth Belkind, the former honing her skills at home while working in the entertainment industry while Chef Belkind has been recognized in the past for her work at Los Angeles’ Grace Restaurant, Cake Monkey Bakery offers a wide variety of classic Bakes and seasonal Pastries all rooted in top tier local ingredients, an off-site production facility used to generate a lot of volume with some two-dozen choices available each and every day.
Staffed by a perky young woman ready and able to answer questions, though most items are well labeled and self-explanatory, those entering Cake Monkey are quickly offered samples from a small tray that featured a Crispy Oatmeal Cookie Sandwich with Maple Buttercream , the sweetness well balanced by cooked Grain just as the Vanilla Frosting was by “The Big O” Cookies made with spicy Dark Chocolate.
Dialing up the texture in their Chocolate Chip Cookie with Sugar-coated Rice Krispies and Marshmallows while the ‘Nuff Said takes the same idea darker with a Cocoa-laden base and just a touch of Salt, Cake Monkey’s famous “Cake Pudding” eats a lot like Trifle meets Bread Pudding, each bite chock-a-block full with sticky sweetness though each offered a distinctive textural experience.
Taking a look at laminated Pastry with an Almond Croissant heavily dusted in Confectioner’s Sugar with a pure Nut Center, Chef Belkind’s Brown Sugar Cinnamon Monkey Bread is a must have even amongst so much other great stuff, the chapeau on top eating almost like a Kouign Amann while the small balls of golden pastry below were soft and packed with buttery goodness.
Not particularly wowed by a Pop Pie, the riff on Toaster Strudel baked a bit too long and thus rendering the filling sticky and dry, Cake Monkey immediately righted the ship by way of a Sticky Toffee Blondie studded with Pralines and a dusting of Salt granules, the flavor a spot on representation of the English classic turned portable without making a mess.
www.cakemonkey.com
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