The Cakeroom Bakery
Chocolate Chip Cookie and Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Lotus Cake with Belgian Shortcrust and Speculoos Buttercream
Locally owned and operated in the Adams Morgan neighborhood it was after a disappointing visit to “The Diner” that a quick stop was made at The Cakeroom, Fadi Jaber’s now 4-year old bakery on 18th Street NW the sort of place every city wishes they could support but few can with no less than two-dozen Cakes, Cookies, Pies and Cupcakes offered from early morning until nighttime.
Jordanian by descent and a later-than-typical Pastry Chef who abandoned the corporate world after several years to indulge a childhood passion for baking, those entering Jaber’s bright pink Cakeroom will immediately be struck by the tiny space lined in red and white wallpaper plus white paneling, the goods laid out to the right with a staircase lined with awards to the left, the steps leading up to a second story dining area where guests are invited to linger over Dessert and Coffee while utilizing the Restaurant’s free Wi-Fi.
In reality the first American location of the Chef’s “Sugar Daddy’s Bakery” back home, additional locations in Beirut and Lebanon mentioned in the stairwell of accolades, it should come as no surprise that a space offering such variety will likely prove overwhelming to many as so much of what is offered is not only unique but elegant in terms of presentation, items such as Hummingbird Cake and Red Velvet tempting alongside several styles of Cheesecake though the eventual order entailed none of these as other items proved even more beguiling.
Proudly describing itself as a Scratch Bakery, nothing from a box used and Chef Fadi himself actually finishing up in the kitchen before going upstairs to arrange furniture just after 9:15am, it was seated at a pair of tables in the window downstairs that tastes were first taken of two cookies of which both were still warm to touch, the Chocolate Chip bolstered by a light kiss of Cinnamon in the batter while the Oatmeal Cranberry round was exactly as it should be with a soft-set center surrounded by lightly brown and crispy edges.
Showing an adept hand with Layer Cakes, a perhaps surprising situation as such things tend to carry a very “American” connotation particularly when loaded up with Buttercream or Cream Cheese Frosting, it is nonetheless with familiar nostalgia garnered from Jaber’s time in U.S. Schools that The Cakeroom’s Carrot Cake rings true with all the classic flavors including Raisins and a tangy finish, the less traditional wedge of “Lotus Cake” selected as a matter of intrigue featuring a similarly moist Crumb but with far more Butter plus a layer of sweet White Frosting matched to Buttercream impregnated with imported Belgian Speculoos.
http://www.cakeroombakery.com/
