Sealed With A Whisk

12 April 2011 – Since the O Café had no dessert options, I steered Kit in the direction of Whisk, on the same floor of Empire Shopping Gallery. I liked how the store looked – it reminded me of these little bakery nooks in Australia, New Zealand and the barrios of New York where small little places like these flourish on the strength of good coffee and great bakes. 

Whisk feels like a Parisian boulangerie.

I tried to rein myself in, so forewent the macaroons (RM2 each, RM18 for a box of ten) for slices of Red Velvet Cake and Hummingbird. Why I have this fixation about Red Velvet, I just don’t know. Am I channeling the later, gluttonous Elvis, whose favourite dessert this was? Or is it the forced reddening of the chocolate sponge which speaks to my need to try to energize a tired world? Whatever it is, Whisk’s Red Velvet has the best texture of any Red Velvet I have had in KL. Until maybe three years ago, this was not one of the usual offerings on any dessert menu.  It is a traditional Red Velvet, meaning, no other bells and whistles, except for the cream cheese frosting. 

Red Velvet Cake.

I think I would have liked it more with a bit of coconut sprinkles on the top, and perhaps a much thicker layer of icing. Red Velvet should also be in the shape of an armadillo, but that’s just my channeling the groom’s cake from Steel Magnolias. Remember that cake? Or the movie?

Hummingbird Cake is the Southern Comfort of baked goods. It’s a largely Southern American cake, made popular in North Carolina after a recipe for it was published in the February 1978 edition of Southern Living Magazine. 

Hummingbird Cake.

The original had mashed bananas, pineapple and pecans in it. Whisk’s version does not stray too far from it, and it really is a luscious, moist, tender crumbed delight. This coming from a person who eats only fresh bananas. The cream cheese icing was excellent too, and thick enough to be decadent. 

The cakes aren’t cheap, at RM12.80 a slice, but they are really worth it. Plus, Whisk serves water with their cakes too! With something so rich and moist and filling, really, water should be the only beverage to accompany these masterpieces.