Burnt Almond Cake

[hulan]

Any one ever had this from Dick's bakery in San Jose? So good makes me want to drool. Know anywhere I can find this closer to home in SF or Berkeley? Thanks.

[Judith]

I don't get it about Dick's bakery burnt almond cake, but I also never got it about Aki's guava cake. They both seem toweringly ordinary to me, like something you'd make from a mix if you were going to a potluck with people who like supermarket potato salad.

[hulan]

You don't have to get it as long as I do. Ordinary can also be delicious. I find grilled salmon pretty ordinary.

[daveena]

I think they appeal to the East Asian palate - most of the Asian people I know who were not born in the US strongly prefer light textures and flavors in their desserts, so sponge/chiffon cakes with whipped cream frostings and fresh fruit appeal to them much more than, say, a flourless chocolate cake. A lot of people I know actually get kind of grossed out by too much cream and butter.

[Claudette]

Daveena, you're so right. I'm Chinese and that describes my family exactly.

That said, I think there's a fine line between "delicate" and "flavorless" and I agree with Judith that the burnt almond cake and guava cake are nothing special (although my mom loves them).

[Debbie M]

My friend refers to cakes from Asian bakeries as "water-based cakes" because of the lightness. My mom calls them "wishy-washy."

[Pei]

Ironic that the lightness comes from extra eggs and butter, isn't it? Of course, I've never been able to convince any Chinese moms of that.

I don't get it about Dick's burnt almond cake, not because of the chiffon cake but because I find it to have way too high a frosting ratio. It's like eating butter by the spoonful.

Schubert's in SF has a few things that look a little like Dick's burnt almond cake (thin cake layers, lots of frosting, coated in chocolate/nuts) but I've never looked closely at them, because I'm seduced by the Princess cake (to quote pilinut)

[stanbee]

Rarely seen where I grew up.
Love it! Special.

I drive to Dick's from SF to get it for very special occasions.
Does anyone have it in SF?
TEHO

[hulan]

help please?... gotta feed my craving soon...

[foodeye]

I haven't seen it elsewhere, though it may exist. We do go out of our way for it, occasionally. You may need to do an errand in SJ this weekend....but check their schedule, as I think they may be closed on Sundays.

Do you like the vanilla, chocolate or the marbled cake version best?

[hulan]

I've tried them all but I prefer the vanilla. The chocolate and the marble didn't do chocolate justice

[ankimo]

Peter's bakery in SJ also does it well.

[pilinut]

I believe that Bijan Bakery in the mall on Saratoga Ave., just off 280 on the east side, has burnt almond cakes, but these are sold whole. ( I haven't tried them because I've been consistently seduced by the Princess cake.)