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San Francisco Chronicle
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F.'s century-old bakeries make my favorite versions of this suddenly popular cake
The United States is discovering princess cake. Just ask Eater, which last week published a piece by Bettina Makalintal titled 'The Princess Cake Gets Its Princess Moment.' This might be a head scratcher for San Franciscans, where legacy bakeries like Schubert's (established 1911) and the Victoria Pastry Company (1914) have been perfecting the domed Swedish cakes, layered with custard, whipped cream and raspberry jam, for generations. I grew up eating and adoring them, my childlike fascination with their smooth technicolor veneer giving way to an adult appreciation of their not-too-sweetness. The best versions are like a trifle, reassembled into a cake format. I had assumed that, like Black Forest cake or pineapple upside down cake, princess cake was ubiquitous — or, if not widely available, at least known. Not so! When I worked at Bon Appétit, our sister website Epicurious ran a series of articles and recipes on cake, and I offered to write an ode to princess cake. Many of my colleagues had never heard of it. Did it have something to do with Disney? I lived in New York, a city of 8 million people and nearly as many bakeries, for 20 years and never spotted a princess cake in the wild. But we are in the midst of the great mainstreaming of princess cake, perhaps thanks to Hannah Ziskin's hot Los Angeles restaurant Quarter Sheets, known as much for its cakes as for its pizza. According to the Eater article, Ziskin grew up eating princess cake from Gelson's Market in L.A., but I have to imagine her years pastry cheffing in the Bay Area (Quince, Bar Tartine, Nopa, among others) solidified her love for the marzipan-coated confection. Her version of the cake, constructed in long logs rather than the traditional domes, is a runaway hit, with over 75% of tables ordering a slice. She filmed a video about it for Bon Appétit last fall. Last month, British cookbook author Nicola Lamb published a streamlined recipe for princess cake, built in a bowl like a bombe, in the New York Times, with its own accompanying video, and she also dropped a paywalled variation substituting mango for raspberry on her Substack, Kitchen Projects. The very next day, Food Network star Molly Yeh posted an even easier hack for the finicky cake, building a sheet cake version in an 8x8-inch pan. I can't vouch for either recipe — although Nicola and Molly are generally quite reliable developers, I find — but I can tell you that the versions at San Francisco's bakeries stand the test of time. (Ambrosia Bakery, a relative newcomer at 37 years old, also sells them.) They may hail from Sweden, but I will always think of princess cakes as a San Francisco treat.
Axios
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
We've reached Peak Flavor
Bland food is out. Fully loaded flavors are in. If you've found yourself salivating over menu items or recipes infused with za'atar, saffron, black sesame, cardamom, raspberry-rhubarb or miso lately — you're not alone. The big picture: Since home cooking boomed among the cooped-up during 2020 lockdowns, palates have expanded and gotten more colorful. Businesses are trying to keep up with the hunger for hyphenated flavor combos and artisanal tastes. Add the TikTok virality effect, and you've got a whole generation willing to stand in line for the hottest matcha-infused drink or bakery item they can consume and, maybe, post. "Adding an ingredient that's perhaps, air quotes, unfamiliar to some people is an easy way to riff on a viral recipe," food journalist Bettina Makalintal told The New York Times' Marie Solis. "If tiramisu is having a moment on TikTok, then you might see someone doing matcha tiramisu or ube tiramisu." State of play: Evidence is everywhere that our flavor cravings are on overdrive, from the new Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha at Starbucks to chef Alison Roman-inspired dinner parties. Our collective lust for more attainable luxury, particularly in a precarious economic moment, could feed the habit. The NYT also cites the rising profiles of cooks from Asian and Middle Eastern diasporas, like Yotam Ottolenghi's "Jerusalem" and Samin Nosrat's "Salt Fat Acid Heat." Add to the list: Hetty McKinnon, Salma Hage and Priya Krishna. The intrigue: It's not just coastal elites. 100-year-old Missouri-based flavor forecaster Beck Flavors named miso caramel one of its flavors of the year, the NYT reports. "We're getting away from the boring flavors, for lack of a better word," Nick Palank, the company's marketing manager, told the Times. "Hazelnut, French vanilla, coffee." Case in point: Flavors like Japanese citrus yuzu are popping up everywhere, from Muji stores to mocktail menus. Pistakio, a 2023 upstart, has launched a pistachio spread to rival peanut butter and almond butter. Quickly expanding ice cream chain Van Leeuwen is usually ahead of the curve, with flavors like Earl Grey and hot honey long on the menu. And brand partnerships abound: see Jeni's Ice Creams and Fly By Jing chili crisp. Natalie's thought bubble: During the COVID lockdowns, I got interested in better connecting with my Lebanese heritage through food. I experimented with lots of flavors discussed here, and they've become staples in my household.
