It Was Inevitable...

...that Shann and I found ourselves at the entrance of Pinisi Bakery once again, lured in the by the muffins and danishes daring us through the front window, and the smiling faces of the owner/baker, Andy and his sweet wife. This time around, we planned to play it reasonable, and split a slice of Red Velvet. Two whole uncut Red Velvet cakes sat behind the glass counter, would we be the lucky ones to get the first slice?

The answer is 'no'. But that's only because we found something even more enticing. A Red Velvet cake with a cloud light layer of raspberry mousse sandwiched in-between! And instead of the usual cream cheese frosting (of which he does an excellent version), we encountered a layer of shaved milk chocolate dancing on the top surface of pale pink mousse and white chocolate shavings on the side - surely they must be angel wings! Cakes, and moments like this, are the little things that make my life so happy!

We were about to applaud ourselves for intense self-control, cause we SHARED a slice...when Andy called out names, "Kathy, Shannon, I want you to try this!" And the lo and behold, a slice of pumpkin cheesecake made its' way into our joyous hands, and soon afterwards straight to our mouths. It's fall, and that means I'm going to do nothing but eat pumpkin, butternut squash and ginger desserts till I can do no more. This cheesecake is the perfect kick-off to the season, an absurdly light cheesecake, richly spiced and never too sweet. But Andy gives it extra ooomph with a layer of pumpkin mousse (though it tastes more like a pudding to me!) and then a final layer of chocolate mousse! It's decadent, but the wonderful (or is it scary?) part is that I never seem to leave Pinisi with a horrible sugar high, or feeling like I'm super stuffed. Why is that? This man knows what he's making. And what he makes is classic American desserts, but with a hand so light as to never leave you overwhelmed nor with bricks of butter and pounds of sugar in the pit of your stomach. But he never skimps on flavour or quality, oh no. And service. This is hands down the friendliest bakery on the planet. And that's why I keep coming back :)

Pinisi: 1st Visit
Pinisi: 2nd Visit

Pinisi Cafe & Bakery
128 East 4th St
NY, NY 10003
(212) 614-9079