CakeSpy Undercover: Cake and the Beanstalk, Philadelphia

Cake and the beanstalk - image, Cake and the Beanstalk

CakeSpy Note: Because I seem to have misplaced my photos of Cake and the Beanstalk, many are from their website, and the banana cake is from Penn Appetit. 

You are pretty much bound by honor to love any bakery that has the tagline "Fee fi fo YUM". 

Such a bakery can be found in Cake and the Beanstalk, a place where children can play and adults are invited to along with them. And there are sweets enough for everyone.

Cake and the beanstalk - image, Cake and the Beanstalk

When I say children can play, I mean that literally. They do all sorts of events and story time activities at Cake and the Beanstalk, in their sun-drenched cafe room. 

The bakery area is small, but has a respectable case. Blondies take up notably more space than brownies, which is just fine with me. You might find blondies that are studded with rolo candies or caramel or something else tasty on the day of your visit. The blondies are nice and dense and thick, chewy and depending on what candies or goodies are stuffed in it, possibly gooey too. Blondies definitely have more fun at this shop. 

Image c/o Cake and the beanstalk

Cookies and cakes are well executed here, and nicely enjoyed in the sunny "sitting room" adjoining the bakery. Oh, and they also do custom cakes. Here's one that caught my eye: 

Homer cake

Mmm, cake depicting donut.

When I asked what cake could not be missed in their case, proprietor Dan led me to an interesting choice: the banana cake with chocolate ganache. What gives? As he revealed in an interview

"The banana chocolate walnut cake. It’s studded with chocolate chips and walnuts and is finished with a silky chocolate glaze. It’s my specialty; the recipe has been in my family for years. I tweaked the original recipe, reducing the amount of sugar and adding more bananas to add natural sweetness; I also added the glaze component. It’s a must-try."

As Dan revealed to me in a conversation, the glaze is something he honed while working at fancy restaurants as a pastry chef, so really, this cake is an amalgamation of high end meets down home baking. A delicious combination. 

Cake and the Beanstalk is a sweet little spot to enjoy a bite or ten of something sweet and feel like life is simple and sweet if only for a few minutes.

Cake and the Beanstalk, 1112 Locust Street, Philadelphia; online here. CakeSpy Note: Because I seem to have misplaced my photos of Cake and the Beanstalk, many are from their website, and the banana cake is from Penn Appetit.