Handcrafted goodies

One of the latest patisseries to crop up in the city is the two-month-old cake studio, Piece of Cake, based in Matunga. The studio's menu declares ‘We will bake your dream cake' and we set out to test whether the studio lives up to its claim.

A batch of goodies was delivered to our office by the founder, chef Patissier, Omkar Patil. Orders for cakes and other treats must be ordered a day before, said Patil, while explaining that they deliver their goodies all over Mumbai. "We don't take the local train for our deliveries, because they will get crushed," he smiles.

The crownies were a revelation to most of us. Pics/Dutta Kumbhar

The goodies included a Chocolate truffle cake, a Red Velvet cake (R1200/kg), Peanut butter, Oreo and Chocolate crownies (R360 for half a dozen), a Peanut Butter Pound Cake (R225 for 250 gms), Milk, White and Dark Truffles (R400 for one dozen), Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (R30 per piece) and Scottish Shortbread Cookies (R20 per piece). We first dug into the crownies, which - to most of us - was a revelation. With the texture of a brownie and taste of a cupcake, the crownies were a novelty. While the Oreo crownies and the chocolate crownies were popular favourites, the Peanut butter crownies were lapped up by a few and deemed too experimental by the rest.

The clear winner was the Peanut Butter Pound Cake. Devoid of the usual suspects - nuts and other taste enhancers - the cake stays true to its name and delivers that joyful taste of peanut butter with soft, fresh cake. This, and a cup of coffee, should be a formidable weapon against the bleakest day. The truffles - milk, white and dark - evoked mixed reactions. The milk, cocoa, cream and milk chocolate lent the milk truffles a familiar, comforting taste, while the dark truffles left us craving for more. The taste of high-quality cocoa and Belgian chocolate cut through every bite.

The white truffles, however, didn't really bowl us over.

The Red Velvet cake, though a tad creamy, was delicious

The Double Chocolate Chip Cookie was sinfully delicious and a top favourite and the Scottish Shortbread Cookie, with a light sprinkle of sugar, was a personal favourite. It wasn't overly sweet and crumbled at the lightest bite. The delectable Red velvet cake and Chocolate truffle cakes smelt heavenly and were well-presented (the latter came with an edible golden leaf).

There is lots more on offer, making Piece of Cake worth a visit. And while you are there, please do us a favour. Say hello to the Double Chocolate Chip Cookie for us.