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Desserts: Monkey Business
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LAist has had some well documented cases of searching for that elusive “hidden bakery-café” in Burbank, or that extra parking spot at the Porto’s on Hollywood Way and Magnolia. And my suggestion? It doesn’t provide a solution for either of those problems, but an excellent alternative in Cake Monkey.
It’s a nondescript bakery (basically a kitchen and an office, they are looking for a retail spot) wedged between a locksmith and a flowershop on Burbank Blvd. There is no signage on the front (hidden!), and the parking is plentiful (perfect!).
Cake Monkey is the brainchild of Lisa Olin and Elizabeth Belkind, best known for her role as the opening pastry chef at Grace (responsible for Doughnut Shoppe night). They also have some desserts available in Silverlake at Lunchbox Fine Foods (cakes will be available soon) although they seem to sell out fairly quickly. That would include yo-hos, pop tarts, Inside out S'mores, Li'l Merri's (oatmeal creme pies), and Cake Monkey Moguls (snowball).
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For custom orders, the only catch is that you have to order 48 hours in advance, with a minimum of a dozen items, which is well worth it, especially if you want something memorable for your wedding, birthday, friends, coworkers, momma or your baby’s momma (since it is Mother’s Day). Best of all, they DELIVER!
I managed to snag a yo-ho or two on my last visit to Lunchbox in Silverlake, but with two birthdays and Mother's Day coming up, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to get a few cakes for those special people in my life. Cake Monkey returned my phone call promptly and helped me through the process with a lot of patience(I didn't have the menu on hand).
My schedule had me in Burbank Saturday morning, so I opted to pick it up. Although they were fairly busy, they took the time to greet me and graciously offered a bottle of water and a Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Cakewhich ("Yellow Cake Sandwich filled with Peanut Buttercream, Housemade Marshmallow & coated with Bittersweet Chocolate") since I had to wait a little. They even had a nice couch for me to sit on (quite a feat considering the size of the commercial space) and acquiesced to all of my unreasonable demands: picking the cakes up at 11am, putting the cakes into separate boxes without falling all over the place, and ordering five different kinds of cakes (15 total).
The ideal conditions for the cakes would be at room temperature, possibly with a glass of milk and a fork (fingers get messy). Try them out and you won't be disappointed, but handle the cakes with care. I took pictures but I'm missing my cable, and the website has better pictures. I will have to say that the Spring Strawberry was my favorite (Buttermilk Cake with Housemade Strawberry Preserves, Pistachio Dacquoise and Vanilla Frosting).
What about you? Which would you pick?
Cake Monkey
877.640.CAKE (2253) | info@cakemonkey.com
Photo by Rick Lew via Cake Monkey, used with permission
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