Crixa Cakes, Berkeley

I had a dream two nights ago that I bought a chocolate cake and ate the entire thing. Unfortunately the dream didn't fulfil my hunger, and I woke up craving cake. Yelp.com is my new reference for food recommendations, so during an as usual busy day at work, I typed "chocolate cake" into their search engine. Crixa Cakes, on Adeline, the first to show up. It was also the first place in Berkeley I had ever seen listed with five stars.

The menu made me crave chocolate cake even more, so immediately after work, I attempted to drive up there. Crixa Cakes is a very cute, small bakery across from that triangle parking lot across from Kirala. Confused? So was I. It didn't help that as soon as I turned on to Adeline from Ashby, there was some sort of crime committed in front of Kirala. Twenty cop cars (including two meter maids!), a fire engine and two ambulances all rushed to the scene, preventing me from continuing down Adeline. After driving in circles for a very long time and trying to figure out what was going on, I reverted back to my original mission. I think the easiest way to find parking for Crixa Cakes is to either park in that mystery triangle lot (is it for Kirala? The mountaineering place?) or to do what I did--I turned down Carleton, made a left, and then made a left Derby and parked along the Volvo dealership wall (not the side of the Co-Op, you need a permit). I'm not sure if this makes sense on a day that 20 cop cars aren't parked on Adeline, but it worked yesterday.

So anyway, this place is very cute. It's tiny, and hard to miss if you aren't walking right in front. They have both outdoor and indoor seating. Online, the Yelp.commers had all raved about the Carmella Cake ($4.75 for a mini cake), so I had to get one:

"Moist chocolate chiffon cake with vanilla whipped cream, bittersweet chocolate mousse, and butterscotch caramel."

And the Cherry Chocolate Mousse Cake sounded amazing as well ($4.95 per slice) so I got a slice of that too:

"Chocolate sponge cake with a light soak of dark rum, tart cherries and creamy bittersweet chocolate mousse."

The New Orleans Bourbon Cake also looked beautiful and chocolatey, but after seeing how huge the slice of Cherry Chocolate Mousse Cake was, I decided to call it quits. Plus, when I asked the woman at the counter which she preferred, she said that the Bourbon one was a little too strong for her. My Asian side cannot handle liquor and the last thing I need is to get drunk off of a cake. Carmella and Cherry Mousse it is.

I got my two cakes to go, but it looked like the place would be fun to hang around in as well--they have a good selection of teas up on the board.

I took the cakes home and after seeing them, Andy immediately got two forks and two giant glasses of milk. These cakes are gorgeous, but they also look very very rich.

We started on the Cherry Chocolate Mousse cake first. I'm trying to be somewhat intellectual with this food blog but honestly, it was just soooooo goooooooood. The bottom layer was a chocolate sponge cake. On top of that was a layer of mousse with cherries and rum, and on top of that, another layer of the sponge cake. It was topped off with bittersweet chocolate mousse. Normally when I've had cakes claiming to have mousse, they've just been frosted with a really rich, thick sugary chocolate layer. No more. This cake was rich but not unbearably rich. The sponge cake was smooth, not too sweet, and very...spongy? The cherries were, as promised, tart and went perfectly with the cake. No, the rum did not get me drunk, there was just a light flavor that complemented everything well. The mousse was the highlight, though--someone at Crixa Cakes really knows how to make a mousse. It was light, almost airy, to go along with the sponge cake. All in all, it was amazing. Even Andy liked it--that says a lot.

We then ate the Carmella. The Carmella was also a taste of perfection. The cake again was light and airy. In the middle, there was some fresh (not too sweet!) whipped cream, and the top was covered in caramel and bittersweet chocolate mousse. Rich, but not heavy, so I definitely kept wanting more. The caramel was not the overwhelming flavor of caramel I usually expect. Everything contained a wonderful buttery and smooth taste. Andy liked this one too, but he said he preferred the Cherry one. When it comes down to it, I'd probably crave the Carmella more.

Go here. Please, go here. It is worth a trip. If you get it to go, make sure you have plenty of milk on hand. As far as portion sizes, I'd say that splitting one Carmella between two people would be pretty satisfactory but I guarantee you'll want more. Crixa Cakes also sells goods that are not of the chocolate cake variety, such as apple cake, pie, and all kinds of other things.

Crixa Cakes:
Tuesday through Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

2748 Adeline Street
Berkeley, CA 94703
(510) 548-0421

You can check out their website: www.crixacakes.com
Or the reviews on Yelp.com: www.yelp.com/biz/TS07BQsyZqwcEgraAbiMbw