The Cake Bake Shop

[Snazzylass]

Apparently this restaurant replaced an ESPN eatery on the Boardwalk. Has anyone eaten there? Thoughts? Just wondering how it is doing. Her original location is in my neighborhood and I've been to both locations. She opened after I moved away. So, I'm just now getting a chance to try it. I love it! Both the IN locations are beautiful. I especially loved my lunch the other day and ... oh yeah, the desserts

 

[ljmiii]

Apparently this restaurant replaced an ESPN eatery on the Boardwalk. Has anyone eaten there? Thoughts?...

The Cake Bake shop is truly spectacular...but limited. On our first visit we mainly ordered dishes that seemed best given the theme - her signature gumbo, green goddess cobb, croque monsieur and madame, and either the chicken salad croissant or ham and brie (I forget). The gumbo was simply the best we've ever eaten and the croques and salad were right up there. The last sandwich was merely 'good'. Then we finished with her raspberry champagne cake which was somehow effervescent as well as extraordinarily delicious. And the atmosphere and service were spectacular.

The meal was so spectacular we switched things around so we could return a few days later and were disappointed. The french onion soup, the other of the chicken salad croissant or ham and brie sandwiches, the po boy, and the blackberry salad ranged from good to ok except for the salad which was ruined by an absurdly sweet dressing trying to cover for not so tasty blackberries. And the Earl's Court chocolate cake was way too sweet and insufficiently chocolate-y. To add insult to injury, the service was abysmal - I think our table got lost in a shift change (we went mid-afternoon the second time).

Be forewarned that all the food and not just the cake is *enormous*. We knew from reviews that a slice of cake feeds four but didn't know that we needed to split the croques and salad between two people as well.

 

[TheHolleys87]

We haven’t had a meal there yet, but in January we bought a slice of cake that took four adults two or three days to finish! I can’t remember which cake it was, only that I had a very hard time choosing. And it was the amount that took so long to consume, not the taste of the cake. Reviews of meals there that I’ve read have been variable, with breakfast seeming to receive the highest scores, so I’m planning to eat there during our December visit.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Apparently this restaurant replaced an ESPN eatery on the Boardwalk. Has anyone eaten there? Thoughts? Just wondering how it is doing. Her original location is in my neighborhood and I've been to both locations. She opened after I moved away. So, I'm just now getting a chance to try it. I love it! Both the IN locations are beautiful. I especially loved my lunch the other day and ... oh yeah, the desserts

Seems pretty pricey to me for previously frozen cake slices.

 

[ljmiii]

Seems pretty pricey to me for previously frozen cake slices.

They are truly ginormous slices so you're basically paying $22 for four normal sized cupcakes...which is pretty reasonable for Disney. We were staying at Boardwalk Villas so also tried their Millionaire and Lemon Blueberry cakes during our trip. Neither of them approached the magic of the champagne cake but both were better than the not-particularly-chocolate cake.

 

[Snazzylass]

Seems pretty pricey to me for previously frozen cake slices.

So, you are not familiar with baked goods? Your comment is a common "slam" I've heard before about other restaurants. In reality, it's not uncommon to freeze cakes before frosting them as it makes the job easier AND it does not adversely affect the product.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

So, you are not familiar with baked goods? Your comment is a common "slam" I've heard before about other restaurants. In reality, it's not uncommon to freeze cakes before frosting them as it makes the job easier AND it does not adversely affect the product.

They’re not just freezing it, they’re baking off site, freezing, and transporting. At that price point you’d think you’d be purchasing something baked fresh and on site. But if it’s worth it to you and you enjoy the product, I’m certainly not judging.

I do wonder if that restaurant is going to stand the test of time at that location. I have my doubts. YouTube reviews are very mixed. Some people do love it. Other reviews are… less flattering. There have certainly been some who have indicated that the cake does not taste fresh, although a lot of those were early reviews so perhaps they have improved their methods. It’s certainly not difficult to get a reservation there.

 

[ljmiii]

They’re not just freezing it, they’re baking off site, freezing, and transporting. At that price point you’d think you’d be purchasing something baked fresh and on site...

Only if you think of the restaurant as a bakery. The percentage of medium high end dining establishments (which is what Cake Bake actually is) that do their own fresh on-site cake baking is somewhere around 2% (picking a semi-random number based on my experience). Better ones partner with a good pastry chef who delivers every day (or at least Friday and maybe Tuesday). And restaurants at large hotels and casinos are a whole different ballgame because they do have a patissier on staff (and compete to hire great ones). But that's not what we're taking about.

I do wonder if that restaurant is going to stand the test of time at that location. I have my doubts....

I share your concern...it's a really weird restaurant. The atmosphere is perfect for the Grand Floridian or maybe the Yacht Club but is completely out of place on the Boardwalk alongside jugglers and a pizza-to-go shack. And their best dishes are Creole/New Orleans....while we were there we joked that if they only named the place Chef Gwendolyn's Down Home Cookin' they would have lines out the door.

 

[heathpack]

Seems pretty pricey to me for previously frozen cake slices.

Cake freezes perfectly.