Restaurant: Cake Art
Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts/Pastries
Last visited: September 1, 2010
Location: Richmond, BC (Steveston Village)
Address: #110-12000 1st Avenue
Price Range: $10 or less
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!
Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:
- Family owned and operated
- Voted “Richmond’s Best Desserts” 2010
- French pastry chef Patrice Cordie from France
- Authentic French pastries/desserts
- Offers baking classes/courses
- Popular to locals
- Prepared in small batches
- Gourmet desserts/pastries/cakes
- No seating
- Custom cakes
- Great for weddings
- Take-out only
- Tues-Thurs 8am-4pm
- Fri-Sat 8am-5pm
**Recommendations: Chocolate Pyramid, Chocolate Dome, Opera Cake, Lemon Tart, Apple or Pear Tart
Cake Art is a tiny cake shop and bakery specializing in French desserts and special occasion cakes on a remote corner of Steveston Village in Richmond, BC. It’s definitely word of mouth place and it’s easily missed even when you’re trying to look for it. It’s a local gem and popular only to locals living in the neighbourhood. There’s no seats and it’s really made for to-go or for custom pre-ordered cakes. They do offer a small selection of cakes and baked goods daily, however it’s best to pre-order if you want to try something in particular because there are only a few of each.
Cake Art also offers private and group classes for sugar work, pastries, chocolate, cake and plated desserts taught by owner and French pastry chef Patrice Cordier. Cake Art also does dessert menu developing for restaurants and they can also re-create your favourite dessert. It really is a professional pastry shop where the store front almost seems like the side business to a much bigger picture.
I came across Cake Art by actually doing research for wedding cakes in Richmond for a friend. The service is a bit intimidating and it takes some warming up. Nonetheless I was surprised to see the quality, variety and presentation of the desserts they offered at the store. Everything is small and dainty and prepared in small batches, and the only place I know in Richmond that is similar is Diplomat Bakery also in Steveston. The cakes are traditional French as opposed to the more contemporary French cakes offered at Kreation Artisan Cakes, Ganache Patisserie, and Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates and Patisserie. It’s also a fraction of the cost, but perhaps not as memorable as the three, but still very good.
The apple and pear tart is made in a MASSIVE tart and it’s slices upon order. If you happen to pop in early enough at the right time and right day then the visual effect of the tart is enough of a treat to witness. It wasn’t ready when I went in yet, so I’ve been meaning to go back and try it.
Additional note: Cake Art supplies Gudrun Tasting Room (just down the street) for desserts and they’re priced at $6 each, so it’s really a bargain if you order directly from the store. Cake Art desserts are a bargain in general though and certainly worth every penny. The images of the plated desserts are from Gudrun Tasting Room.
On the table:
**Opera Cake – 4/6 (from store front)
- A classic French cake made from layers of almond sponge cake, lots of coffee, mocha butter cream, chocolate ganache and chocolate glaze. $2.75
- The opera cake is the most common cake used for weddings because it’s dense and able to hold the fondant. The layers of almond sponge is soaked in coffee syrup, but I feel like they don’t soak it enough, especially in a wedding cake and probably because it would sink.
- My friend ended up ordering the opera cake for her wedding, but it much much better at the store because it wasn’t as dry. The almond sponge cake can be a bit dry.
- It’s a great combination of coffee, rich dark chocolate ganache and almond sponge cake. I’m not a fan of the coffee butter cream though, it had coffee flavour but I found the texture too buttery and waxy rather than fluffy and creamy.
- They used fondant for the wedding cake and the fondant here isn’t good. It’s overly sweet and not-edible. A very good fondant is from Luscious Creations.
**Chocolate Dome (right) – 6/6
- A bittersweet dark chocolate mouse dome with layers or hazelnut crunch in the middle $2.75 at Cake Art or $6 at Gudrun Tasting Room (I don’t have exact description)
- It had chocolate mousse, a delicious hazelnut filling in the centre and layers of cake inside. It was nutty chocolaty and not too sweet.
- The chocolate shell is a creamy bittersweet ganache and the whole thing just melts in your mouth.
**Chocolate Pyramid (left) – 5/6
- A chocolate pyramid filled with bittersweet dark chocolate mousse, a wafer crust, and a dollop of ganache in the centre $2.75 at Cake Art or $6 at Gudrun (I don’t have exact description)
- I’m usually not a fan of chocolate mousse, but this was the perfect amount with the perfect texture and sweetness. It was surprisingly almost everyone’s favorite at the table. It was light, chocolaty, sweet, bitter and not too rich. It had a nice wafer crust at the bottom and a a creamy chocolate glaze over top.
Tiramisu – 2.5/6
- $2.75 at Cake Art or $6 at Gudrun (I don’t have exact description)
- This was the only disappointing one fore me because I found it a weak attempt at a Tiramisu. It looked very pretty with the thin chocolate wrapping, but it tastes like a coffee chocolate cake with some layers of Mascarpone whipping cream. It wasn’t dry, but it wasn’t Tiramisu either.
**Lemon Tart – 4/6
- $2.75 at Cake Art or $6 at Gudrun (I don’t have exact description)
- The lemon tart had a hard shortbread crust and I wasn’t a fan of the flavour of the crust so much, but the lemon curd itself was great. It was tart, sweet and creamy.
Blueberry Tart - n/a
- $2.75 at Cake Art or $6 at Gudrun (I don’t have exact description)
- To be honest I barely got any of this one so I don’t recall the taste. I did get a bite and it was good, but I don’t remember the details. There was definitely no complaints and it was the first one gone.
Chocolate Pecan Tart – n/a
- $2.75 at Cake Art or $6 at Gudrun (I don’t have exact description)
- This one was quite sweet with the added chocolate. I only had a bite as well so I can’t “rate” it, but I normally wouldn’t order a pecan tart unless I was down South or at a BBQ joint. There was lots of whole toasted pecans and it had a tastier tart shell than the fruit tarts, maybe because it was more moist.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
You know your desserts! This will be on my radar to try very soon!
Great posts. I love your recent posts featuring steveston…so many hidden gems!
Thanks ladies! Steveston has so many hidden gems and I’m slowly making my way through
… it’s almost like a village or small town on it’s own! Sometimes I even feel like a tourist there!
Got there late. Not much left. Katarina V was just about to close shop.
The lemon and lime tarts scored a 5.9 for me that day. he he, must be the bitter medicine I was taking.
Funny how I just passed by it oblivious of its existence. Thanks for the post
Oh yay!!! You tried it!! The lemon tarts are wicked huh lol?! I gotta try the lime one! I’ve been meaning to go back to try their apple tart… it’s huge!! But that’s only when they bake it… then it gets sliced.
The pastries at Cake Art (it’s called Sweet Spot now) are simply divine in terms of taste, presentation and price!! It truly is a steal! My friends and I love their stuff! However, their pastries go fast so one must get there early enough!
@Chinni – Thank you for the Sweet update!!
I have to check it out to see what else they have new! I’m glad you like this hidden gem as well! Thank you for commenting.
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