Cake: the cozy cafe around the corner

A small coffeehouse and bakery in front of Gazira Sporting Club, Cake has for the past few months been where sports aficionados grab their morning coffee or housewives taking a break enjoy a homemade snack or brunch with a friend. Cake serves homemade sweets and biscuits, fresh salads and gourmet sandwiches with excellent fresh juice cocktails and delicious coffee.  

The window display shop is the first thing that grabs the attention of a passerby. A coffee table and well-decorated cake usually adorn the charming vitrine. Once inside, you realize that the place is even cuter, a display cupboard of their latest custom-made cakes, cup cakes and a few scattered pieces of cutlery and china giving the display a vintage feel. 

Cake is simple, yet pleasant and appealing; only a few tables occupy the entrance and there are a few more on the top floor. A display refrigerator is the center of the cakery, displaying the fresh goodies of the day, from your typical chocolate fudge cake to the astounding pecan and date bar.

For those who prefer savory, Cake offers a scrumptious collection of gourmet sandwiches. Their tuna melt, served warm, with an unexpected mix of cheese, mayonnaise and tuna, is inexplicably good and flavorsome. The brown seedy bread is freshly baked and the sandwich is served with a side of pickled black and green olives. For the connoisseur of French cheese, the brie sandwich is pretty satisfying: The freshly baked bread complements the pungent flavors of the cheese, which is accentuated by a light spread of mustard and butter…blissful. Again, the sandwich is filling and served with a fair portion of olives.

When it comes to desserts. Well, it doesn’t get much better than this. The pecan and date bar is the signature dessert of the bakery; the moderately sweetened date paste is balances with the strong nutty flavor of the pecan in what is an excellent marriage of flavor. The carrot cake is warm and fluffy with just the right amount of cinnamon mixed with carrot zest and a light icing.

And to go with all these baked goodies, Cake’s blend of coffee is deep and rich.

The place also offers custom made cakes for special events; each cake is a masterpiece which is usually displayed in the window and is changed regularly by the most recent sugary work of art.

Cake ‘s prices are a little above average — around LE40 for a sandwich and LE30 for a dessert bar or piece of cake.    

The small eatery is located on 14 Saraya al-Gezira Street, Zamalek and opens from 8 am until 11 pm. Cake has free wi-fi.