East Village Bakery: Deciphering Deliciousness at Pinisi Bakery

January 20, 2009

NYC Food Guy loves bakeries that create unique and fresh desserts.  The only trouble is, when you find a place like this, it’s hard not getting one of everything. I’m taking it upon myself to make things easier for you by discovering what’s delicious at Pinisi Bakery on 4th Street near 1st Avenue.  Read on for a new take on red velvet cake, a surprisingly delicious cupcake and some chocolate filled treats.

Chocolate Croissant

As far as chocolate croissants go, this doesn’t rank high on my list.  Crispy bits of dark chocolate emerge from the end of an extremely buttery outer shell which upon first slice reveals an interior that isn’t as flaky or delicate as I had hoped.

The airy yet chewy inner croissant houses soft, mousse-like chocolate which was the croissant’s saving grace and a nice departure from the fudgey and hard chocolate usually found in most chocolate croissants.

Chocolate Rugelach

Nothing like the tiny, cream cheese infused rugelach you would find at most bakeries, Pinisi’s version is very similar to the chocolate croissant.  The main differences are a chocolate-dipped exterior and denser insides.  Regardless, the taste wasn’t close to the rich, decadent rugelach I’ve grown up with at Bruce’s Bakery in Great Neck, Long Island and Manhattan.  Not that I’m someone to worry about calories, but I wouldn’t waste them on the rugelach next time.

Pistachio Cupcake – My favorite discovery of the the bunch

I’m a big fan of  salted pistachios and naturally flavored pistachio ice cream but this was my first foray into the world of pistachio cupcakes and after tasting Pinisi’s I regret that I hadn’t tried one sooner. A deliciously green, pillowy cupcake strikes the perfect balance between sweetness and pistachio.

It’s crowned by light cream cheese frosting sprinkled with chopped pistachios, the latter of which adds a little crunch to contrast the airy cake.

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Chees Frosting & A Cheesecake Base

While it looks delicious, my reaction was more “Hmm” than “Mmm”.  One wonders how this interesting combination could possibly go wrong but the answer is simple: the red velvet cake was too dense to provide the light middle ground between the cream cheese frosting up top and the rich cheesecake below.  The cheesecake, although tasty, was overkill.  It didn’t really combine with either of the other components of the cake to create the harmony of flavors I was hoping for.

Posted in EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN, Pinisi Bakery 13 Comments »