Bake & Che (Westminster)
As I get older, I find myself drawn back to the desserts of my childhood and remembering how I kind of liked them growing up…only to go more American/Euro-centric because it was easier to assimilate.
Bake & Che has 2 locations and making a lot of the items I grew up eating with my parents.
Wanting to try items out so I could get a better sense of the menu, I made a couple of visits.
The che (puddings/soup-y iced desserts) are really quite good! They aren’t super sweet, but you do need to add ice to tamper down the sweetness and to make sure it’s super cold…super refreshing on a hot day. I’ve tried the che Thai (jackfruit, longan, house made pomegranate seeds, house made jellies, and coconut milk), suong sao bot loc (house made grass jelly and pandan dumplings in coconut milk), and the house tofu pudding with fresh coconut bits and coconut milk. They were all great. But I might like the tofu pudding slightly more.
The bakes…are all baked cakes made with either mung bean, taro, cassava, palm sugar, or pandan layers. The pandan layers sandwich durian layers and I’m not a durian fan…so there’s that. I do enjoy the taro and cassava cakes. They’re about the size of a muffin bottom so they are easy to eat and even better because it’s not too sweet. I haven’t had one in ages, so these were a nice remembrance of the snacks my parents loved when we were growing up. Bake & Che has cute and efficient sampler/gift boxes, too.
They’ve also a selection of gelatins in coconut, coffee, and longan. I have yet to try them, so jury is still out.
One last creation they have is their flan cheesecakes…it’s a flan custard that sits atop a Japanese soufflé cheesecake base. It looks promising, and I have yet to try that one, too.
The operation is family owned by first generation Vietnamese-American. They’re doing some really nice things that pay tribute to their heritage.
So if anyone is looking for dessert, this is a great option.