Interview with Judy of Silk Cakes (A classically trained pastry chef who makes the best dang icing I've ever tasted.)

One of my blogger buddies Lillian (of Sweets by Sillianah) had posted on Facebook that a new bakery was opening in Queens, Forest Hills specifically. Queens doesn't get many new, cool, or trendy places. Lots of new venues tend to start in Brooklyn or if in Queens LIC or Astoria, so the fact that a new bakery that already has a location in Lower Manhattan opened in the middle of Queens was a treat. And so, I had to try it. My friend Lesley and I ventured to Metropolitan Avenue and found a very clean, sparse, and contemporary looking space that stood out among the fast food chains, banks, and realtor offices. Silk Cakes is sleek and clean and has an array of cupcakes at the ready. I was psyched. Lesley was psyched. And we had some cupcakes to reward ourselves for a quarter-mile walk.

I had a yuzu cupcake with green tea truffle in the middle and green tea buttercream icing that blew my mind. What was this icing perfection and unique cupcake that I wanted several more of in one day? Believe me walking away from Silk Cakes was hard but I did and returned and look forward to returning many more times to a unique bakery with Asian-inspired flavors and match-ups that are decadent yet accessible and incredibly tasty.

Since 2006 Judy has offered specialty and customized wedding cakes that look too gorgeous to eat. Her cupcakes are just as lovely with icing curved along the top of the cake like a Softee swirl of ice cream and is just as smooth, believe me. If you're in the Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens area, or just along the Queens Blvd line I implore you to visit and get a taste of Judy's experience and passion for desserts.

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The buttercream icing of your cupcakes is unlike any I’ve had before. The texture is reminiscent of silk. It’s smooth and creamy to the touch yet has a solid texture so you don’t have to worry about it losing its form. Not to ask secrets but how long did it take you to create/perfect your icing recipe?  

Many years.

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Not only are the culinary arts part of your family background but you trained at the French Culinary Institute. What do you think were some of the best things you took away from your time there and at L’Ecole? 

As a classically trained I learned the essentials of many desserts. At L'Ecole, I was in charge of pastries for the a la carte and came up with many innovative desserts. This is where I came up with so many of the unique flavor combinations available at Silk Cakes.

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Silk Cakes' website notes that you do “Asian inspired designs” and “unique flavor” combinations. Do you think that items such as matcha and green tea, considered more staples of East Asian dishes/desserts, are starting to become more mainstream in American pastry shops? Do you think there’s a method to getting these specific flavors into a dessert without them being lost or too heavy?

Silk Cakes likes to offer unique flavor combinations that no one else carries. Since we've opened our retail store in queens, the general public has really embraced these flavor combinations. In time, the prediction is that these specific flavor combinations will become part of mainstream America. There is definitely a delicate balance that we had to discover when bringing two ingredients together. It was a lot of trial and error. Our cakes are not overly sweet either so you can really taste this balance of ingredients.

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Queens has been in need of more bakeries, especially in the Kew Gardens Hills/Forest Hills area. With Brooklyn being the borough that’s been getting the bulk of new eateries over the past several years why did you decide to open your second Silk Cakes shop (the first is in the Lower East Side) here?  

We didn't want to follow everyone else, and my sister lives in Forest Hills, so she convinced me to set up my second location there. The neighborhood has been very welcoming since we opened our retail store a couple months ago.

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You do very elegant and classic designs and, like your cupcakes, nothing overwhelms or comes across as excessive. As a decorator how do you come to know what may be the best way to convey the customers needs/wants into the design of a cake? 

We usually ask clients to send us visuals of elements that they would like to incorporate into their cake design. Sometimes a client may have an idea and what we do is come up with a sketch and walk the client through our proposal on how we can bring their idea to life in the form of a cake.

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Besides Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram are there other social media/online outlets people can get updates from Silk Cakes?  

What you listed are the main social media sites that we use to update our customers. Also, Judy is going to be showcased as a guest chef on the YouTube channel Rogers Powell Worldwide Culinary Apprentice at the end of this month. She's going to teach viewers online the basics of cake decorating. Stay tuned as we plan to announce this on Silk Cakes social media sites.

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Thanks so much to Judy and her sister Amy for helping with this interview. I look forward to trying the full array of cupcakes Silk Cakes has to offer during my walks. I feel I've earned them.