Review: Chambers Cookies and Cakes: Red Velvet Cake, Kansas City, MO

Chambers Cookies and Cakes: Red Velvet Cake - June 1, 2018

I recently flew to Kansas City, MO for a girls’ weekend. Two of my friends live in the KC area, another flew in from San Antonio and the fourth flew in from New Orleans. My friend, Mel, who was hosting us, had been telling us about a local baker named Donnell Chambers whose cakes Mel is a fan of. Mel, who doesn’t really like sweets, liking the cakes from this baker. My Pavlovian response was “me wants”. So Mel graciously bought a red velvet cake from Chambers Cookies and Cakes as a treat for our weekend visit. You know we were going to eat.

The cake was elegant simplicity itself. As you know, I am a cake purist. Nothing but carrots in my carrot cake. Red velvet cake – all I expect is red velvet cake layers sandwiched and frosted with cream cheese frosting. Donnell was a little extra with a light garnish of pecans but Mel assured me that was the only way traditional Southern red velvet can be made and served. Fine.

Actually, I don’t mind pecans as long as they’re on top of the cake and not baked inside it. Nuts soften and steam when baked inside something and lose their crunch. Hence I am diametrically opposed to nuts in most desserts. But garnishing on top, okay, fine.

It was a good cake too – three layers of red velvet cake goodness. I use that sketchy term “moist” again to describe the texture. Turns out my friend Jen, also there for the weekend merriment, doesn’t like that word either. But honest to goodness, googling synonyms for “moist” only yields “damp”, “awash” and “moisture”. I’m not describing a perfectly good cake as “damp”. It might be awash with moisture but really, saying “moist” is faster. So y’all might just have to suck that one up.

Thank you, Mel, and thank you, Donnell Chambers, for an excellent cake. He does ship so now that I’m back from Kansas City, MO, I might have to look into ordering his coconut cake. I hope it’s moist.