Chicago Cake: Jennivee's Bakery

On my dessert hierarchy, cakes are usually way, way down near the bottom, above desserts I dislike (Turkish Delight, banana anything) and below those I do like. But Chicago has taught me what cake is capable of being.

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From the first time I visited Jennivee's Bakery, I quickly became a regular, trying as many flavors I could keep up with. Their main focus are cakes (which may be light, but are loaded) and cupcakes (which are dense with tasty toppings). A shop in their first year, they do a lot to stick out among the crowd. First, there's the shop's founder, a young Filipino transwoman entrepreneur. Then there's the shop's hours, which cater to the late night crowd. And, best of all, there's the originality of the product, highlighting my three favorites:

Purple Velvet Cupcake - Also available as a cake slice, the dense cupcake is the better choice. If you've never had ube before--a purple yam that features in some Filipino desserts--this is an excellent place to start: ube cake with ube mousse and coconut strings. It's a delicate flavor knocked up a few notches into something truly unique to the Chicago dessert scene.

Sans Rival Cake - As the French name implies, this cake has "no rival." Unlike anything I've had before, this crispy, chewy cake consists of layers of meringue cookies packed between layers of buttercream. I ate half of it (a reasonable amount), telling myself to save the rest for later, but the second half only lasted an hour's break from eating the first...which I suppose does classify as "later."

Mango Mousse Cake - Triple mango! Mango cake with mango cream and bits of mango. Also available as a cupcake, the lightness of cake is better suited to this particular flavor. But don't take my word for it; try both!