Bake Me Happy
Our focus this week is on cakes by Fly Jamaica flight attendants Janeil Rose and Nadene Lazarus.
Cakes by Jan, owned by the 30-something-year-old Janeil Rose, has been operating for three years. “I grew up baking in my grandmother’s kitchen,” she revealed to Thursday Life, “and I continued that into my adult life, baking for family and friends. They were impressed with what I did, and said that I had to do something with it. So I started testing out recipes.” Rose, who specialises in what she describes as “shooter cakes” and cheesecakes, sells slices of her desserts at offices, supplies a few coffee shops, and provides sweet treats for private events.
I was curious to taste what Janeil Rose had to offer, especially the Guinness cheesecake. My husband is half- Trini and half-Irish, so naturally Guinness is a staple in his glass. My first taste of Rose’s cheesecake was an unforgettable experience! The flavours that invaded my tongue and palate were enhanced by the bitterness of the Guinness that cut right into the sweetness of the dessert, complementing it exquisitely. “I was inspired by a Guinness Frappuccino I’d had,” shared Rose, “and that was that!”
Rose also brought along her bread pudding, which was uniquely shaped into a large round cake, as well as a trio of the shooters: three vanilla cupcakes topped with whipped cream and fruits, elegantly styled in martini glasses. Other dessert options included three mini sets of desserts: iced chocolate cupcakes topped with petite homemade chocolate figures, cheesecakes each topped with blackberry, and berry shortcrust tarts.
Forty-something-year-old Nadene Lazarus, the owner of Sweet Moments, speaks of being influenced by her mum who used to bake as a hobby. Nadine has herself taken it much more seriously over the last five years and hopes to own her own café.
As Lazarus sliced the guava cheesecake, I found myself thinking, “How is this going to be any better than the best cheesecake I’ve ever tasted?” And then I took a bite. With the intense flavour of the fruit entwined between every particle of the cheesy filling, the integrity of the guava was not compromised. For the record, my life became much happier with that first bite, and the second, and the third, and then knowing that I should be leaving space for the rest of Lazarus’s offerings, I took a fourth, fifth, sixth bite, and finally lost count.
Dragging my fork away from the guava cheesecake, I tucked into the Christmas pudding and creamy rum sauce that Lazarus had brought. “I don’t like the chunks in fruit cakes and puddings,” she informed us, “so you’ll notice that I whiz the dried fruit up into a paste to achieve a smooth texture.” I had noticed!
The chocolate cupcake and carrot cupcake followed, with both reminding me somewhat at first glance of a child’s birthday party. But one should never judge a cake by its cover. The sophistication of the chocolate and carrot flavours ran straight through these sweet treats, and their textures were scientifically perfect, creating the most decadent mouthfuls of cake you could imagine. My mind was crying out for someone to stop me from eating, but my taste buds and my right hand simply would not hear of it.
Was there room to sample the Baileys cheesecake, which turned out to be reminiscent of nips of the liqueur itself? Barely! But it had to be done. There was lychee cake, too.
Happy and replete from what turned out to be my lunch, there was no need for dinner that night.
Writing this days later, I dream of the next time Lazarus bakes me happy.
To order from Cakes by Jan, e-mail: janeilr@hotmail.com
To order from Sweet Moments — Baking You Happy, e-mail: nadene.lazarus@yahoo.com