By Dimithri Wijesinghe
Currently occupying Schakasz’ old spot at No. 56, Stratford Avenue, Kirulapone, is the freshly launched Oh My Cake, which is at present, much like its predecessor, one of Colombo’s only dedicated dessert bars – offering an assortment of desserts, unlike what the name may indicate; it’s not all about that cake.
Only four months in, Yugadeep Jeevarathnam’s solo effort, Oh My Cake is already making waves in its locale, and when we say “solo” we really do mean it – It’s entirely a one man show. Yugadeep is king of the castle and he doesn’t seem even slightly frazzled as he stirs, tastes, bakes, serves, and transforms into a dessert-ing machine.
He did however mention that it was often a family effort, as his father, brother, and especially his mom – who is solely responsible for evoking his passion for desserts – would often be roped in to help him out in the kitchen.
He spoke of a fantastic childhood where his mom would always have a dessert ready when he and his brother would return after school and how she taught them the basics of dessert making, which then resulted in a chemical engineer with an IT background eventually opening an incredible dessert bar that’s blossoming into quite a raving business.
Oh My Cake strikes the perfect balance between a high-end uppity dessert place and a regular everyday bakery; it’s delightfully quaint and the desserts are to die for.
What we tried
Cakes
No Bake Cheesecake
A light and fluffy cheesecake with a buttery biscuit base, this was a real surprise in our books considering how most no bake cheesecakes tend to be like yogurt and are simply awful, but we couldn’t seem to stop eating this one! It was the perfect combination of rich-but-not-overly-so topping and crunchy base, it was almost perfect, but we’re saving our perfect for a little later because there’s an undisputed champion in this joint, and that’s coming up.
Oh My Cake also has an Oreo cheesecake which looked absolutely gorgeous but we were simply too full to give it a go, but judging by the one we tried, it promises to be a delight.
Lemonberry
A true feast for the eyes, this layered piece of art comprises raspberry mousse and lemon mousse sandwiched between poppy seed cake and sponge cake layers. It tastes quite like what you would expect a fruity fusion of lemony berry layers paired with soft, absolutely moist cakey layers to taste like.
A bit on the tangy-sweet side, as is expected, this one wasn’t our favourite considering how fruity desserts just feel a bit unnecessarily complicated. However, different palates taste differently as there were a few who tried it and swore it was the best one.
Chocolate caramel mousse cake
Chocolate mousse is always a winner; you simply can’t go wrong with it, and this absolute treat was a true testament to an unbeatable combination of silky chocolate mousse and salted caramel mousse sandwiched between chocolate cake layers. It was a real standout.
Creamy and not at all too sweet, we were informed it was the restaurant’s fastest seller, and unsurprisingly so.
Crème brûlée
A dessert that’s either a hit or miss in our experience, it’s incredibly difficult to find a crème brûlée that isn’t overly eggy and or nauseatingly sweet. Yugadeep however, appears to have cracked the formulae. After some extensive experimentation, Oh My Cake settled on arguably one of the tastiest crème brûlée consistencies we’ve ever come across.
Drinks
Hot Chocolate
Remember how we held off awarding a “perfect” rating before? The moment has come to award the absolute best, no doubt-in-our-minds total champion of all the desserts at Oh My Cake – their PERFECT hot chocolate.
Made with real chocolate as opposed to the powdered version, this was without a morsel of a doubt the best hot chocolate we’ve ever tasted, in a long life of tasting hot chocolate.
There’s simply nothing more to say than that it is simply perfect.
The ambience
If you’ve been to Schakasz, then the decor won’t surprise you; they’ve largely stuck to that same look. Regardless, it totally works for the quaintly pleasant vibe the place emanates and the comfortable seating both inside and out provide for a great cafe-like experience.
There’s something absolutely charming about Oh My Cake. It’s deeply reminiscent of a time when you were younger, where you waited at the counter as your mom baked you something, maybe during the weekend or after school, and you would simply chat and have a grand old time.
Phone: 077 725 5727
Instagram: @ohmycakebyocb
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Oh-My-Cake
Address: 56, Stratford Avenue, Kirulapone, Colombo
Photos Indika Handuwala
