If you’ve ever been on Acland St in St Kilda, I’m guessing you’ve noticed the countless cake shops. A few weeks ago Teva and I were walking down and I was mesmerised by the sandy chocolate coloured kugelhopfs. I own the Tupperware kugelhopf form and the only thing I’ve used it for is to set jelly. We walked by. I couldn’t stop thinking about them. We walk by again and I see the magic words – Now available by slice.
So we get one. It comes wrapped in white paper and tastes like the lovechild of pastry and chocolate. Welcome to Monarch Cakes.
Apparently this place has been around forever. It was sold by its original owners to their family friends fifteen years ago and the Polish-Jewish recipes remain unchanged to this day. I stopped off again the other day with my friend Mika for some coffee, tea and baby kugelhopf.
It’s quite a cute shop too. Jars and jars of homemade sour cherry compote, stacks of magazines and paraphernalia and black and white photographs on the wall. The cash register is older than my grandmother. They punch in the numbers and it rings up the total so loud and cheerful, you don’t mind handing over your money.
From experience, the kugelhopf by slice is more moist and more delicious than the baby kugelhopf. But a late night tea and cake is a must at this place.
