Tiramisu Café
A new local "pull-me-up"

photos & story by Jennifer Deseo

Tiramisu Café and Bakery
7847 Eastern Ave (between Georgia Ave and King St), Silver Spring
Phone (301) 563-6037

Any eatery can serve dessert as an afterthought. A slice of stale cheesecake from the freezer case, or bland rice pudding out of a plastic tub.

But few celebrate dessert as a meal unto itself. Such an act requires planning. It takes skill to create the right textures, and savvy to bring all the elements together in the proper proportions. At the Tiramisu Café and Bakery, coffee, cake and serenity come together to create a mature, well-rounded composition.

Strawberry cake and Earl Grey tea make a delightful afternoon repast.

Located on Eastern Avenue in south Silver Spring, Tiramisu is a quiet refuge from the traffic on nearby Georgia Avenue. Pendant lighting and the afternoon sun give the room a warm glow, while soft jazz music adds to the café's tranquility. The peace is broken only by the hiss of the espresso machine.

A small refrigerator case stores the café's treasures--cookies, trays of syrupy baklava and ornate 8-inch cakes sliced to serve. The cakes are baked daily on the premises, so selection may differ from day to day.

The namesake tiramisu ("pull me up" in Italian) has a biscotti base saturated (but not soaked) with bold coffee flavors, and layers of light and smooth cream frosting. It is an excellent complement to the café's voluptuous and slightly nutty cappuccino.

The strawberry cake is light and refreshing, with moist berry-flecked cake and dollops of fresh cream frosting. The cake does exceptionally well with a cup of fragrant Earl Grey tea.

  For a true chocolate kick, the cacao caffe cake is playful and fun. Rich, moist devil's food cake alternates with a sweet, whipped frosting to form the Oreo cookie's big sibling. The cacao caffe cake is dairy-free but goes best with a tall glass of cold milk.

The two-month-old café has few offenses. The black forest cake lacks strong chocolate flavor, but its layers of cherries and cream frosting lend sweetness. Similarly, the white chocolate cake has no distinct flavor but does deliver the sugar fix.

The soggy orange cake is layered with fresh cream but has an intense, saccharine citrus flavor. The cake would hold up to strong espresso, but even a bold demitasse might not mask the cake's artificial taste.

Still, Tiramisu's choice desserts, full-bodied coffees and mellow ambience compose an overall pleasant experience. The café's menu is also expanding to include different cakes and baked goods for breakfast. Its development promises to be delicious.

Tiramisu is open 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., 7 days per week. Coffee prices start at $1.50 per cup. Individual servings of cake are sold for $2.75 -3.50 per slice. Whole cakes begin at $25 for an 8-inch cake, to $120 for a full sheet that serves 120 people.

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