Get there SOON, Before it Closes!

Hi it’s Leslie Harris. Several years ago, when I was living in the city, a dear friend of mine bought me the most amazing cake for my birthday. It was a chocolate cake, soaked with coffee liqueur, two of my favorite flavors. But it wasn’t just the flavors, it was the cake itself, with real chocolate whipped cream. I had never had a cake like that, and it came from a German bakery on Lincoln Avenue called Cafe Selmarie, a staple of the 4700 block of Lincoln Ave since 1983!

Sadly, the owner of Cafe Selmarie has decided to retire, and unfortunately, she is not selling the recipes for her amazing cakes, pies and cookies. So Saturday evening, my 23-year-old and I made the pilgrimage and now I need to go back at least one or two more times!

We got slices of four different cakes. My favorite by far was the Raspberry Bavarian torte with a layer of white cake, a layer of chocolate cake, dense whipped cream and fresh raspberries.

Next on my list was the Tres leches cake. Delicious, although nowhere nearly as show-stopping as the raspberry torte. Third on the list would be the Orange Decadence, a dense, flourless chocolate cake, also flavored with orange. My kiddo picked this one, and while the cake was amazing, it’s not my favorite flavor combination.

Last on my list is the Spanish almond torte. This again had the stiff whipped cream over a layer of apricot jam, marzipan and chocolate. Interesting flavors, just a little too sweet for me, but I know it’s one of their most popular cakes.

Cafe Selmarie is only open for another week or two, but I now have plans to have dinner (and cake) there with a friend on Thursday, and one or two more slices of cake with another friend on Saturday. It’s worth the trip!

Have you ever been to Cafe Selmarie? Will you be going to catch them one last time? What are your favorite local-to-the-western suburbs bakeries? Let me know in the Facebook comments.