Yes, those are pieces of pistachio on top of the cake. Crunch, crunch. Suck, suck. Lick, lick. Yum, yum. Do you like baklava made with real nuts, not just, peanuts? Then you will probably love this crunchy, creamy cake just as much.
A few yards down Baker Street from Baker Street station is a fabulous little find. Etna coffee. I feel like Sherlock Holmes with his magnifying glass. I was given a piece of perfect pistachio cake by a relative who visited 'a Sicilian place in Baker Street'.
I said, "Go back. Get some more. Buy a case of it."
I asked, "What is the name of the place? Do you have the receipt?"
No luck. So I looked on Google maps. I typed in Baker Street Sicilian Cafe. Up came a picture.
I found it. But could there be more than one? Could Baker Street be a Sicilian cafe centre? Could a man have opened up to spite or copy a successful rival? Could the brother or son or daughter have opened another two doors down.
He who knows looked at the picture. "yes, that's the one."
Well, I would never have guessed it was so special. Why would anybody want to call themselves street food?
On the contrary, Indian restaurants call themselves names like big palace, Taj Mahal - palace, big - the adjective comes after the noun.)
Is it something to do with Baker Street?
Or Sicily?
Or food you eat in the street?
No. Street food is ready to eat food. That suits me. I am always ready to eat. I looked them up online. The shop is run by two brothers.
On my next trip into central London I wanted to check them out. We took a bus from Baker Street station along Baker Street and passed the Etna Cafe too fast for me to photograph it. But I got to see it. A tiny place. One day I shall get back there. We took bus number 13 or 74. We took the bus towards Hard Rock Cafe and the hotels. On the way back the bus took a road parallel to Baker Street.
You may recall Mount Etna. It is an active volcano and erupts periodically on the East coast of Sicily. As a result of an eruption this century it grew 100 feet. Tourists go to see it. The area has a cable car.
You might discuss this or ponder the point while eating your cake from the Etna cafe. You might also think about Sicily as a tourist destination.
If you can't get there, you might consider tracking down the recipe. I looked at recipes for Sicilian pistachio cake, italian pistachio cake, pistachio cream cake and pistachio layer cake.
And if you are planning to go, you might check on the recipe in advance to be able to check with them on their ingredients and what makes their cake so special.
Etna Cafe
54 Baker Street
London W1U 7 BU
+44 20 7935 1600
Useful Websites
https://app.ckbk.com/recipe/heav81738c01s001ss003r029/sicilian-pistachio-cake
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pistachio_cake.png
https://lifemadesimplebakes.com/pistachio-layer-cake/
About the Author
Angela Lansbury was born and bred in Britain, and has lived in the USA and Singapore. Her family have worked in or lived in Spain and Switzerland. She is a member of Toastmasters Clubs meeting on Zoom with visitors from the UK and USA, India, Sri Lanka, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Through the Toastmasters mentoring program Angela has connected with individuals in Vietnam and Romania, a different connection each month. Please come to the next BHA Toastmasters meeting on the 3rd Saturday afternoon every month.
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