WAILUA — It’s not just cake at Icing on the Cake, where innovation, an appreciation for locally-farmed ingredients and boutique-like style lend themselves to the ambiance of this now coffeeshop-like patisserie.
Icing on the Cake, which used to feature only event specialty cakes and pastries, opened its current location at the Kinipopo Shopping Village in Wailua about a year ago, serving coffee and tea along with a selection of daily baked goods.
Andrea Quinn, owner and pastry chef, knows how to find a niche and bring it to market. Quinn, who has been in the food industry for 16 years, 14 of which were done wearing the hat of pastry chef, has taken some of her culinary gems, such as her scrumptiously-sweet coconut macaroons, to the next level.
The buttery cookie was in such high demand that she began shipping it nationally.
“The coconut macaroon has been a favorite since we opened in 2004,” Quinn said of the well-sought-after treat.
The gooey confection pairs well with a glass of iced “New Orleans-style” coffee, which Quinn describes as boasting a taste of “roasted chicory” and as “very satisfying on hot, muggy days.”
Such pairings are a treat for those who in the past just relied on Icing on the Cake for special-occasion cakes such as weddings or birthdays, as now there is a reason for visiting the shop more often: a selection of savory items, cake by the slice and a wide array of teas and pour-over-drip coffees.
Highlights for the dine-in menu include mushroom, egg and cheese panini and Moroccan organic mint or dazhang shan jasmine teas. Another featured item is the 17-foot Ceiling coffee from Blue Bottle Company, which hails from Quinn’s native San Francisco, Calif., area and claims to feature organic, pesticide-free, shade-grown coffee that’s only served within 48 hours of having been roasted.
Quinn said she and her husband Patrick began their coffee research almost two years ago, while they were just operating as a special-order company.
Icing on the Cake is the only business in Hawai‘i that has been allowed to serve Blue Bottle Company coffee, she added.
“They are a very-hands-on company with many of the same philosophies as us, who like to personally train every barista who serves and prepares their coffee,” she said. “Patrick just returned from his annual training at their Oakland facility. We are very happy with how our customers have responded to our coffee and tea offerings, and of course are excited to be able to work with Blue Bottle to offer such an amazing style of coffee.”
It was also in San Francisco that Quinn gained her culinary-background experience, she said, first with her mother as a child and later at a large catering company and finally at the California Culinary Academy.
Besides her educational background and upbringing, Quinn brings inspiration to the menu she gleans from cookbooks and trade magazines, she said, adding, however, that local ingredients brought by farmers also stir up inspiration.
“Right now we are enjoying the key lime season by making our key-lime-coconut macaroon,” she said.
While the menu isn’t standardized, Icing on the Cake does offer daily specials, Quinn said.
But the tried-and-true Icing on the Cake standards that people have grown to love remain available — such as the white-chocolate-chip and macnut cookie, cupcakes, and cake by the slice — with the addition of addictive breakfast items such as the fresh-herb-and-parmesan quiche.
For Quinn, favorite menu items are the fresh-mozzarella-and-basil-pesto panini, key-lime macaroons and chocolate-chip cookies, she said.
But Quinn doesn’t only have favorites on her own menu, she said, adding that though she doesn’t like the term “foodie,” she and her husband’s “entire lives” tend to “revolve around food, wine and agriculture.”
Quinn also enjoys sampling the best of Kaua‘i’s restaurants, she added, noting that besides being a regular at the nearby Monico’s Taqueria, which she cites as a family favorite she reveres for its fresh ingredients, she frequents the North Shore’s Bar Acuda because of its “quality, commitment to local and sustainable ingredients and consistency.”
A commitment to consistency and quality are areas to which Quinn can relate, as despite Icing on the Cake’s lack of an official motto it does strive to remain dedicated to its best-loved recipes and loyal to a high standard of ingredients, she said.
“There (has) been a lot of hard work and long hours, but we strive to be consistent in all we do, our hours of operation and quality.”
Kinipopo Shopping Village
4-356 Kuhio Hwy.
823-1210
www.icingonthecakekauai.com
The coconut macaroon has been a favorite since we opened in2004.
Andrea Quinn, Owner and Pastry Chef
