Forest Hills Cupcakes and Cakes at Silk Cakes

If you want to check out a neighborhood cake shop, but you’re not sure which neighborhood or which cake shop to visit, head over to Silk Cakes in Forest Hills. Second generation Chinese American Chef Judy Lai combines her expertise in French baking and her exposure to traditional Chinese desserts in New York City to delight every sweet tooth that walks into her bakery.

Cupcakes, sweet buns, sponge cakes and more are available all day, baked fresh from her kitchen at the shop. Enjoy a treat with a cup of freshly brewed coffee or tea. For Asian-inspired cake sensations, set your eyes on the strawberry chantilly chiffon cake, a lightweight sponge cake with cream that melts in your mouth.

All cakes are baked on-site from scratch for birthdays, weddings, special occasions and walk-in customers. We interviewed Amy, Silk Cakes manager and here are the Q&As:

1. Could you please tell our readers when Silk Cakes first opened its doors and why the founder chose Forest Hills?

Silk Cakes opened its doors in Forest Hills on January 2014, and we chose Forest Hills because we love and live in the neighborhood.

2. We read in your Instagram bio that Silk Cakes is a modern Asian American cake shop. What type of Asian-inspired cakes are popular at Silk Cakes?

Our product offering is inspired by the desserts that we grew up eating in New York City. As for Asian-inspired cakes, our top flavor combinations are:

Ube (purple yam) with coconut whipped cream
Thai tea with condensed milk buttercream and white chocolate truffle
Banana with Nutella buttercream and semi-sweet chocolate truffle
Red velvet with cream cheese buttercream and semi-sweet truffle
Yuzu with strawberry buttercream and green tea truffle
Green tea with blueberry buttercream and semi-sweet chocolate truffle

3. Your gourmet cupcakes look decadently delicious! On your menu, you have Sriracha chocolate cupcakes. Could you please describe the flavors of a Sriracha chocolate cupcake?

We’ve discontinued the Sriracha cupcake.

4. What are the top three bestsellers at Silk Cakes?

We have four items which are top sellers.

The most popular ones are:

Our most popular cupcake is vegan ube (purple yam) with coconut whipped cream.

Strawberry Chantilly chiffon cake, a lightweight sponge cake and our version of the strawberry shortcake.

Milk buns, our cottony soft buns with silky smooth custard filling inside. We have rotating flavors such as chocolate chip cookies & cream; Nutella, tempura (panko crusted with green tea custard filling), ube, black sesame, Hong Kong milk tea, etc.

Sakura blossom cake is a strawberry mousse with white chocolate mousse inside and cherry blossom chiffon cake on the bottom. The pink petals are chocolate.

5. How many days must a customer call ahead for a customized birthday cake?

For our basic/standard (preset design) cake: preorder at least one day in advance.

The custom design: 1-2 weeks in advance.

6. What seasonal products do you have throughout the year?

Chinese New Year 2018: Kumquat chiffon cake with vanilla whipped cream outside and white chocolate whipped cream inside. Kumquat means prosperity and luck.

Ice cream cupcakes: Available May-September. We add a scoop of ice cream on top of a cupcake. Flavor combinations include lychee on a yuzu (Japanese lemon) cupcake with kalamansi (Filipino lime/lemon) glaze.

Thanksgiving: Japanese Kabocha pumpkin pie with Gingerbread cookie crust; Bourbon pecan & Asian sweet potato tart; Crisp apple and Asian pear custard cake.

7. How has the Forest Hills neighborhood changed since you’ve been here? What would you suggest to make this community even better?

We’re seeing more young professionals and young families moving into the neighborhood.

Be sure to visit Silk Cakes. Before you head out, take a look at their menu.

Website: Silk Cakes