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The Curious Case of Whole Foods’ Chantilly Cake Shortage
If cake were a drug, this one would be a Schedule I substance
BTR (before the ‘rona), my beautiful sister, KC and I hosted a girls’ night. She served these two cute little cakes from Whole Foods Market with a warning: “The strawberry shortcake is good, but the Chantilly cake is a problem; be careful.”
All of us laughed, and I playfully rolled my eyes, thinking, “I’ve met very few non-chocolate-related confections worthy of my love and devotion.”
Welp, she didn’t lie. That Chantilly cake was a magical and addictively delicious berry-filled delight. Each bite was so moist and tender — it seemed to melt and coat your mouth with perfectly flavored and delicately sweet bliss.
This was not your ordinary or even your best vanilla cake — this was something different. The taste and texture have an elevated density that is simultaneously familiar and celestial.
I asked a baker in a Montgomery County location why it was so good, and he said the secret ingredient was mascarpone cheese. I didn’t know if he meant in the batter, icing, or both, but something has elevated and made this cake irresistible.
So I started telling everyone about this Chantilly cake, and everybody swore I was exaggerating. Then another friend asked what to bring to an end-of-the-year educators’ event. My friend Lisa said she put the cake on the dessert table, and slowly, she heard the waves of “Oh,” “Wow,” and “What is this?”
She said within 15 minutes, she was surrounded by people asking where she got the cake. The cake was gone in less than an hour. Carb-counting cuties and diet divas who swore they were skipping dessert or usually requested paleo or low-carb options were eating and trying to sneak another piece.
Lisa had bought the last cake in Whole Foods, and the customer service agent laughed and warned her, too. She told Lisa that they can’t keep them on the shelves. So that was the third warning and confirmation, but Lisa didn’t heed the warning either and shared the “crack-like” cake with a group of school administrators. They brought the cake back to their schools and break rooms, and that’s how the…
