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Located at 2478 Adeline Street, Crixa Cakes may well be the best-kept secret in Berkeley, at least for students. And some want it to be kept a secret. When my friend discovered that I was writing a review of Crixa Cakes, she declared —quite vehemently—that she detested me. “Must you?” she asked, glowering at me with crumbs on her face as she contemplated battling the potential hordes of students for the last remaining piece of pie. She swore, she sighed, and she left threatening post-it notes on my desk. It is in the face of gastronomic covetousness that I now write this article.

Founded in 1998 by Elizabeth Kloian and Zoltan Der, Crixa’s goal is to provide high-quality Hungarian, Russian, Central European, and American desserts to the San Francisco Bay region. “There [are] plenty of bakeries producing architectural or novelty cakes on the surface with not much good inside,” Der said. “We wanted to create a bakery that provided the wonderful not-too-sweet cakes and pastries that we grew up with.” Crixa delivers exactly that.

The exterior of the bakery itself is less than impressive, but once inside, is a charming refuge where customers enjoy their assorted purchases in calm. The display case at Crixa features a rotating, though always marvelous, multi-ethnic selection of pies, cakes, tarts, cookies, rolls, and pastries. Miniature Boston Cream pies, Poppy seed rugelach, flourless chocolate cake, thick slices of moist ginger cake, cherry-pink Hungarian Puncs Torta, New Orleans Bourbon Cake, Lemon Cream cakes adorned with white flowers, sweet Russian tea buns, sugared crescents of tender kifli, and lovely spheres of vanilla meringue with cream are among the numerous options available, all reasonably priced from two to five dollars. And it all tastes as good as it looks.

At Crixa, chocolate and fruit flavors are more intense than usual. With its perfectly flakey crust, tart blueberries, and velvety slivers of peach, the peach and blueberry pie is one of the best that I’ve eaten. Each buttery forkful, accompanied with fresh whipped cream, made me giddy with pleasure. The Carmella was a delectably light and spongy chocolate chiffon cake with a center of vanilla whipped cream and caramel, all topped with a layer of luscious chocolate mousse. With its fragrant mixture of almonds, currants, and rose and orange-blossom water nestled in a tender sleeve of pastry, the aptly-named Thighs of Fatima was a medley of textures and flavors. The delightful Florio, silky almond meringue with raspberry eu die vie, rose flavored creme mousseline and crushed amoretti, was decorated with tiny purple flowers and tasted just as delicate. And, finally, an unbelievably creamy and spicy pumpkin pie—perfect with a dollop of cream— arrives just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Everything at Crixa is baked on site from scratch. Crixa’s bakers roll out dough and slice into cooling pies on a table located directly behind the cash register. Indeed, the creations at Crixa are never overly sweet, making it easier to polish off their generous portions with a cup of delicious espresso. Tea is served in individual pots on silver platters, lending luxuriousness to the experience.

With its cozy atmosphere, plentiful seating, free wireless, and an extensive list of coffees and teas, Crixa is a tranquil alternative to Cafe Strada and Cafe Milano. Spend the afternoon reading a book or chatting with a friend, or, as I am doing now, contemplating the perfect slice of cake.

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