Mindy Carlson

My friend Sandi posted a link to an article about the best bakery in each state. Imagine my surprise when Kensington’s very own JennyCakes was listed as the Best Bakery in Maryland.

I have been a fan of JennyCakes since it opened in 2012. They started in small storefront on Armory Avenue behind Safeway. I got lured there by their cupcakes, stayed for the cherry scones, and my boys were thrilled to find a place that made bars and cookies as well as beautifully decorated cakes.

And I wasn’t the only one. They quickly expanded into the neighboring store and have been flourishing. The number of cars adorned with a Jenny Cakes magnet – round and cookie-sized with her signature orange and white ‘J’ – is impressive. I don’t think there is anyone in Montgomery County who hasn’t been to JennyCakes.

They are a true neighborhood bakery. Jenny and her employees all live close by and it’s easy to fall into a conversation with the other customers about what baked good to pick.

I took my partner in crime, Shaun, to JennyCakes so she (and I) could sample their wares AND I could fulfill my promise to Sandi that I would get there and buy a lemon ricotta cookie.

First of all, the bakery case was FILLED with sweets and treats so delicious I immediately gave up my internal pledge of buying only one and I had to buy two.

This was the day before Thanksgiving and being the curious person I am I asked Bonnie (Jenny’s top lieutenant) how many pies they had on order for the big day. The answer was an astonishing 200 pies were being baked that day for pick up! Alas, none of them were ours. I had already baked a pumpkin and a pecan pie for our dinner.

We got down to business and selected our cupcakes.

It was so hard to choose! Even if we had decided we were getting a dozen cupcakes some would have been left behind.  Do we get caramel apple? Pumpkin? Chocolate with strawberry buttercream? Coconut? German Chocolate? The choices were staggering.

And then there were the cookies!

Jenny’s chocolate chip cookies are the cookie that started it all. If you have one cookie to choose get this one. I asked about the lemon ricotta cookies and was told that the bakery was featuring a seasonal menu right now. The lemon ricotta cookies would be back in time for summer.

But in the end we did make our choices. (And we snagged two cherry scones as well. Because we were feeling just a little Downton Abbey. #teamEdith)

Every cake was moist and delicious. That chocolate frosting on the yellow cake was intensely chocolate and fudgey, not vague and watered-down like from other places. The peanut butter cupcake was equally intense in flavor and eating the whole cake and frosting reminded us of a peanut butter cup. The red velvet cake was moist and light with a nicely sharp cream cheese frosting. Together they create a great counter balance between sweet and tangy.

The last cake, chocolate with a cookie dough frosting, is now my entire reason for living. Ohmigod it is amazing. My two favorite things all crammed together. The moist and slightly fudgey cake topped with a creamy and thick scoop of cookie dough is genius. I ate the cake and the frosting separately, lingering through the final bites of cookie dough.  I was sad that I bought only one.

You, too, can find your reason for living. JennyCakes is located at 10419 Armory Ave, Kensington, MD 20895 – right behind the Safeway. They are open Tuesday through Saturday between 8am until 7pm. Treat yourself!