Hot Plate

The Dish: A sweet to be named later

The Location: Flip It Bakery & Deli, 4532 Georgia Ave. NW, (202) 291-3605

The Price: $.98

The Skinny: Flip It Bakery & Deli is more the former than the latter. The glass display cases inside this sunny, electric-yellow operation are stuffed with Roberto Rodriguez’s sweets: donuts, frosted Mexican breads, miniature cupcakes, Salvadoran turnovers, plain old cookies, and a number of meticulously made cakes, including a tiramisu dusted with chocolate that looks good enough to eat for breakfast. But on this morning stopover, I opt for a treat that Rodriguez just debuted on Wednesday. It has no official name, but I’m dazzled by its Georgia O’Keeffe–like imagery. Rodriguez’s creation borrows from both art and pastry-making. His small round of baked cake batter, which rises into a honeycomb-like consistency, is enrobed in chocolate and finely chopped peanuts then sliced down the middle and injected with a Dairy Queen–like swirl of custard. It gives off the appearance of a flower breaking through soil. It tastes something like an éclair, only crunchier and more cakelike. It’s best to buy this treat while it’s still warm; grab it too late in the morning, and the airy cake will lose moisture. Still, if this is a sign of Rodriguez’s creativity, then I plan to make a lot more stops at this sweet newcomer in Petworth.