Candelabras, Coquette Pomegranates, And A Cookie Wall: Inside Cake Zine's Latest Party

Welcome to NYLON’s Party Report Card, where we give you the Who, What, Where, Why, and When on this week’s hottest parties — plus all the gossip you missed. It’s the inside scoop you need to feel like you were on the invite list. Sorry in advance for the FOMO.

WHAT: A loft party

WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 14

WHO: Aliza Abarbanel, Tanya Bush, Pierce Abernathy, J Wortham, Mehreen Karim, Mary H K Choi, and Lindsay Dye

WHERE: The sixth floor of a private loft in Chinatown

WHY: To celebrate the release of Cake Zine’s latest issue Tough Cookie

THE VIBE:

Cake Zine pulled off the impossible (especially in New York City): They got people to show up to a party on time. The party for their latest issue Tough Cookie was set to start at 7:30. By 7:45, the space was packed, and by 9:30 they’d run out of beer – but not out of cake (yet).

This isn’t a surprise: Since launching Cake Zine last year, co-founders Aliza Abarbanel and Tanya Bush have managed to grow a sizable cult following for the indie print literary magazine that explores culture through a niche lenses on food. Tough Cookie, which includes fiction from Catherine Lacey and Hilary Leichter, plus essays from Sabrina Imber and Tracy Wan, marks Cake Zine’s fourth issue.

Previous issues include Wicked Cake, which explores the dark side of desserts, and Sexy Cake, which tackles the intersection of sexuality and sweets. Cake Zine’s last party, which was held at Public Records in May, had over 1000 attendees. Earlier this month, Abarbanel and Bush took Cake Zine international, hosting a pop-up at Oranj wine bar, plus a conversation at Maximillian William gallery, both in London.

Abarbanel and Bush have successfully harnessed the energy around the current cake moment, which over the last couple of years, has seen the rise of pop-up bakers exalt the sheet cake, making increasingly ornate, vibrant cakes with bespoke flavors, popularized by bakers like Yip Studio, 99 (Mina Park), and Food Bebo (Julie Saha), all of whom contributed gorgeous desserts to the party. Noreen Wasti also contributed cardamom snowballs, cranberry jam, and candied kumquats for a delectable snack tower.

There was a wholesome, community feeling to the evening — like an office holiday soirée for a scene of young and beautiful people who are their own bosses, and who are earnestly excited about the potential of a growing, independent food scene. The night was not unlike a fashion party, except people were actually eating, and against the backdrop of a wall of brick-shaped cookies from Laurie Ellen Pellicano, no less. In one corner, Evelyn Wang gave flash tattoos inspired by the issue, and Shrimp Zine ran a a make-your-own zine stand. Much of my conversations revolved quite literally around cake — predicting the next cake trends or discussing the benefits and drawbacks of certain wedding cakes — as a delicate meringue that would convert even the most stubborn of the “I don’t really like cake” crowd melted in my mouth.

After spending an evening with Cake Zine come to life, it’s evident the magazine shares a lot of the same aesthetics as the current cake trend: a commitment to camp, decadence, and beauty for beauty’s sake. A standout of the night was the coquette fever dream tablescapes by designer Liz Mydlowski, who decorated surfaces with chains arranged in the shape of hearts, adorned candelabras with silver beads, added bows to disco balls, and sprinkled tinsel for a tablescape worthy of Marie Antoinette, who after all, would have been proud to see so many people eating her favorite dessert.

BEST DRESSED: An array of pomegranates, adorned with white bows

OVERHEARD: “I usually don’t even like cake.”