Meet your baker

If there are plenty of highways to dietary hell in New York, then Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar (207 Second Ave at 13th St, entrance on 13th St between Second and Third Aves; 212-254-3500) is one of the newest and most alluring exits to merry damnation. Pastry chef Christina Tosi’s degree of craftsmanship falls somewhere between witchcraft and inspired derangement, and two of her most wonderfully wicked creations are her chocolate chip cake ($5) and her salty pistachio soft-serve ice cream ($4). The former, constructed of layers of chocolate-chip shards, yellow cake, passion-fruit curd and coffee buttercream, is so comically tall, it practically requires scaffolding. It’s cake, in other words, that could have been created only by someone who truly understands that restraint has no place where this baked good is concerned; it’s a middle finger extended in the direction of the city’s legions of cowering cupcakes. Tosi’s salty pistachio soft serve is similarly robust. The only thing that’s soft about this ice cream is its texture; it caresses the throat like a bolt of silk. The flavor is the pure, unadulterated essence of pistachio, amplified in part by a saline zing—the first bite will banish all memories of the sallow green stuff that is pistachio in name only. While ice cream may not be the most seasonal indulgence, it’s certainly one of the most satisfying—and besides, when it’s this cold outside, a little padding never hurt anybody. For more information and to place special orders email cakes@momofuku.com.

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