Waltham’s newest dessert spot is brought to you by the power of friendship, according to Nancy Zhou, owner of Silver Whisk Bakeshop and Chocolatier. The award-winning purveyor of gourmet chocolates and desserts plans to open later this October at 248 Moody St., previously home to another bakeshop, Emma’s Macarons, which was run by Zhou’s friend Jeane Hoang.
Zhou has been running Silver Whisk since June 2018 out of communal kitchens. “I didn’t even plan for it,” she said of her upcoming Waltham location, but explained that she decided to make her move upon hearing that Hoang’s lease was up.
While Zhou said she initially intended to use the space for kitchen use, she changed her mind because Moody Street is well-maintained and busy, so she’d be able to connect with patrons face-to-face. Or as she puts it, because “it’s Moody Street.”
Flavor palettes of chocolate
The physical Silver Whisk location will allow the business to expand into more classic bakery items, but its longstanding products are cakes — including cupcakes and cakes for corporate events and weddings — and gourmet chocolate.
Zhou described chocolate as the most exciting medium to work with. She recalled how in the earlier days of her business, her ingredients sample representative dropped off a blond chocolate sample. “I never knew what great chocolate tasted like ‘til then,” she said.
Zhou incorporated that sample into her first chocolate bar, known on her website as “The Floss,” which combined the chocolate with flavors of butter, caramel, shortbread and an ingredient called pork floss — a dried meat with roots in Chinese cuisine. “When I was little, we’d have that on top of everything,” she said of the topping’s nostalgic value.
“The Floss” is just one of Zhou’s “Asian-inspired” chocolate bars. Others in the series include a dark chocolate ginger chai bar and a passion fruit and preserved tangerine bar. The latter is an ode to her grandmother who kept a jar of preserved tangerine peels. Zhou described them as being “like the Chinese version of the bay leaf in American cooking.” The peels are frequently coated with spices such as cumin or anise.
Zhou’s chocolate lineup also includes what she calls “timeless classics,” such as her cocoa nib and sea salt bar.
She said the target audience for Silver Whisk is “people that really like good food, that just love a good classic that’s well made” but are also “adventurous and want to try new things.”
For now, Zhou plans for Silver Whisk’s storefront to be open twice a week “pop-up style” for walk-ins, and hopes to expand to offering chocolate tastings and classes in the future.
Additionally, the business will continue taking orders over its website throughout the week, with the option to ship chocolate orders.
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