Night Kitchen Bakery has been satisfying the sweet tooths of its customers in Chestnut Hill and beyond for 30 years. The driving force behind the quaint cafe bakery since 2000 is Chef Amy Edelman. Amy graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York, and went on to work as a pastry chef at several 5-star establishments including Boca Raton Resort and Club in Florida, the InterContinental Hotel in New York City and EuroDisney in France.
In 2000, Amy received the opportunity to purchase Night Kitchen Bakery and hasn’t looked back since. In 2002, she married Chef John Millard, who had worked at Philly’s own White Dog Cafe and the now closed Odeon. He quickly adapted his savory cooking skills to baking and not only bakes cakes, cookies and pies, but also serves as chief delivery man for the many wedding and other large specialty cakes that Night Kitchen prepares.
Night Kitchen is not only a bakery, but also a cafe serving a variety of hot and cold specialty drinks featuring La Colombe coffee as well as quiches, frittatas, soups, salads and sandwiches available for dining in or take out.
So, what brought Amy to Chestnut Hill and what’s in store for the future? Read on for all the sweet details!
Chestnut Hill Dish: Night Kitchen Bakery has been a staple in the Chestnut Hill community for some time. Why did you decide to lay down roots here?
Amy Edelman: The Night Kitchen Bakery opened when I was a kid—just a few years after my family moved to the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. I knew and loved the bakery for many years. I have fond memories of Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy as a child and love working and being here.
After culinary school and traveling around the world and working in France, New York City and Florida, I returned home—you can go home! A few years later the owner of the Night Kitchen told me she was selling it and asked if I knew of anyone who wanted to buy it. I answered “Yes, me!” Then I met my husband, John Millard, and we grew the business together.
You are a big supporter of environmentally friendly causes and giving back. What are some of the ways that Night Kitchen supports sustainability within the community?
The Night Kitchen Bakery and Cafe is a Green Certified Restaurant. We work to reduce our carbon footprint by composting, recycling and a host of other environmentally friendly steps listed on our website.
I co-founded a non-profit called Green in Chestnut Hill (aka GRinCH), which works to raise awareness in Chestnut Hill about environmental issues and present outreach and educational programs about environmental issues. GRinCH’s Green Warrior Student grant program has funded several environmentally friendly projects in Chestnut Hill. More information about GRinCH can be found on its website.
Besides making delicious cakes, pies, tarts and brownies, you have developed a pudding program. What tempting flavors are you offering now?
Our pudding program was initially inspired by the British-themed Philadelphia Flower Show a couple of years ago. The popularity of the puddings has us creating such flavors as a classic chocolate pudding with cookie crumbs, sticky toffee pudding, key lime pudding and our newest addition, creamy dulce de leche pudding.
Easter and Passover are right around the corner. What’s new and exciting on the menu?
For Easter, we create classics like the bunny carrot cake, lemon curd basket cake, fresh fruit tarts and more. Flourless Passover treats include our dense and fudgy flourless chocolate cake, chewy coconut macaroons and matzoh-crusted cheesecakes. The full holiday selection and order deadlines are listed on our website.
Just in case you can’t get into Night Kitchen Bakery, Amy has graciously shared her recipe for chocolate pudding. This creamy, decadent dessert is sure to please even the biggest chocoholics in your life!
Recipe: Chocolate Pudding
(yields 12–16 servings)
Pastry Cream:
- 8 cups milk
- 3+ 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp. salt
- 4 eggs
Method:
- Start by heating 6 cups of the milk with the sugar in a heavy sauce pot until it simmers.
- Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl.
- Whisk the remaining 2 cups of cold milk with the cornstarch and salt in a separate bowl.
- Whisk this mixture into the simmering milk until the flavor of the cornstarch is gone (about 2–3 minutes).
- Slowly add some of the hot pastry cream into the bowl of eggs while whisking.
- When the egg mixture is hot, add it back into the pot of hot pastry cream and whisk for a minute.
Ganache:
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 24-oz. semi sweet chocolate (Lindt or another high-quality chocolate)
Method:
- Break the chocolate into pieces.
- Bring the cream to a simmer and then whisk in the chocolate.
- Stir the ganache into the pastry cream. Cool and then serve with whipped cream.
Find Night Kitchen Bakery at 7725 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill; phone: (215) 248-9235.
Photo credit: Tami Seymour
