Owner: Kir Jensen
Food writers pound the books to find superlatives for Jensen’s desserts:
Owner Kir Jensen serves up a slice of pie
Portland, OR— Over the last six months, restaurant writers in Portland have polished up their juiciest superlatives for the dessert specialties of Kirsten ”Kir” Jensen and The Sugar Cube food cart.
Not unlike “just discovered” movie divas, overnight pastry chefs need many years of perfecting their art — or pastries.
It might have started with her Swiss mother’s “amazing apple crisps,” but it took years more in the bakeries and kitchens of a handful of restaurants to broaden her repertoire and master the nuances of to-die-for desserts.
“Some places allowed me some creativity,” Kir recalls. “Some didn’t.”
Kir is a bit too much of a free spirit to submit to creative limitations. “So I decided to do my own thing,” she says.
Or perhaps too many days in the bakery starting at 4:30 am helped put the icing on Jensen’s decision.
Launching a new business requires more than a little courage. Courage she had.
It also needs more than a little capital. Capital she lacked.
Fortunately, Jensen crossed paths with Roger Goldingay, developer of the food cart pod, Mississippi Marketplace. Goldingay suggested Kir get in touch with Albina Opportunities Corporation (AOC) and MercyCorps Northwest.
AOC is a newly formed Portland non-profit. MercyCorps Northwest is best known for its affiliation with Mercy Corps International. The latter brings relief to disaster-ravaged areas such as Haiti.
Both local companies make loans to small businesses. AOC specializes in furnishing both traditional business and “gap loans” — loans that cover the difference a conventional bank is willing to loan and what an entrepreneur needs.
“Amy Winehouse Cupcake” in the center complete with white powder (this time, powdered sugar) and a straw for snorting it.
“I applied for a loan (from both),” Jensen recalls. Evidently both AOC and MercyCorps Northwest were impressed with Jensen’s vision. “They both funded half,” she reports.
Starting up a full-scale bakery, she knew, would be a bigger bite than she could chew. “I wanted something small, so I wouldn’t have that much invested,” she says. “Last summer I bought a cart and I got it ready by fall.”
“Ready” meant installing the appliances she would need for baking and cooking, getting it painted with The Sugar Cube logo — and getting all her food service permits in order.
By the time she moved her cart into Mississippi Marketplace in mid-autumn, daytime temperatures were beginning to drop. Nonetheless, she had her shakedown cruise under her belt. With a few adjustments completed, she was ready for a new season starting in March, 2010. In spring 2011, The Sugar Cube moved to a new Portland location at 4262 SE Belmont St.
A kitchen on wheels
To begin the day’s baking, Kir checks weather forecasts and estimates how many people will likely visit The Sugar Cube that day. “It’s hard to predict how much I’ll need,” she admits.
Kir Jensen making change.
“I usually run out of food (by mid-afternoon),” she says. “If not, I’ll give (the surplus) to friends.”
This bit of generosity also reflects Jensen’s commitment to make sure everything is always fresh. “I’m responsible for everything all the time,” she promises.
At the moment Jensen offers about six sweet bites daily, ranging from $3.50 to $6.00.
Patrons can enjoy her Ultimate Brownie featuring a bitter chocolate ganache center. “These babies are served warm and melty, then lightly sprinkled with fleur de sel and grassy green olive oil,” she promises.
The only way you could top that would be with what she calls a “Chocogasm” — her Ultimate Brownie Sundae. In this iteration, the brownie comes topped with vanilla bean ice cream, salted caramel, fresh whoop (fresh whipped cream) and an amarena cherry on top. The care and imagination Jensen puts into these two creations serve as a pattern for all her treats..
Jensen also features several drinks — none of which you’re likely to find elsewhere in Oregon.
Ready for her first full-season run, Jensen looks forward to driving more food critics to their dictionaries to find even more gustatory superlatives.