2nd food bloggers’ gathering of the month was sweet. Literally. 1 Caramel, the latest patisserie in town, was chosen as the place of honour to indulge our sweet tooth.
9 desserts. 8 foodies. 6 cameras. 1 passion.
I don’t like shortcakes. But this Shortberry Shortcake ($8.90++) has changed my mind. Yes, it’s that good. Usually the sight of stark white cream in shortcakes turns me off but this rendition uses strawberry creme instead. You may think that ultimately it’s still cream but the colour and flavour matter to the fussy me. The contrasting texture between the soft vanilla genoise and crisp puff pastry flakes is another plus.
Conclusion: I like unconventional shortcakes!
Forget dryness when it comes to the Hazelnut Pear Torta ($6.90++). This cake was extremely moist (in a good way!) and despite its dense look, it wasn’t overly rich or heavy. Nor were the caramelized pear slices too sweet.
I like.
The petite Red Miso Souffle ($12.90++) scored big on originality and creativity. I wouldn’t have thought that salty miso would complement the sourish yuzu ice cream so well. This was interesting but it’s a pity the portion was so small. Ah, and there’s that annoying icing sugar on it again.
Midori ($7.90++) is one of the latest creations with a strong Japanese influence to it. The matcha sponge and azuki bean compote layer are common enought but what differentiates this from other green tea cakes is the yuzu infused bavarois. Very distinctive and light in texture.
Lychee Rose ($7.90++) is a misnomer. I think it should just be named “Lychee” since the strong fruity taste overwhelmed the rose infused mousse and Valrhona ivory chocolate glaze. It’s lucky that I’m a fruit (and not “bundung”) lover so the cake was still acceptable for my palate.
As a general rule, I don’t like/eat cheesecakes or cheese tarts. The Peanut Butter Cheese Tart ($6.90++) is not likely to change my mind anytime soon. This is seriously for hardcore P.B. lovers! It was so rich that I felt like I was eating P.B. straight from the jar. The law of diminishing returns definitely applies here. You will either love it or hate it.
I’m still sitting on the fence.
Compared to the above cakes, the Chocolate Praline Cake ($7.90++) came across as prosaic. Any self-respecting patisserie will have some sort of signature chocolate cake and this is it for 1 Caramel. It’s a safe choice since it’s quite hard to go wrong with chocolate mousse and crunchy hazelnut praline feuilletine.
Just very average.
My 3 criteria for brownies? 1. Nutty. 2. Fudgy. 3. Moist. I’m not sorry to say that the Brownie Almond Cake failed my last 2 tests. For just $4.50++, the thick slice was value for money though.
I’ve saved the worst for the last. One bite of the Carrot Walnut Cake ($5++) with cream cheese frosting was more than enough. I’m not a fan of carrot cakes to begin with and this just reinforced my stand.
Dryness to the max is what this is.
If you haven’t noticed it by now, I’d ranked the cakes in order of my preference. No prize guessing which one is my favourite! Unless you totally hate sweets (an unfathomable concept to me), it’s more likely than not you will find something you like since there are more than 20 cakes to choose from daily!
I’m high on sugar.
Here are my sweetest foodie friends (Hi! Nice meeting you guys!):
Angeline & Janelle from Sistafood;
Elaine from Divine Essentials;
Fen & Yuan from Indulgence After Workout;
Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac;
and Michelle from Never Trust a Scrawny Foodie.
haha icing sugar seems to be your nemesis! =)
i lurve strawberry shortcakes! this one seems marvellous and unique! the strawberry creme must have nicked the win! =)
hmm yes peanut butter is ambivalent on the taste buds some times..
thank you for the fabulous pics! so aesthetically pleasing, i’ve had the large misfortune of not having tried carrot cake before lol.
have a good weekend!
oops looks like im the slowest once again! all thanks to exams hehe =p
yeah! seems like strawberry shortcake is everyone’s favourite! Or is it just us, ladies? haha
thisisyummy: Haha, get the carrot cake from Cedele, not 1 caramel. Otherwise, it may scar you for life!
elaine: 2 more days! Hang in there.
Angeline: Yup, I think it may be a girls’ thing haha.
lol i tried my very first carrot cake at cedele but didn’t really like it though. maybe it’s not my type of cake. HAH!
OMG, today i went to a Swiss chocolate store in Orchard Central (yes, they specialise in chocolate!) called Schokolart (“chocolate” in swiss)
yipee!
their staff’s service is so good!
there is a discount for their yummy cakes. rmb to try their dark choc cakes. totally reminds me of Sprungli Cafe in Zurich!
Go give it a try but after opening for only 4 days, some items on the menu aren’t ready yet… (i felt it was such a pity since we missed their dark/milk choc fondue! ($18 only))
after a not-very-nice lunch there at Orchard Central… this made my day… reminds me of Marche too. both so swiss!
Ok noted!! Thanks for sharing. Your enthusiasm makes me wanna go there NOW haha. Will check it out soon! =) Btw where did you have your not-very-nice lunch? I only eat at Ootoya if I’m at Central ha.
hahah… Botejyu… at first it was not bad but after a while it became so “gelat” i ordered some mochi rice okos with cheese… my mom said her soba tasted like fried hokkien mee without much taste.. haha. check out my review on HGW
if you really wanna go to Botejyu… just order & share.
I get nothing but the strawberry shortcake when I go to 1Caramel.
NOTHING ELSE. I plonk down on the chair and go ’1 strawberry shortcake please’.
Their 1Opera cake is not too bad, and now they have different types of souffle, all quite good!