Chocz Sacher

Unfortunately, I had bought this cake together with the Chocolate Truffle from Chocz at marine parade on the same day. That cake was dissapointment. What about this one? This is the Sacher, as says the letters inscribed in glaze atop the cake.

Woosh, the plastic wrap peels off under my nose, taking off a chunk of glaze with it. Usually at the shop the reflection from transparent plastic prevents us from getting an accurate picture of the surface texture of the cake. Now without the clothes, we can see properly :P

The internal appearance is that of a very dense cake, filled with lots of nuts chocolatey goodness. There was a description for the cake at the counter, "Swiss Chocolate with Hazelnut Sponge, Apricot Compote and Almond Cookies." I gave the cake a sniff and inhaled lots of splendid chocolate molecules.

Once more, I *chomp chomp chomped* into the cake and the first thing that greeted my tongue was that very same acidic, acrid, tobacco-like glaze. Its the exact same glaze from its brother cake, the Chocolate Truffle. And hidden beneath this layer again is that very same ganache layer from the Chocolate Truffle which had an unpleasantly raw peanut oil flavour. These 2 layers only make up 0.5mm of the cake, but their flavour dominates the entire cake. They caused discord among the cells of my olfactory bulb which immediately released fantic impulses that generated a frown upon my face.


And so I scrapped off the ganache and the glaze, leaving just the plain cake and biscuit crust below for a second chance. The cake itself was moderately moist, quite generous in nuts, but had the lingering flavour of benzaldehyde. Benzaldehyde is naturally found in almonds but once you cross a certain threshold, it doesn't taste like natural anymore. I think there was also a hint of cherry in the flavour. Then squeezed below the cake was thin lining of apricot compote - a pleasant addition that and went quite well with the crunchy buttery base.

Nonetheless, the dark chocolate glaze and ganache were horrible, potent enough to stauch all supply of dopamine. Not shiok. I think stress hormones were released instead.
Shiokness Score: 0/10
I wonder, if there's an apple that was good on one side, but had a huge bruise on the other, would you still buy it? This cake costs $7.00.

Chocz
#B1-83P Parkway Parade
Tel: 6345 0181
http://www.chocz.com.sg/

Chocz Chocolate Truffle

Chocz's main line of products is chocolates and so I thought since they do chocolates they would naturally be good at chocolate cakes. I must say I have never tried chocz before today, and this is their first chocolate product I'm trying. Anyhow, there was a description for the cake, which went "Swiss Chocolate Ganache with chocolate sponge".

Off goes the wrap, and we see 3 layers of airy chocolate sponge, and also 3 layers of ganache. The topmost layer of ganache is actually hidden beneath the shiny dark chocolate glaze.


And then perched right on top was a ball of tempered chocolate, sealed at the middle from 2 smaller halves. I thought there might be a surprise inside, but it turned out to be hollow. The ball was chocolate but had cardboardy notes that were a mismatch for the flavour profile of chocolate.

So *munch* *munch* down layer by layer before *munching* the cake as a whole. It was a huge major major major dissapointment. The dark chocolate glaze was acidic, mildly acrid, with an unpleasant cigarette-water kind of flavour. Then the ganache tasted of cooking oil, either canola or peanut, but more likely peanut. It was the raw kind of vegetable oil flavour that I tasted before in oil that has not yet been cooked. Both the glaze and the ganache acted in synchrony and destroyed the entire cake. The sponge, on the borderline between being moist and dry, crumbled into tiny granules in the mouth that disrupted the smooth texture of the chocolate. When all the layers were eaten together as one, the acridness from the glaze and the raw oil note from the ganache took over and I somehow found my eyebrows twitching uncontrollably. I didn't finish the Chocolate Truffle. Not more than 1/4 of the slice.



I don't know what to say. Isn't chocz supposed to specialise in chocolates? The cardboardy taste of the hollow chocolate ball is still in my head.



Shiokness Verdict: 0/10

This cake cost $6.00. I don't think I'll be touching it again.

Chocz
#B1-83P Parkway Parade
Tel: 6345 0181
http://www.chocz.com.sg/

Bakerzin's Brownie & Mousse

Straight after school today I headed off to bakerzin for one of their chocolate cakes. They had a huge range, no less than 5 I think, and I spent quite a pleasant moment gazing at them before deciding to buy this. The Bakerzin Brownie & Mousse. I chose this because of its very attractive mirror glaze and also the 'chef's recommendation' placed beside the cake.


The construct of the Brownie & Mousse appears quite simple, with only 2 main layers - the brownie below, and the mousse on top. Covering the cake is the mirror glaze, sprinked with some golden brown specks. These specks aren't nuts, and have the texture of miniature rice crispies but not so much flavour on their own. Does anyone know what they are? Nonetheless, I think they make the cake really attractive (well before I removed the acetate wrap at least).



And so *ohm nom nom*, I sunk my teeth into the cake and *phwa*! The mouuse was perfect. Flawless, like the most beautiful woman on earth. Light and smooth, enriched with the pure goodness of proper chocolate. Even the mirror glaze was excellent, silky with a chocolate intensity that was matching of its dark colouration.

Then *ohm chom chom* my teeth reached the brownie layer which was generously embedded with chopped walnuts. The brownie itself too was very good, also flawless, like the most handsome man on earth. It had a unique caramel note to it that will stay in my memory for a long time =)



So will this cake get a full shiokness score? When the most beautiful man on earth marries the most beautiful woman... it seems we don't neccessarily get the the most loving couple on earth. Turns out that in this cake, the brownie and mousse are are nice toghether, but unfortunately they are not the most perfect match made in heaven.



Shiokness Verdict: 7/10

This cake costs $6.95 after GST, the equivalent of two and a half canteen meals from school. Will you skip 2.5 meals at school in exchange for the Brownie & Mousse?

Bakerzin
Vivocity #01-207
Tel: 64558885
http://www.bakerzin.com/

Sweet Secret's Royaltine

The royaltine is a predominantly mousse cake by Sweet Secrets. Their cakes are wrapped in transparent acetate plastic which you have to peel off before eating. From far you will instantly notice it from its shiny dark mirror glaze. The white chocolate curls on top enhances the lustre of the glaze because you can see their reflection on the glaze surface.





Upon removal of the plastic wrap, a beautifully patterned sponge was revealed. I thought it was rather brilliant to make the mousse sit nicely atop the edge of the sponge in an undulating sinosoidal wave pattern =)


And then *chop* I went inside the cake. Well, despite the beautiful appearance, the encircling yellow sponge layer was harsh with dryness. It surrounded the whole cake, so almost every bite was bound to have sponge. When sponges get too dry, they stick in your throat and gives quite an unpleasant feeling. The mousse on the other hand, was pleasantly light and airy, moderate in terms of chocolateyness, but even so, the dryness of the surrounding sponge was plain overwhelming. The mirror glaze on top and white chocolate curls both had coca cola flavor molecules in them. I don't know how it got there, but their other cake Etiole had it too. I wish the shiny glaze tasted more of chocolate to an intensity that would match its dark colour. At the very bottom of the cake, theres a liquid soaked genoise, but I couldn't make much out of its flavour.

There was also an almost hidden chemical-like flavour within the mousse, a very familiar and characteristic note that I think I came across before in Poon-Huat. An off- flavour, not conspicuous, but still detectable.

Nonetheless, the petite royaltine boasts an outstanding coffee feuilletine layer thats is delicately crunchy and robust in coffee flavour. I think Sweet Secrets has accomplished a tremendous technical feat by designing feuilleine that stays crispy in a cake with high moisture content. A big thumbs up to their feuilletine layer!

Actually, I would consider the royaltine a coffee-chocolate cake rather than a pure chocolate cake because of the strong coffee notes.



It's important to eat mousse cakes at 5 degrees C or straight from the refrigerator because the lipids in the mousse are solid and gives the right eating texture. Once you thaw mousses to room temperature, they become fluid and the cake collapses into mess. When this happens, you'll feel egg white bubbles popping on your tongue when you eat the mousse. When I review mousse cakes, I always eat them at refidgeration temperatures. Also, because light and volatile flavour molecules diffuse around in the air fairly quickly, you want to keep your cake in tightly sealed containers away from other strong smelling foods. These molecules can adsorb onto the surface of the cake. Such might be the origin of the coca cola flavour, or it could well be the natural flavour profile of the chocolate ingredient.

In all, I think that without the dry sponge and this cake would have released more dopamine in my brain. If you are eating the larger version of this cake, make sure you get a centre cut without any sponge. For less discerning cake eaters, this is an affordable chocolate cake that can satisfy sweet cravings.

Shiokness Verdict: 5/10

This cake costs $2.50, the quivalent of 1 canteen meal from school. Will you skip 1 meal at school in exchange for the Royaltine?

Sweet Secrets
Bishan Branch
Junction 8
Tel: 63534714
http://www.sweetsecrets.com.sg/

Sweet Secret's Chocolate Souffle / Etiole

This cake here is also known as the Etiole if you buy the larger birthday cake-sized version. The top is dusted in cocoa powder and topped with chocolate curls. The first thing I do when I get a cake is smell it. Taste is smell, all flavour from a chocolate cake is detected by the nose. This is why professional wine tasters always smell first before sipping. On the other hand, the tongue gathers textural information, while the ears aid in cruch or squishiness detection.



Sweet Secrets is a familiar family brand. They've been around for a long time and I fondly remember eating their mango cake as a kid. They produce a number of chocolate cakes, including one of my favourites (the concorde), and it's inevitable that I'll review all their chocolate cakes on this blog.




Actually, I dont think wrapping cakes in acetate plastic is the 'in' thing these days. Its asthetically unappealing and is sort of a hastle to remove for the customer. Better to build a structurally sound cake without the acetate wrap.



Naturally, the first bit I reached out for was chocolate curls on top. I was kind of dismayed by the unbelievable flavour molecules that reached my nose. It tasted like coca cola!! I wonder what kind of chocolate they were using! Then I went on the mousse, and found it light and smooth, but somewhat witheld in terms of chocolate intensity. There were liquid soaked sponge layers in the middle but these weren't very noticable as they had almost identical texture to the mousse. If I hadn't looked, I wouldn't have known about the sponge. What exactly was the chocolate sponge infused with? Can't tell.

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Well, if you love mousse, this would be your kind of cake, since its mousse all the way. I personally think its texturally monotonous. This cake would have farred better if they cut the sugar and up the chocolate intensity.

This cake costs $2.50, the equivalent of 1 canteen meal in school. Will you skip 1 meal at school in exchange for a slice of the Etiole?

Shiokness Verdict: 5/10


Sweet Secrets
Bishan Branch
Junction 8
Tel: 63534714
http://www.sweetsecrets.com.sg/