Desserts!

Big dessert fan that I am, I made sure that I got to try a lot of new desserts during the last Christmas season.

One place I visit regularly is Dulcelin. I've tried their Mango Torte multiple times before and I love it. Their Caramel Pecan Walnut Pie is also pretty good. So I decided to try a couple of their other desserts. First was the Strawberry Cake. This was one incredibly good dessert. The chiffon was light and the cream was the right amount of sweet which matched perfectly with the strawberries. There were crunchy bits in the cream in the middle of the cake; I'm not sure what they were but they added an additional textural element to this wonderful dessert. I got the large size (10 inch, P1,100) but they also have a smaller size (6 inch, P600). I will definitely be buying this cake again.

Dulcelin Strawberry Cake

I also tried the Dulcelin Callebaut Chocolate Ganache Cake (P1,300 for the 9-inch cake, P650 for the 6-inch one). This cake, made with Belgian chocolate icing on a chocolate mousse center and sprinkled with chopped almonds, is extremely rich. It tastes really good but you can only eat a few forkfuls at a time. I think the 6-inch one would actually be sufficient, although I think my family got through the 9-inch cake in a couple of days. :) (There are quite a few of us so it shouldn't be all that shocking.)

Dulcelin Callebaut Chocolate Ganache Cake

Dulcelin

Address: 36 Times Street, West Triangle, Q.C.
Tel: 374-2165 or 67
Mobile: 0917-535-2592

http://www.dulcelin.com/

I had major cupcake cravings for a large part of December, so while I was in the Midnight Bazaar in Rockwell, I got to try Kim's Cupcakes. While a lot of other cupcakes are priced in the P70-80 price range, these ones cost P50 (some variants were priced at P40). And they tasted pretty good. My favorite one is the Cookie Dough cupcake with its good-sized dollop of cookie dough inside. I decided to get a few boxes and give them as gifts to my relatives. Naturally some for myself too. :)

Kim's Cupcakes from left to right, top to bottom without repeating: Red Velvet, Chocolate Ganache, Tiramisu, Cookies and Cream, Cookie Dough, and Strawberry Cupcake.

Kim's Cupcakes

Mobile: 0917-835-8886

E-mail: kimijao@yahoo.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAboutCupcakes

My friend Bett, who recommended Dulcelin to me a while back, also told me about Delize at that same time. These two are known for their amazing desserts but the main difference is that Dulcelin has a lot of desserts that you can just buy on the spot whereas Delize requires you to order 2-3 days in advance. For this reason, it took me a while to finally place an order there. Now I realize I should have put a bit more effort into ordering dessert from Delize before as I have been missing out big-time! The Concorde (P920) is one of their most popular desserts so I tried that and it was absolutely superb! I'm not a baker or chef so I'm not sure exactly what it's made of, but the cake seems to be made of alternating layers of meringue and dark chocolate mousse. Decorated with chocolate meringue sticks thrown generously all over the cake and dusted with icing sugar, I can understand how the Concorde is one of their two bestsellers (the other being the Pistachio Sans Rival that I now have to try in the soonest possible time.)

The Concorde from Delize by Jill Sandique

Delize by Jill Sandique

Address: 33 Sunrise Drive, Cubao, Quezon City

Tel: 721-7022

Mobile: 0922-826-2673

One place I also need to try is Parvati in Trinoma. My friend Joyce told me about this restaurant which is supposed to carry a wide variety of some of the best desserts from different home-based bakers. I do think I need to start losing some of my Christmas weight first before I go there. :)