2 New Cakes: Of Nutella and Strawberries

 It was one sweet week as The Spoiled Mummy had a taste of 2 new cakes from Manila’s home bakers — all in just one week!

Photo above shows Mara Dela Rama-Poblete’s latest creation, the Nutella Nutter Butter.

Bottom layer (crust) is made of Milk Chocolate and Nutella Krispies, second layer is what she calls Peanut Butter Bombe and the last layer (top) – which to me is really the bomb (!!!) in this cake – is her Dark Chocolate Mousse.

This cake has a very soft texture for the top layer is a mousse… so best to eat it cold, straight from the fridge. (Do not keep it at room temperature!) It has the combination of soft peanut butter, sweet chocolate and Nutella and crunchy rice krispies. If you ask me, it’s the dark chocolate mousse layer on top that I like best! The chocolate and Nutella are very much evident here. But since she added peanut butter in the middle – the next time I order this, I would specifically request that she add more peanut butter flavor to it, for I like my peanut butter desserts to have that strong and prominent nutty taste 🙂 (See my previous post here about my favorite peanut butter desserts). But for those who love Nutella, this one is really your cake!

Mara dela Rama-Poblete’s dessert business called Dessert du Jour has been around for quite a long time now and I’ve ordered a number of times from her in years past. I like that she uses only the best and premium ingredients. She may be considered pricey compared to some, but you are assured that you are getting only top quality! My favorites are still her Flourless Chocolate Cake and her Quezo de Bola Cheesecake. But she is really most famous for her Gateau de Crepes, made up of several layers of thin French Crepes, which I always find in every dinner party I get invited to – especially during this time of the year.

The Delightful Miss Joyce’s Strawberry Shortcake…her cute and catchy name made me want to order from her instantly! 🙂 I haven’t met the Delightful Miss Joyce personally, but we do have some common friends; so when I found out that here is a new baker who makes Strawberry Shortcake, I knew I had to call her immediately and place my order.  As some of you may know, anything with Chocolate and Strawberries — I loooove! (See my previous post here about my favorite Chocolate and Strawberry Desserts.)

I have had my fair share of some of the best Strawberry Shortcakes abroad (and the best ones I’ve had so far are from Tokyo) so I am always in search of a good one here in Manila. Of course, everybody’s favorite is the famous Yulo’s Strawberry Shortcake from Forbes and that has been my go-to cake as well for the past so many years; but after some time, you also get tired of eating the same thing again and again. So it’s about time to give another baker a shot at it.

I find that Joyce’s Strawberry Shortcake can be a good alternative. The cream used here is less sweet and less cloying so most probably, less sugar is used as well. She uses fresh strawberries – which is really quite rare these days – for most bakers use either the frozen or canned ones drenched in syrup – to make their cakes sweeter.  Personally, I’d rather have a less sweet cake with fresh fruit ingredients rather than a really sweet cake with syrup-y fruits! So if you like cakes that are not too sweet, then this is your best bet. I like the combination of the strawberries and cream in this cake, but I would also ask her to make the chiffon layer here softer in texture – for I like my chiffon cakes really pillow-y soft. I don’t know if that’s just me…but I like my cakes soft and moist! And I’m sure that this new and talented (and delightful!) baker can always adjust to her customer’s preferences 🙂

Hope you’ve had a sweet start to your Monday and wishing you all another sweet and spoiled new week ahead!