Smoulder - Softcore Bakers

Smoulder - Softcore Bakers

As mentioned in our previous post, there are two establishments we would like to introduce if you like small, dainty desserts which is getting popular these days as wedding favors and gifts for birthdays and baby showers. The second invitation we have received is located at Raffles Place (former China Square Food Court) and lava cake lovers would love to check this place out.

Set up by three guys with a common passion, to provide lava cakes at an affordable price, smaller serving portion to stir cravings for one and convenience for take-aways.

In general, lava cakes have always been something that needed to be dined in and often at a decent restaurant or patisserie. Having been in London for quite a while, the trio has an inspiration to set up a take-away outlet for lava cakes with various flavors and this dream comes true as Smoulder this year in May.

Through their experience in baking, they felt that lava cakes provide more satisfaction for its intense flavor as it contains significantly lower amount of flour, butter and sugar when compared to traditional cakes. They also felt that the "molten-ness" at the centre of the cake amplifies the intensity of the flavor they want to bring out in each and every of their lava cake.

Inspired by the various pairing of chocolates in existing chocolate products such as matcha and mocha in frappuccino, fruity flavors in chocolate bars and liquor ice-cream, Smoulder brings about 9 flavors and instead of merely changing the ganache in the core of their lava cakes, Smoulder decides to underbake their cakes to ensure that the flavors is the same throughout the entire lava cake.

Apart from the various flavor they have come up with, we also have to give it to them to strike a balance between the ratio of molten content versus the cake content of each cake. As what one of their partners, Peida has pointed out, if the cake is too "molten", the cake is not structurally stable. On the other hand, if there is too much cake, then it will not have an oozing out effect.

We have tried their lava cakes on 3 different occasions and as what their shop aims to achieve, all the lava cakes we had so far has an oozing lava core and we thought that it is impressive given that the cakes are already ready for take-away and not bake a-la-minute.

 

However, before we start to rave about it, we cannot deny the fact that we find it pricey as we needed at least 2-3 lava cakes to satisfy our cravings and that it is a take-away outlet with no dine in (Do note that "take-away" is the concept of Smoulder). Each lava cake costs $3.90, served in a cute brown box with an option of eating it with a mini scoop of ice-cream. 

Although their aim is to provide lava cakes with the same intensity as chocolate bonbons, what caught our attention were in fact the white chocolate ones. With chocolate players such as Max Brenner, Laurent Bernard Chocolatier, Jewels Artisan Chocolate and even Bakerzin, all selling chocolate lava cakes, we are definitely picky when it comes to chocolate lava cakes and in this case, we find it too small to our liking and the endorphins kick is not intense. Although the Intense Dark Chocolate is described to have 70% cocao content and that Barry Callebaut Belgian chocolate is used in their chocolate lava cakes, we personally felt that the overall and aftertaste is closer to it being bitterish unlike the fruity aftertaste we often fancy from Valrhona's Manjari and Caraibe. In addition, we prefer to savor our chocolates slowly which a take-away outlet fails to provide.

But don't get us wrong. We do like Smoulder and here is their niche. Their non-chocolate flavors blown us away that we made a second trip back within the same week, buying more lava cakes back home to share with our family. Our family members gave a thumbs up to the non-chocolate flavors, in particular the White Chocolate Matcha,  White Chocolate Pistachio and White Chocolate Raspberry. In general, they find the flavors novel for lava cakes and it not being overly sweet and cloying.

For those who love green tea latte or matcha-flavoured shakes, White Chocolate Matcha will be something not to missed. The rich creamy molten core makes it akin to eating Matcha Kit Kat or Matcha ice-cream.

Although lemon and raspberries are often described to be sour, the pairing of white chocolate with these fruits gives a light tanginess, making it refreshing and light on the palette.

One of their bestsellers, the White Chocolate Pistachio, caught our attention for the intense nutty flavor and one is definitely not enough.

 

The distinctive 3 layers are more prominent when consumed at the shop itself. When brought home without warming up, the overall taste focus on the molten core, providing an intense, smooth texture on the palette with a thin layer of the moist cake but lacks the crisp exterior. Anyway, the boxes and their website have instructions to ensure that the quality of the lava cakes are as good as them being consumed on the spot. 

Last but not least, these lava cakes are available in box of 3 pieces and 9 pieces (priced at $10.90 and $29.90 respectively) which we find it just right to be presented as gifts.

 

Many thanks to Peida for the invitation and the warm hospitality.

Smoulder - Softcore Bakers  

51 Telok Ayer Street 

#01-04 

Singapore 048441  

Tel: 6225 6422 

Operating hours:

8am to 8pm on weekdays 

11am to 3pm on Saturday 

Website

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Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau

Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau

Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau ($12++)
With a choice of acommpanying this molten chocolate cake with either flambed bananas or vanilla ice cream, the impression of this cake stops at average. No doubt, it has molten lava chocolate in the core and a slight crisp crust, the cake wasn't extremely moist nor rich. My expectation of chocolate fondant would be alittle high for that week as I happened to have one earlier the week at Oh Carol, Biopolis and that one is at least a point better than this.

Relish by Wild Rocket
#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)
501 Bukit Timah Road Singapore 259760
Tel: 6763 1547

Operating hours
noon to 3pm; 6:30pm to 11pm (Mon to Fri)10:30am to 11pm (Sat and Sun)
http://www.wildrocket.com.sg/relish.htm

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Molten Lava Cake

Molten Lava Cake

Chocolate, has always been an all-time favourite to many and chocolate lava cakes make no exception. Somehow or rather, just looking at the oozing chocolate "lava" flows out like magma thrills many or maybe it is the aroma of warm chocolate that does the trick.

Basic requirement for a good lava cake is a crispy layer with a generous molten core and this has definitely meet the requirements of both. In fact, this is one which I hope there is more cake content than molten chocolate.

What we both enjoyed about this warm chocolate cake ($11.90++) is its crispy outer layer without having the burnt taste. This cake, no doubt, is moist and fluffy but has a similar texture as a souffle. Particularly, Yuan felt that the "egg-y" taste is more distinctive than the burnt chocolate taste which some warm chocolate cakes have. For that, we generally prefer dark devotion from tcc and Soffiato from Ricciotti.

Double Bay Australian Dining and Bar
252 North Bridge Road
#01-22A Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore 179103
Tel: 6334 6530

Operating hours - 11.30am - 1am (Daily)

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Giving you more reasons to go BakerZin

Giving you more reasons to go BakerZin

Usually I will leave my special for 2 days or so but I got to tell all my readers all this... BakerZin has a 50% promotion for their warm chocolate cake...

As usual, I met Yuan after work and we were on my macarons spree, my main objective is to convince him that one of the outlets weren't that good and I get him to eat 7 macarons from 3 different places in a go... I am happy with his conclusion...

Anyway, with my blood sugar running rocket high in my body and my hormones trying frantically to keep everything in check... My brain has not registered the message, somehow or rather I needed some visual satisfaction too... So I have decided to swing by BakerZin Deluxe... What caught my attention explains the existence of this entry...

You are not seeing things, BakerZin's signature warm chocolate cake is going at $4.90++ (i.e. $5.70) and the promotion ends on the 31st Jan 08.

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Fen's comments

Having ate one of the chocolate creations from Canele, I am quite tired of extreme richness of chocolate... Somehow or rather, even though I have a liking for dark chocolate, I prefer it just like how BakerZin has done for their warm chocolate cake.

With a crispy exterior, a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake and the oozing gooey rich Valrhona chocolate, it just makes me suffer from excessive desserts syndrome (EDS). Need me to say more? There are enough reviews about this cake and its reputation of being good is unquestionable. ____________________________________________________________________

Yuan's comments

Think I kind of lost it for the warm chocolate cake. I now prefer the dark rich chocolate mousse. Having eaten the Juipter from canele the previous day, the warm chocolate cake seemed "diluted". None the less the plus point of this warm chocolate cake is that it does not have the burnt taste.
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Deluxe by BakerZin
Wisma Atria Shopping Centre
435 Orchard Road
#01-37-41
Singapore 238877

Tel: 6736 0266

I am not sure about other BakerZin branches since we dined in Deluxe by BakerZin which is a partnership between BakerZin and Lee Hwa Diamond Gallery to allow customers to browse jewellery and enjoy light snacks and drinks at the same time.

Yuan: Just saw on the papers: promotion applies to all BakerZin branches

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Warm and Soft chocolate Cake from Seventh Heaven

Warm and Soft chocolate Cake from Seventh Heaven

Following a series of ice-cream, we couldn't resist not ordering their warm and soft chocolate cake, served with vanilla ice-cream ($7.80 excluding 7% GST and 10% service charge).

It seems like there is a slight inconsistency as some claims that it doesn't have molten chocolate while others praised the soft core of the cake which is filled with a warm heart of chocolate liquid. Well, our version was close to a 70% molten chocolate with a 30% cake and was served warm with a moist centre.

Initial taste of this cake was no doubt chocolately and delicious and the vanilla ice-cream was silky smooth with a strong fragrance of vanilla. However, if you allow the cake and the ice-cream to linger in the mouth awhile longer, the molten Italian Amedei chocolate is slightly acidic and has a salty after-taste. Not sure does single-estate chocolate has higher acidity in its cocao but this is definitely not within my preference boundary. Also, because of high cocoa content, it is no doubt bitter. I like its texture but I didn't fancy its bitter, salty and sourish after-taste. Chocolates shouldn't taste like that.

As for its French Vanilla ice-cream, home-made with four types of vanilla, including the top quality Madagascan variety, the use of excessive type of vanilla leads to a confusing taste. Each of the vanilla has its own unique taste and when mixed together, the combination was overwhelming in a negative way. Smoothness is not doubt one of the best, but fragrance was a little tad confusing.
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Seventh heaven ~ a blissful habit
Marketing Instiute of Singapore
No. 10 Raeburn Park
#01-24/25/26
Singapore 088702
Tel: 6227 7787

Operating hours:
11am to 8pm (Mon to Thurs)
11am to 11pm (Fri)
1pm to 11pm (Sat)
Closed on Sunday and Public Holidays

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Warm Araguani from Food for Thought

Warm Araguani from Food for Thought

Wanted to order their Old Fashioned Red Velvet but they have introduced a desserts specials which includes Warm Araguani ($7.90), Sticky Date Pudding ($6.90), Sticky Chewy Chocolate Brownie ($5.90 without ice-cream and $7.90 with ice-cream) and Old School Banana Split ($5.50 with 2 scoops of ice-cream and $7.50 with 3 scoops of ice-cream).


Since chocolate usually give the maximum satisfaction and that Yuan is put off by the red colouring of the Red Velvet, we have decided to give their warm chocolate cake a shot.
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Fen's comments

I dread coming across names of chocolate as I have no clues of the distinct taste of single-estate chocolates. Maybe I should get myself a chocolate tutorial from Sihan. Anyway, a quick google search tells me that Araguani has a 72% cocoa content, thus having an extra bitter taste.

Apparently, Araguani is the result of a combination of two fine cocoa varieties from two plantations with very different soil and climate conditions, or terroirs, namely cocoa from the sea, grown on the Caribbean coast in a temperate climate and from the land, grown in the foothills of the Andes in a hot, humid climate. Wow, I didn't know chocolates can be classified in such a comprehensive manner.

Ah, and I finally realise that Valrhona is actually a French chocolate manufacturer in 1922.

Anyway, I do like the moist and "cushiony" feel of the cake when served warm but I thought the amount of chocolate fudge is too little (but very thick), thus it fails to give the wow-factor. The cake maintains a warm, molten centre for a short period of time. The overall taste is not overly cloying nor sweet but as the fudge is pretty thick, the chocolate fails to ooze out.

It might be better with more filling but slightly watery so that the overall combination won't be so heaty. For $7.90 nett, I would say it is reasonably priced, though not the best but it is worth a shot.

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Yuan's comments

I particularly like the dense moist texture of this warm chocolate cake. Further there is no burnt smell which some warm chocolate cake have. But alas, there was barely any chocolate fudge in the center. To me the warm chocolate fudge oozing out the middle is the key to any warm chocolate cake. For this factor alone, I found it a little disappointing.
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Food for Thought
420 North Bridge Road
North Bridge Centre
#01-06
Singapore 188727
Tel: 6338 8724

Operating hours -
Monday to Saturday
9am to 11:30am (Breakfast only)
11:30pm to 2:30pm (Lunch Menu)
2:30pm to 5:30pm (Drinks and Desserts only)
5:30pm to 10:30pm (last order for dinner 9pm; after 9pm drinks and dessert only)
Closed on Sundays & Public Holidays
http://www.foodforthought.com.sg/

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Warm Chocolate Lava Indulgence from Sweet Indulgence

Warm Chocolate Lava Indulgence from Sweet Indulgence

Finally get to go Sweet Indulgence with a group of ex-classmates and this time round, I make sure I stare at the map long enough before going to the wrong direction. This is a bistro restaurant which serves a mix of Italian, French, English and American cuisine and according to HungryGoWhere, this is one of the higher rating Café with a score of 7.2 (26 reviews).

The place is pretty small and as most reviews has mentioned, it is relatively quiet in the evenings. Thus, it is no surprise that we were the only group there chatting and catching up on old times. The place is relatively small and can seat approximately 30 to 36 people with a very comfy environment.

Some of the appetizers and main courses ordered for the evening…
Seafood platter ($18.80) which comprised of sotong, scallops, prawns, mussels and clams
I thought it was alittle steep for serving but I do agree with the bulk of the reviewers that the in-house white wine sauce is really good (even though it is alittle too salty); something different from the conventional fried seafood platter.

Sauté Mushrooms ($9.80)
The sauce is similar to the seafood platter which is a good mix of white wine, olive oil, onions and garlic but the serving of the mushrooms is small as I have came across bigger serving and cheaper price

Caesar Salad ($12.80)
One of the better salads I have tried as the amount of sauce is just right and the lettuce is fresh, juicy and sweet

Chicken Delight ($15.80)
Roasted boneless chicken thigh serve with daily vegetables and mushrooms, tender and yummy enough

Beef Tenderloin ($29.80)
My friend requested it to be medium rare but it was served as medium well. For that price, I would expect the waitress to request the diner to check the steak. The taste of the steak was too salty so I would say it is just average.

Chicken Condon Bleu ($18.80)
This was the star of the evening in which all my friends like it. Something different and unique in which it is boneless thigh stuffed with cheese and ham, deep fried and served with potato mash and Chef's sauce

Braised Lamb Shank ($27.80)
My favourite dish as the meat is tender and juicy that is falls of from the bone with a gentle prod but I thought the mash potato should be served separately since it was kind of soaked in the sauce and thus was alittle unsightly.

Generally, the food is salty, considering the amount of water we have consumed. The ambience is quiet and comfy, thereby giving the exclusiveness to be there. Moreover, the 25% OCBC off the total dinner bill (3pm till 10pm) makes the pricing pretty reasonable (I do find it steep without the discount, considering its serving).

No pictures of the main course and the place since my friends are pretty hungry and that there are good reviews from fellow food blogs such as LadyIronChef, Singapura Daily Makan Photos, Timeless Façade and Foodie Queen.

Ok, now my focus of the entire entry, their warm chocolate lava indulgence ($10.80). This warm chocolate pudding filled with melted dark chocolate, served with tropical fruits and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream definitely impressed everybody at the table.

The moment, the spoon cut into the chocolate cake, the thick and rich chocolate jus oozed out and spread the portion of the plate. Dusted with icing and that it was warmed, the exterior of the pudding is crispy while the interior is soft and sufficiently soaked with the chocolate. A satisfaction to all chocoholics

Nothing fantastic about the vanilla ice-cream since it contains ice crystals but nevertheless, warm chocolate cake eaten with ice-cream is superb. However, some claims that this is a bigger version of the fondant au chocolate from Beard Papa’s with more chocolate. In short, I like it but I am now curious about Bead Papa’s.

Sweet Indulgence
2 Stanley Street
Singapore 068721
Tel: 6223 7707

Operating hours -
10am to 10pm (Mon to Fri, last order at 8:45pm)
12 noon to 10pm (Sat, last order at 8:45pm)

According to the staff, sometimes if there is no dining guests after 8:30pm, they will close early.

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Chocolate cake from Brasserie Les Saverus

Chocolate cake from Brasserie Les Saverus

Most have known by now that I have been looking through various blogs to find out some of the weird places that serve nice cakes and one of the blogs I frequent is Camemberu. One of the comments in her molten chocolate cake entry led me to venture Brasserie Les Saverus.


Have a admit that it was pretty stressed entering St. Regis. In the first place, I couldn't recall the name of the dining place. Second, they do not have a bakery and thus it was through a fair bit of conversation that we realize this was the place we were looking for.

Anyway, the molten chocolate cake mentioned earlier in the comments is part of the special 3-course meal at $78++, apparently they didn't sell the molten chocolate cake separately.

This place has a nice ambience as it is well-illuminated by its splendid wall of windows. Love the view of the water fountains and the sparkling pool with the background of the Orchard apartments.

My initial intention was to stuck a candle on the chocolate cake and sing Yuan a Happy Birthday song but the place was just too quiet. Was pretty stressed as we realized it was a fine dining place.

I would say it is a comfy area if you are willing to spend on fine dining. According to their website, the sophisticated interior design was done by Wilson Associates.

Found an alternative for Yuan. The chocolate cake which was served with warm 72% Araguani chocolate cake, espresso sorbet. Priced at $16.00 (excluding of 7% GST and 10% service charge).

Of course, it is indeed a warm chocolate cake with chocolate oozing out...

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Fen's comments

I would say the food here are pretty expensive. However, this chocolate cake is one that is bitter due to its high chocolate content, not large in its serving and that the dessert is relatively light as I didn't feel that it was overly rich nor sin to finish this.

The texture of the cake is pretty dense and I suspect lots of eggs are used as the texture resembles the flourless chocolate cake. I would say it is unique on its own, partially because of the grade of chocolate used.

As for the espresso sorbet, it tastes like an extremely smooth coffee ice-blend which I was teasing Yuan that we can drink it from the cup after it has melted.

In short, it is expensive but I am okay with the overall taste of the dessert.

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Yuan's comments

Essentially this is a warm chocolate cake. What's good about this cake is that it doesn't have the burnt taste which some warm chocolate cake have. But what's bad is that the egg taste is too strong. You can feel the egg taste as you bite the cake. I guess the accompanying sorbet is the only thing worth trying. The coffee sorbet is so light and if you let it melt, it is almost like drinking ice blended cappuccino. Personally I feel that St. Regis is a nice place to seat for afternoon tea but for the true dessert fan, I think there are better places to go.
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Brasserie Les Saverus
The St. Regis Singapore
29 Tanglin Road
Singapore 247 911
Tel: 6506 6888

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Dark Devotion from tcc

Dark Devotion from tcc

Warm chocolate cake from The Coffee Connoisseur (tcc)... pass or fail?

Look at the smooth chocolate that oozed out from the cake...

Of course, it passed... Satisfied my sugar cravings... This is comparable to Soffiato from Ricciotti. The warm chocolate just flows out from the cake the moment we pushed our fork in. The chocolate is not that rich but just right since excessive chocolate maybe too heaty. Not too sweet and that the chocolate cake has a very soft texture in which the interior tasted alittle like a souffle. I wiped the plate clean and anticipate to finish the Devil-misu, what do you think?


Alright, second opinion from Yuan, as quoted from him,
"What I particularly like about this version of the warm chocolate cake is that the sponge is very soft. Sometimes cafes overheat their warm chocolate cakes to have the burnt effect on the outer layer, I think this really spoils the taste of the chocolate cake. Further the other strength of this cake is that the chocolate fudge is not too rich thus you will not feel so heaty after eating it. Overall I think it is one of the best warm chocolate cakes which I have eaten."

The Coffee Connoisseur (tcc)
Bugis Junction (Atrium)
80 Middle Road
#01-97 Bugis Junction
Singapore 188966
Tel: 6336 6956
Operating hours - 10am to 10pm (daily)
http://www.thecoffeeconnoisseur.com/

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Soffiato from Ricciotti

Soffiato from Ricciotti

Warm dark chocolate cake with chocolate chip ice-cream ($8.90++);

No doubt a must-order for chocoholics. The smooth and rich texture of the warm chocolate cake just complement nicely with the ice-cream and the chocolate fudge in the centre core. Although the chocolate doesn't ooze out like the warm chocolate cake from BakerZin, Dan Ryans and Max Brenner. The texture of this is way too good to be compared with the mentioned 3 (unless you fancy the burnt and crispy crust which is lacking in this dessert). If you notice, Soffiato and Tiramisu seems to be the highlights of the cafe as there are so many of them at the top shelf of the cake display. I will definitely bring Yuan back for this dessert and also an excuse to eat their pizza. I simply fall in love with their food... Yum...

Ricciotti Italian Deli & Pastry
20 Upper Circular Road
B1-49/50 The Riverwalk
Singapore 058416
Tel: 6533 9060
http://www.ricciotti.com.sg/

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Molten chocolate cake at Dan Ryans

Molten chocolate cake at Dan Ryans

Molten Cake ($8.50): This is a bigger version of your typical warm chocolate cake. Except that they bake it a little longer to allow the outer layer to be hard while inner layer soft.

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Fen's comments

Desserts at American restaurants are always haunting... Not only they are rich, they come in large servings... But since we started this blog, how can we miss the desserts? Molten chocolate cake, desserts are meant to be in small portions not gigantic... Was nice at the first bite but alas, I don't wish to elaborate the rest... The only thing that is unique about this cake is that it has a crispy crust which is absent in the warm chocolate cake from BakerZin and the chocolate souffle from Max Brenner... __________________________________________________________

Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill, Singapore
91 Tanglin Road,
#B1-01 Tanglin Place,
Singapore 247918
Tel: 6738 2800
http://www.danryans.com/dans/index.html

Direction: Next to Regent Hotel or Corner of Tomlinson Rd & Tanglin Road

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Chocolate soufflé at Max Brenner

Chocolate soufflé at Max Brenner

Chocolate soufflé (S$15 exlcusive of 7% GST & 10% service)
Can't find the original description from the online menu

"Warm chocolate cake with a melting dark chocolate. Served with vanilla ice-cream, fresh strawberries with warm chocolate sauce"

Fen: The very first thought that hit my mind when I ate this was, "How does the warm chocolate cake of BakerZin taste like?" The texture is soft and rich, not too sweet and the centre core is moist with chocolate. However, I have heard of hypes and "professional" criticisms about a perfect soufflé and frankly speaking, I have no clues of how a good one should taste like. From the definition given by wikipedia, I thought is a soufflé should be a light and fluffy dessert that "blow up" or more loosely "puff up" so I am not sure is this the expected taste.

Those that are expert in baking or tasting soufflé, feel free to comment.

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Yuan's Comments

Personal I found this cake similar to most warm chocolate cakes in the market. However the chocolate drizzle they used is unique. Typically most cafe uses Hershey chocolate to drizzle around the plate but Max uses a different chocolate which tastes better.

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Max Brenner
8 Raffles Avenue, #01-06/08 Esplanade Mall
Singapore 039802
Tel: 6235 9556
Opening Hours:
Sun-Thurs - 11:00am to 11:00pm
Fri-Sat - 11:00am to 12:00 (Midnight)

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