1 Caramel at 1 Rochester

1 Caramel at 1 Rochester

We were invited to tasting at 1 caramel along with some of the fellow bloggers. The location of 1-caramel replaces the former pastry bar at 1 Rochester. The layout is nothing near the former, you will catch a full view of the kitchen before reaching the seating area. Hence if you see the kitchen, don't be alarmed, you are in the right place.


The concept of 1-caramel is different from our last visit. Their cakes are served in petite form and there are more cupcakes in the display. Further, 1-caramel also introduced their brunch menu.


Not to be missed in any brunch menu is the Traditional Eggs Benedict. Poached eggs on toasted English muffin with hollandaise sauce and smoked salmon. 1-caramel's version of the Eggs Benedict is blend but when paired with ebiko and smoked salmon, the effect is quite good.


If you are sharing you can consider The Posh Platter. Smoked salmon tart with creme fraiche and ocean trout caviar, asparagus wrapped in basil and prosciutto, truffled brie and cherry tomatoes on a toasted brioche. An ideal platter for sharing and light snack for the sunday brunch or afternoon tea.


The Miso soufflé with yuzu ice cream is still very consistent and has the unique salty sweet taste in the soufflé. Also available is the Hazelnut soufflé with chocolate Ice-cream and Passion fruit soufflé.


If you cannot make up your mind on which sweet to have, you can consider the 1-Caramel Assiette. The platter contain Petite-sized desserts. Our platter contains the following:
(1)Tropical vodka trifle. Pineapple gazpacho jelly, pineapple sponge cubes with crystallized baked almonds topped with coconut sorbet.
(2)Earl Grey creme brûlée. Infusion of earl grey tea leaves in a traditional French baked custard dessert served with grissini cheese straws dusted with tea and icing powder.
(3)1-Caramel Baked Alaska. Combination of homemade chunky strawberry and vanilla Madagascar ice-cream coated with rhum Italian meringue on top of a nutty chocolate brownie.
(4)Raspberry lychee rose pannacotta, lychee-lemon compote. A combination of 2 exquisite puree scented with the essence of rose in a classic Italian cold pudding served with chunky lychee and lemon compote.
(5)Death by chocolate: Valrhona Sofiato molten cake with dark chocolate sorbet.

Special mention must be made for the Raspberry Lychee rose pannacotta which is pretty similar to the Lychee rose which is our favourite at 1-caramel.


Special thanks to Denyse and Chiew Yen for the invite and hospitality.

1-caramel
1 Rochester Park, Level 2
Singapore 139212
Tel:67741302

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One Caramel - Bloggers Outing

One Caramel - Bloggers Outing

It was another fantastic gathering. A chance to meet new friends and exchange pointers. Organised by Harris and attended by Kaelyn, Elaine, Angeline, Janelle, Michelle, Fen and myself, Yuan.

Readers would probably noticed that we already have quite a comprehensive list of cakes from 1 Caramel. Nonetheless here are some others which we have yet to try. As with other Bloggers Outing, this was a tasting session, hence I must first give the disclaimer that it may be a different verdict if I were to have an entire slice.


Strawberry Shortcake, $8.90++
"Layers of fresh juicy strawberries, vanilla genoise and strawberry creme coated with puff pastry flakes baked to a golden brown perfection."
This is a very unique variant of the strawberry shortcake. Unlike the regular chiffon and chantilly cream, 1 Caramel adopts the use of strawberry cream and pastry flakes. The choice of pastry flakes adds a slight crunch while the usage of strawberry cream makes it less cloying as compared to fresh cream. The overall feel is closer to eating a strawberry sundae and is definitely a light and refreshing delight. It is no surprise that this cake wins the hearts among the female diners.

The only setback is that some of the puff pastries that are in direct contact with the cream are alittle soggy.


Carrot Walnut Cake, $5.00++
"Moist carrot cake with Californian walnuts, topped with a smooth cream cheese icing"
As the description given the menu, this carrot cake is slightly moist, not sweet and has mild cinnamon taste.


Midori, $7.90++
"Matcha Sponge and azuki bean complete layers in a yuzu infused bavarois"
Green tea is one unique flavour which no two pâtisseries will have the same combination. Apart from the regular azuki, 1 Caramel presents its green tea creation with yuzu.

Since yuzu resembles closely to a grapefruit, with overtones of Mandarin orange, one can expect to feel the contrast between the sweet red bean, slightly sour yuzu and bitterness of matcha. This variant of the Matcha cake definitely scores in my opinion.


Brownies Almond Cake, $4.50++
"A delicious pairing of moist chocolate and almond brownies"
Generous chocolate mousse on the top however in contrast to the description, I thought it was kind of dry. For $4.50 it is nonetheless a good deal.


Hazelnut Pear Torta, $6.90++ (top); Peanut Butter Cheese Tart, $6.90++ (bottom)
"Crunchy hazelnut cake with caramelized pear slices";"Peanut butter cream cheese tart with a hint of lemon and a crunchy layer of hazelnut praline"

As opposed to the last time we tried the pear tart, this time it has a better texture; to be more precise, more moist and softer.

As for the Peanut Butter Cheese tart, it is another unique combination. However I would have liked it better if the peanut butter was strong, the mixture with cheese gave the peanut butter a rather different smell which the peanut butter lovers may not like.

Apart from the mentioned cakes, we had the Red Miso Souffle ($12.90++), Lychee Rose ($7.90++) and Chocolate Praline ($7.90++). Red Miso Souffle continues to steal the limelight for being the "titantic" during the photoshoot, sinking every minute while the camera clicked; and once the phototaking affair is over, you can see everybody nodding their heads in sync to enjoy a lovely pairing of salty miso and sugar.

I have lost count of eating Lychee Rose and by far remains the top of my list at 1 Caramel. In short, imagine this cake to be a lychee refreshing treat with rose fragrance.

As for Chocolate Praline, our expectation for this cake has gone up during our cakes blogging. This is one cake which most hotels (e.g. Sheraton Towers, Goodwood Park) has featured as their signature, even similar counterparts from CentrePs, Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie and SomethingToGo have made their appearance to the 50 yummiest cakes. Ask me which is the best, I am as confused as you.

For similar posts,
The simplest aphrodisiac by Harris, Blogger Outing: 1 Caramel
SistaFood by Angeline and Janelle, 1 Caramel - Food Bloggers' Sensual Sweet Indulgence
My Food Sirens II by Kaelyn - 1 Caramel
Never Trust a Scrawny Foodie by Michelle - 1 Caramel

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)
http://www.1-caramel.com/

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Lemon Roulade

Lemon Roulade

A citrus sponge roll filled with lemon curd and a light mascarpone cream...

If you are a fan of lemon meringue tart and fancy tangy dessert, this might be something worthwhile trying. After trying several desserts from 1 Caramel, it seems like one of the niche or speciality of this cafe lies in the cream.

Unlike the conventional chantilly light cream or butter cream, the idea of incoporating mascarpone into the cream layer provides a slight creamy but yet light filling.

Chiffon is relatively soft with a degree of springiness, no wonder this is a recommendation made by 1 Caramel's general manager, Ms Melanie Ng.

A word of caution, Yuan didn't like this as much as me and my dear friend. So don't attempt to get this for the males. Somehow or rather their threshold for sour stuff aren't that high.

Since my camera could not resist this shot, customized cupcakes are available at $6 per piece with a minmium order of 12 pieces (if I am not mistaken).

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

[ ... ]

Red Miso Souffle - 1caramel

Red Miso Souffle - 1caramel

The salty goodness of miso in a dessert, uncover the sweetness within 1 Caramel's souffle; paired with yuzu ice cream.

This is pretty unique for a souffle. Apart from the conventional fluffy egg white base, this souffle has a tint of salty miso. What makes it nice is really the burnt sugar at the base of the souffle, adding some sweetness to salty miso. A good alternative to a regular souffle.

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

[ ... ]

Chocolate Praline Cake - 1 Caramel

Chocolate Praline Cake - 1 Caramel

1 Caramel's Cocoa signature with varying layers of chocolate mousse and hazelnut praline feuilletine.

You simply can't go wrong with chocolate praline.

A layer of dark chocolate fudge, chocolate mousse and hazelnut praline. This version tastes very similar to Obolo's Noisette. In other words, very much similar to a Ferrero Rocher.

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

[ ... ]

1 Caramel, the story continues...

1 Caramel, the story continues...

This time round, I came with my family members and it seems like the cakes at 1 Caramel is alittle too sweet to their liking. Nevertheless, they all agree that this is a nice place to chill but steep, considering it costs about the same as lunch (Note: apart from the cakes, we ordered a couple of drinks).

Tropical Fruit Cake
Vanilla sponge filled passion fruit mascarpone cream topped with a selection of fresh tropical fruits
$7.90 (slice) / $75 (whole cake)

This is an alternative to a strawberry shortcake in which the sponge is moistened with syrup, thereby a soft and crumbly texture. Unlike the conventional chantilly cream found in strawberry shortcake, this one contains mascarpone cream. Since it is thinly spread between the layers of sponge, the overall taste is not rich.



Mango Mascarpone
Mascarpone cheese cream on coconut crumble topped with mango compote



Not missing out 1 Caramel's signature, everybody agrees this is good and what makes it unique is the coconut crumble base.

Citrus Ricotta Tart, flavoured with Grand Marnier
$5.90 (slice) / $55 (whole) @ 1 Caramel

To the staff, Mango Mascarpone is closer to a mousse and thus we picked this for comparison. Surprisingly, this kind of disappoints. With a soft crust and an overpowering whiff of (sheep milk?) cheesey smell, I don't know what to comment for this. Guess this is just not my kind of tart.



In case Yuan is still slacking with the Canele's entries, an early Happy National Day.



Though not completed but the front view of this creation is worth a closer look or check out the real thing @ 1 Caramel.

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

[ ... ]

1 Caramel @ the LUXE

1 Caramel @ the LUXE

Managed by One Rochester, 1 Caramel made its appearance last month at the LUXE. Located in a chic-looking condominium located between Plaza Singapura and The Cathay, this chic dessert pâtisserie houses sweet surprises for dessert lovers. Adopting French pastry-making techniques with Japanese presentation, this pâtisserie serves cakes, chocolates, gourmet coffees, teas, wines, dessert cocktails and a small selection of savouries such as quiches and soups.


The contemporary combination of yellow cosy sofa and white bar top gives a classy dining experience. For a more spacious and breezy feel, the al fresco dining area provides a romantic atmosphere at night.


The highlight of this place are the brightly coloured cakes and cookies displayed at the bar counter and the massive window display of exquisitely decorated cakes as well as pastries is already a feast for anyone with a sweet tooth. This is one rare occassion when I wanted to order everything on the shelf as I got captivated by 1 Caramel's collage of colourful creations. Can you imagine seeing 27 freshly baked cakes in a huge glass display?


Lychee Rose
Lychee rose mousse with juicy lychee jelly and Valrhona ivory chocolate glaze.
$7.90 (slice) / $75 (whole cake)

Apart from the mango mascarpone in my previous entry, this is another unique creation by 1 Caramel, a "dream come true" for Ispahan lovers. By far, this is the only cake which we have come across that is wholly rose mousse and lychee jelly. The entire combination resemble a less sweet version of CentrePs' lychee macaron which makes it the best dessert we have come across when the marriage of rose and lychee is concerned.

In our opinion, 1 Caramel is highly recommended for dessert lovers, be it for its ambience or for its cakes. Rarely after eating 4 cakes in a row, there is still room for the 5th thus indicating that the selection is light and generally not overwhelming. Within the same week, we made a second visit and the impression remains as the Chocolate Berry Lust and Tropical Fruits and Passionfruit continue to impress. And yes, the quality and freshness is consistent in both visit.

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

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Mango Mascarpone

Mango Mascarpone

Considered to be one of 1 Caramel's signature, this cake is made up of mascarpone cheese cream on coconut crumble with mango compote as its topping. Each slice costs $8.90++ and a whole cake will be $85++.


Recommended by 1 Caramel's general manager, Ms Melanie Ng, this was no doubt the best among the 4 desserts we had that evening. A modern twist to a conventional cheesecake, the use of mascarpone cheese makes it less cloying. The mango compote makes the dessert refreshing. Apart from crushed biscuits and butter, the incorporation of coconut gives an extra fragrance.

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

[ ... ]

BlackForest

BlackForest

A traditional favourite combining moist chocolate sponge with layers of chocolate cream and kirsch soaked cherries. Each slice costs $7.90++ and a whole cake will be $75++.


In a way, this version of Black Forest resembles closely to what Mezza9 offers. Apart from the chocolate sheet supporting at the back of the cake, the cream in both cakes are similarly bland. What makes this slightly better than Mezza9's is the less sour berries and the overall texture is not overwhelmed by Kirsch.

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

[ ... ]

Hazelnut Pear Torta

Hazelnut Pear Torta

Sold at $6.90++ per slice and $45++ as a whole, this is basically a crunchy hazelnut cake with caramelized pear slices.


This creation was mistaken as a tart and hence the opinion obtained after eating this cake was disappointing. In short, this resembles closer to a walnut cake with its texture alittle tad dry.

I guessed how this cake is accepted depends alot on one's preference so this cake is most likely to appeal to those who fancy nutty cakes or brownies.

Anyway, I just learn from Wikipedia that there are several defintions to the word "Torta". For instance, it can refer to a small fried mixture of scrambled eggs (huevo en torta), or a sweet cake in most South American countries and even a kind of omelette in the Philippines.

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

[ ... ]

Chocolate Berry Lust

Chocolate Berry Lust

Another famous creation of 1 Caramel, this tart is made up of luscious layers of Valrhona chocolate ganache with fresh exotic wild berries laden on a bed of pure crunchy hazelnut mix and is sold at $8.90++ per slice or $85++ as a whole.

For the next few entries, we will be bringing in desserts from a newly opened dessert pâtisserie, 1 Caramel. For classification purposes, these cakes will be published as separate entries over the next few days.

For those who had visited 1 Caramel, one will not miss out on their Chocolate Berry Lust. This chocolate tart topped with a medley of berries presents a wow factor when the smooth chocolate ganache melts in the mouth. Eating this tart with the generous toppings of berries resemble a chocolate fondue indulgence.

Apart from the dark chocolate ganache, the layer of hazelnut praline gives the tart an extra crunch. However, the tart pastry is kinda of disappointing with a slight burnt taste.

In any case, this definitely impresses in my opinion. I would consider this as a worthy alternative to my favourite, Laurent Bernard Chocolatier's chocolate tart.

1 Caramel
The Luxe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A
Singapore 229234
Tel: 6338 3282

Operating hours -
11am to 11pm (Sun to Thurs)
11am to 1am (Fri and Sat)

[ ... ]