Sweet Pleasure - Bakerzin

Sweet Pleasure - Bakerzin

Guess it is time for me to redeem myself for doing injustice to BakerZin's Sweet Pleasure (also known as Plaisir sucré). After seeing Evan's photo, I wonder have I overlook a good cake from BakerZin and believe it or not, I bought 5 slices of Sweet Pleasure and 3 macarons.

Sweet Pleasure ($6.90++)
Layers of hazelnut praline dacquoise, Jivara milk chocolate ganache with fleur de sel, topped with chocolate mousse.
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Fen's comments

I guessed the one I had at Laurent was distinctively better than this one. Although all the components were nicely matched and that the hazelnut praline is crunchy enough, I felt that the chocolate is not smooth enough to have a melt-in-your-mouth effect. The chocolate sheets weren't thin enough and thus was similar to eating milk chocolate bars. I would prefer to have the Chocolate Amer from BakerZin and pay alittle more for Laurent.

It is worth a try but I prefer the other chocolate selections from BakerZin.
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Yuan's comments

Bakerzin seldom disappoint, this one is no exception. Fine chocolate sheets with creamy hazelnut paste. A stint of salted caramel and hazelnut praline adds to the crunch. However I must say that readers like me that dislike the salted caramel would prefer those from Laurent or CentrePs.
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BakerZin, United Square
101 Thomson Road
#01-07/60 United Square
Singapore 307591
Tel: 6251 5550

Operating hours - 10:30 am - 10 pm (Sun to Thur)
10:30 am - 11 pm (Fri, Sat & Eve of Public Holiday)
http://www.bakerzin.com/

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Laurent's version of the Plaisir sucré

Laurent's version of the Plaisir sucré

I couldn't resist not trying Laurent's Pleasure after reading the comments posted by Ice and Evan. Believe it or not, I didn't know that plaisir sucré is the French name for Pleasure and if you want to know more about this creation, please use plaisir sucré instead of Sweet Pleasure (for obvious reasons) in your internet search engines.

Pleasure is not available everyday at Laurent and thus it is better to call up to check their stock.

Anyway, I realized that Plaisir Sucré is created by the famed French pastry chef Pierre Hermé but I suspect since this is not easy to make, it didn't cause as much stir as macarons.

Made of five elements, namely: (1) hazelnut dacquoise, (2) hazelnut praline, (3) milk chocolate ganache, (4) milk chocolate whipped cream and (5) thin sheets of tempered milk chocolate; this indeed presents a chocolate sensation with varying texture and taste.
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Fen's comments

This looks lovely on the plate and to be frank, it was a mental torture to wait for Yuan to finish snapping this baby. The moment he is done, I simply digged in.

Comparing with my first encounter of BakerZin's Pleasure, this was indeed incredible. It has what I will describe as crisp (from the chocolate sheets), rich (from the chocolate ganache), crunchy (from the hazelnut praline) and chewy (from the dacquoise) all in one bite.

When rich chocolate with moderate sweetness pairs with milk chocolate-hazelnut praline and dacquoise, it is simply what we call a match in heaven.
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Yuan's comments

I guess I do not have to say much about Laurent's chocolates. The thin sheets of chocolate on the pleasure was just the right thickness and smoothness. This is a must try. (I must warn that it is rather expensive at $9.60)
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Laurent Bernard Chocolatier
The Pier at Robertson Quay 80
Mohammad Sultan Road #01-11
Singapore 239013

Tel: 6235 9007
http://www.thechocolatefactoryonline.com/

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Crunchy from Brasserie Les Saverus

Crunchy from Brasserie Les Saverus

Nice things always come in a pair, so since Yuan has ordered a chocolate cake for himself. I thought of trying the hazelnut praline equivalence.


Crunchy ($16.00, excluding of 7% GST and 10% service charge) is a combination of Hazelnut biscuit, praline, fresh raspberries and Manjari chocolate mousse. Served with raspberry sorbet...

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Fen's comments

In terms of the texture of hazelnut praline, it is comparable with the ones mentioned under our favourites. However, the distinct sourish taste from the raspberry sauce kind of puts me off. I thought the bitterness of the chocolate and the sourish tint are just too extremes.

I would say that without the raspberry sauce, it would be comparable to the Sweet Pleasures from BakerZin except that it is a little too steep for a small slice of cake.

Generally, Brasserie Les Saverus' desserts are pretty light and small on the serving. It is not sweet nor rich and thus is just right after a heavy meal but a little too light if you are looking for something to indulge. I guess this is just a different level of class since I would term this place as a fine dining restuarant.
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Yuan's comments

The first impression I had on the first bite was that this tasted so much like Van Houten chocolate. Next what hit me was that there was this sour raspberry jam over the chocolate mousse. I guess I mentioned this before but I generally do not like the raspberry chocolate combination. The hazelnut praline part is comparable with the other cakes but what I dislike about it is the base. The sponge is just too thick. This dessert is also accompanied by sour sorbet. Having eaten so many hazelnut chocolate mousse, I personally find this a disappointment.

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Brasserie Les Saverus

The St. Regis Singapore
29 Tanglin Road
Singapore 247 911
Tel: 6506 6888

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Some miniature business inside GOBI

Some miniature business inside GOBI

Gobi is one dessert bar in which you can grab petite and exquisite-looking desserts without the need to go for buffets.

These little petite babies are classified into 2 categories, namely Fantasy and Chocolate Factory and if you were to dine in, individual pieces costs $1.90. Tried a fair bit this afternoon and viola, here they are...

Presenting the miniature versions,


Dark Angel
Described as a must-have for all chocoholics, pure chocolate heaven embedded in moist rich chocolate cake, or in short Dark Angel has a solid core of chocolate wrapped in moist chocolately cake.
Cupid is a salty-sweet light cheese mousse and kirsch piped into hand-crafted white chocolate hats.

Also found at the back of their name cards, which I presume is their signature creation is the
Between the sheets...
Malibu milk chocolate ganache sandwiched between delicate sheets of dark chocolate and feullitine praline, sits on a meringue base.


Cactus
This creation sits on a cinnamon crunch, chestnut nestled in a cone of dark and light sponge curshed with dark chocolate ganache, custard and rum-soaked rasins, covered with milk chocolate and roasted diced almonds.

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Fen's comments

The miniature desserts are really lovely which makes me hesitate to even disturb them with a fork. Nevertheless, food that are bought has to be eaten so...

The dark angel tasted like thick chocolate mousse. I can't really tell which is cake and which is the mousse. Maybe it is just too small... If this is consider as a cake, it will be too paste-like, if it is a mousse, then it is not light enough. However, I do like the chocolate and don't mind trying the larger version...

I didn't like the cupid, think cheesecake will be a better bet. I just pop the entire thing into my mouth.

Between the sheets, the top chocolate sheet is not as smooth as the Sweet pleasure from BakerZin. This ganache layered piece of indulgence was my favourite among the entire lot. With a good blend of almond and hazelnut, the smooth and crunchy texture just makes me crave for more. The hazelnut taste is just right, not too much and thus not overshadowing the choco. It is a pity this is alittle too small.

Cactus was something that has too much stuff... practically confusing my taste buds, you got cinnamon, chestnut, rum and chocolate. Moreover, the chocolate mousse is on the rough side and thus wasn't my favourite at all.
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GOBI at The Central (Closed)
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-27
The Central
Singapore 059817
Tel: 6534 8187
Opening hours - 11 am to 9 pm daily
http://www.gobi.com.sg/

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