Mini Cakes at Gourmet Tart Co.

A late review.  Am already at the Philippines and yet I haven't posted quite a number of my tastings in Ireland.  I've been busy on other things as well, but I will try to post as much as I can before I forget about them.

We were in Galway City Centre when I saw these cute mini cakes.  Here's the pic:

Why did I pic four cakes?  It was only because my mom and I couldn't agree on the flavors :D 

I can't remember the exact names of the ones in the upper right and bottom left, but all I can say is that they were the fruity ones.  The mini cake with the strawberry was berry flavored, and the full flavor was quite intense.  It was a mix of tangy berry flavors and just a hint of sweetness.  As for the rectangular cake, it was also fruity, but as far as I can remember it had a milder taste than the berry cake.  It also was not that sweet, which accentuates the taste of fruit more.

Side note:  I checked the website, and I think the rectangular cake might have been Passion Fruit and Cassis Mousse and the  Strawberry cake might have been the Red Berry Mouss.  I'm not that certain though.

The one on the upper left is the Triple Chocolate mousse.  Everyone's verdict: utterly divine.  It was just the right amount for anyone wanting a bit of that decadent chocolate cake.  It was also quite soft that it melted in your mouth.  The amount of each layer was just fine, it blended well into that creamy chocolate taste in your mouth.  Phew!

The last cake is the Black forest.  Quite a surprise, isn't it?  I was also intrigued by this cake since it was all white, and not a hint of chocolate in it.  When I tasted it, viola!  It was the black forest taste I have always known.  The secret?  It was the bottom layer that housed all the nuances of the black forest cake.  It was a different take on the cake I thought I already knew.

Gourmet Tart Co., Co. Galway
http://www.gourmettartco.com/index.php

Brambles: Another Cake Affair

A week or so ago, I took home 2 pieces of cake from Brambles, a cafe (or so I think) in the ground floor of the Jervis shopping center in Dublin.  They had a lot of cakes to choose from, but these were my choices:

The cake with the strawberry is the Victoria Cake and the other is Fruit of the Season Cheesecake.  I hope I'm right about their names xD

For the Victoria Cake, it was a 3 layered sponge cake with cream and strawberries between each layer as well as on top.  Chocolate bits cover the side of the cake.  I think it's a fresh cream cake, but I'm not sure.  In any case, it was very good.  It was just the right amount of sweetness, and I know I could eat more than a slice of it.  The cream did not overpower the strawberry but they mixed with every bite.  The chocolate on the side was just an extra, you could hardly taste it except if you're just taking the side part.

The other cake was a cheesecake topped with a gelatine layer of a berry mix.  I found the top too sweet to eat with or without the cream.  The flavor totally overpowers the entire cake.  It was still good, you can taste a bit of strawberry and blueberries, and a hint of raspberry, perfect for someone who would like to try a berry cheesecake.

Recommended to Dubliners if you haven't tried it yet :3

Brambles @ Jervis Shopping Center
Dublin, Ireland

Edit: The Victoria Cake is a Strawberry Gateaux.  Here's a better pic of it:

Cake Overload at Contis

I just got my diploma and I decided to treat myself to something sweet.  I was at Trinoma at the time so I thought of a place where I have been quite a number of times: Contis.  I ordered 2 cakes (Gluttony, I know, and I now cringe thinking about all the calories I consumed): Mango Bravo and Strawberry Cheesecake.

Cake 1: Mango Bravo

Sorry if it's not a very good shot, I forgot my camera again and I had to use my I-phone.  As you can see, the cake is divided into layers of wafer-like cake, with a single layer of chocolate cake and layers of cream, mangoes and nuts.  The topmost layer is filled with cream, mangoes and nuts, while the side was cream relished with chocolate.

The wafer layers were so sweet and tasty and they literally melted in you mouth.  They blended well with the mangoes, cream and nuts.  The overall flavor was not overpowering, but it made a very sweet dessert which would no doubt satisfy any sweet tooth out there.  Besides, the portion is huge, so if you feel you can't finish it by yourself, there's always enough to share with a special someone <3

Cake 2: Strawberry Cheesecake

After a very sweet cake, I decided to try something less decadent, so I tried this.  When I tried the layers separately, the strawberry topping was quite sweet, the cream part tasted like sour cream and cheese (the taste was actually quite overpowering that I couldn't handle it without taking a gulp of water afterwards) while the bread on the bottom was like grahams, but not as flavorful.  After tasting them separately, I decided to eat it as a whole.  Lo and behold!  It mixed wonderfully in my mouth, without any of the flavors overpowering each other.  Well, I did get tired of eating it after a while (probably since I already ate one cake), but thankfully, the cream on the last part of the cake was able to change the taste so I was able to finish the whole thing.  I guess in all it was good, but you need to get used to the flavors first.

The Mango Bravo cake was always their best seller, so it was no doubt that it was good.  I tried the Strawberry Cheesecake out of whim, and although I might not recommend it to someone who will be taste testing, I would still say it was pretty good and interesting.  This is one of the reason I come back to Contis again and again and again :3

Contis

Trinoma

Another take on the Banana Split

Yes, we ate at Cara Mia again today. Dessert time! As I said in my earlier post I wanted to eat Mango Sansrival again but my friend dissuaded me and we tried out another new gelato cake: the Banana Blast.

Yes, in my opinion it was another take on the classic banana split, but instead of having a banana fruit it is replaced by banana gelato. It was a concoction of strawberry, banana and chocolate gelato with strawberry and chocolate syrup (I forgot what the base was hahaha). The whole thing was utterly delicious. There were no extra ingredients, it was made so that no taste is wasted. The strawberry was sweet, the chocolate divine, and the banana was utterly fruity. It was a match made in heaven, and was totally worth it.

Strawberry and Chocolate Cheesecake

The Chocolatier
Ayala, Cebu City

I actually forgot the name of this dessert since the only time I ate it was during Sinulog last January. Looks pretty nice, doesn't it? I just fell in love with it when I saw it on display. My opinion on its taste? It was good in small portions only since the novelty of the taste wears off after half a slice ^^

Mango Delight Cake

Secret Recipe
Robinson's Place Ermita
Php~95

It looked so scrumptious in the menu that I decided to order it among other fresh cream cakes offered. To be honest, it was quite a disappointment. I have to admit it was good, but it was not that good that I'd recommend it. What I noted was that the topping on the top (seen at the picture) did not go very well with the rest of the cake. If it was an attempt to make the cake more flavorful, it failed since the seasoning overpowers the cake.

Verdict: 6/10

Mango Sansrival Gelato Cake

Caramia, Robinson's - Ermita
~110 Php/slice

I returned to the place to eat it again since it was so good! Although compared to the rest of the cake the mango pieces were quite harder and they did not melt in my mouth unlike the rest of the cake, it overall flavor and texture was still good. The chocolate piece was just an extra, which did not really help in enhancing the cake's flavor.



Verdict: 8.5/10