What's in the name of a cake?

What do you think of when you read the name of a cake in the display unit? What kind of drool worthy image comes into your mind? i am really curious.

for me, the name of the cake, because it is short - gives me the idea/summary as to how the cake will taste like and if i'd be promised a yummy treat when i read their names. i will not be able to imagine how sweet, or how soft or how tasty it will be, but i gather i should be happy after eating it. Afterall, i'd only buy stuff which i have previously experienced a certain level of good feel after trying out the ingredients etc..

i posed the above question coz of my recent trip back to Pan Pac Atrium deli. Apparently, they have new cakes. it was a surprise and the names of the cakes i bought looked rather promising and pretty unique.

two names made me confirm my purchase. Caramel Pear and Pumpkin Cheese cake.

i like caramel and am interested how well caramel goes with pear. Pumpkin i love, and i have yet to taste how pumpkin with cheese taste like. Pretty simple names, pretty basic thoughts came into my mind when i got these two cakes. for the former, i expected only caramel and pear. the the latter, pumpkin and cheese.. well, i was wrong. the two turned out to be more complicated than i have imagined. good or bad, i guess one have to taste it for oneself to come up with the conclusion. for me, they didnt make it although i must say that effort have been put in to conjure up these flavours hoping that they match.

First the caramel pear. i don't know if you noticed but 2/3 of the cake is surrounded by kuey lapis (i didnt until i started eating the cake). i think the idea is cool, but if only this was a simple cake. the top layer is caramel mousse i think (erm if there's something like that) mousse i am not sure, but definitely caramel. dusted with icing sugar and topped with a goosenberry without the dried leaves. a wavy white chocolate deco makes up the whole design of the cake.

Let's then look deeper into this cake. it's more than just meeting its name.

inbetween the top layer of caramel mousse and bottom layer of sponge cake and sandwiched by lapis, there is this custardy layer where you find the cubes/slices of pear. it's a lot for a cake. complicated flavours, i have no sense of what i was eating. it definitely wasn't just as simple as tasting only caramel and pear.

anyone who has eaten kuey lapis will know that it has a strong flavour by itself. i'm not sure of the ingredients in kuey lapis (KLP), i gather there's erm cinnamon? (upon googling, seems like it's this rempah mix is what gives the KLP it's flavour) anyway, the KLP overwhelmed everything this cake had to offer. it's another one of eating the cake by its layers to derived the different tastes of the cake experience. i also think it's a tad too sweet for my liking. using goosenberry was appropriate, but i would think a few more would be better. At the same time, the KLP wasn't a single piece used to surround the cake, it was cut into different pieces to surround the cake, so sometimes, i end up getting a whole of KLP on my fork, leaving a portion of this cake erm somehow, naked?

so this caramel pear was quite a disappointment.

the next day, i had the pumpkin cheesecake. looked simple enough and i guess it should meet my expectations of its name. when i first took a bite, the taste awkwardly seemed very familiar. it tasted like something i have had recently. in fact, somehow the flavour tasted like what i ate yesterday. gosh, it actually had the smell and taste of the KLP again. that's the reason why i thought cinnamon was in play here. though the cheesecake was smooth, firm with good texture, i tasted no pumpkin. i'm only being reminded of KLP, cheese and cinnamon.

sadly, i wasnt awed by it. i think it will be sometime before i visit Pan Pac Atrium Deli again.

back on my own feet

today marked the first day after about a month where i went to work without my mum sending me to and fro. a bit apprehensive at first, but heck, i already took a trip to tampines over the weekend for my haircut and took the bus as well as the mrt. basically, the left foot still hurts but just grit my teeth and walked. i guess i need that bit of exercise somehow.


anyway, i missed my cakes from Pan Pac and had a craving. contemplated half the day whether should pay a visit or not. anyways, even to the last minute, i nearly didn't go. so off i went and greedy me bought two items. a chocolate eclair and a chendol cake. see the pic and you'd know why i bought the former. the latter i got it coz it's unique.

in short, nothing to rave about. i'm not sure if it's coz after eating CBL that the chocolate filling in the eclair wasn't anything fantastic and it definitely have some sourish taste which i couldn't figure. didn't taste spoilt or anything, it was just 'blah'.. the saving grace surprisingly was their addition of the raspberries. kinda sad huh.

as for the chendol cake, i was also attracted by the jade green topping. i love the red bean coz it's not the mushy kind and also coz of the jelly which had the typical pandan smell which was so fragrant. sadly the atup chee cannot make it, as well as those greeny stuff. the filling inbetween tasted like agar agar with coconut just not as firm, but it's pretty ok. hmm.. in short, i probably won't buy it again.

oh no, what has 1 caramel done to my taste buds for cakes!?!? this is horrific! hee :p

Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

i had an interesting encounter when i bought the cakes and tarts that day. a Caucasian man was in the deli the same time as i was. he's prolly in his 40s and his name is Joe. we didn't formally introduce, but started chatting coz we were both having a hard time to decide what to get for that day.


the cakes were tempting. very very. though there werent exactly that many to choose from, but i had a hard time deciding. he asked what kind of cakes i like, i told him i wasn't a chocolate fan and prefer sourish stuff. he asked if i have had rhubarb before. i told him no but i have come across this word. he said that it's a root and has a very tart taste to it. he's also curious how it will taste with the strawberry and all.


so in the end, i got this and expected it to be sourish. hmm.. it wasn't. in fact the rhubarb was the filling for the tart and it tasted like hmm.. mashed tapioca? i like the strawberries and the blueberry though. so sweet!!!! first time i tasted sweet strawberries and blueberries on cakes/tarts. nice!


however, the tart was only so so. perhaps my expectations were too high. i expected it to be super sour but it was sweet. probably i had a sourish craving that day. nevertheless, i'd prolly get another cake the next time. it was a tough choice between this and the passion fruit cake i last had.. now it won't be so difficult. heh heh.

Caramel Opera

once again, my photo doesnt do justice to the cakes. chocolate person i am not, and even if i am, i love my chocs with nuts. almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia and what have yous other than walnut.


i bought the caramel opera out of curiosity. curious in that i wanted to know how rich that glossy layer was and how does caramel cake taste like.


kept it in the fridge for 1 day and little did i know, a surprise awaited me that day when i took it out to eat. what impressed me about the cake was the rich layer of chocolate fudge (if that's what you call it) was still smooth and melty when i staked it with the fork. it didn't harden even after 1 day in the fridge!! the cake is made up of these:


a thin layer of choc mousse
a thick layer of choc cream
a similar layer of sponge cake with loads of nutty bits
and the sequence repeated itself


it was in short, delish! the layer of sponge with nutty bits was in fact very moist and oozing some sort of liquid which i forgot what it was, i think it was coffee. cannot remember.


and i like that they had some gold dust on the chocolate coated coffee bean. nice! for the 25% discount, it was well worth it! :D

Blueberry Danish

extravagant don't you think? Meringue on top of a danish pastry. I think the burnt outlines on the meringue made me bought it without hesitation! It's sooo pretty!!


The original price of this piece was $3.50 still reasonable i think but i got it at half the price because at Pan Pacific Atrium Deli after 7pm, danishes, croissants and bread are at 50% discount. this made it all the more worthwhile for me to get this blueberry danish.


is it any good as it looks?


yes! it's heavenly! it would have been better had i ate it the day i bought it. i ate it for breakfast on tuesday and this was how it went.


tasted the ultra tempting looking meringue. some parts of it burnt as you noticed from the pic. it would have been crispy if eaten immediately when it's out from the oven and soft in the inside. i like the burnt taste and the slightly still frothy inside.


eating this danish was a mean feat. in that the meringue was quite high, but i didnt mind. at the same time, the blueberry jam in the centre couldnt wait to ooze out!! the jam was generously piled in. as i ate, it started dripping. dark purplish watery, sauce stained the tissue i brought out just in time to prevent the drip hitting my dress, and then blueberries started to fall out before i could 'rescue' them. it turned out to be quite messy as i ate but it definitely was a fulfilling breakie.


as for the pastry, well i'd be unfair to judge as it was kept in the fridge, taken out and subjected to the cruel weather conditions as i made my trip to office. so, i believe it was supposed to be good.


regardless, for $1.75 i will definitely go back and get my hands on it again! :D

Pan Pac Atrium Bakery Signature Passion Fruit Cake

we chanced upon the bakery at the Pan Pac atrium whilst walking to the parking lot this evening. attracted by the poster screaming 50% discount (only on bread, muffins and croissants/25% on cakes whole or sliced and sausages and ham) after 7pm, we headed in and found only very limited muffin (left only 1) some croissants, zero bread (though they had many different loaves which were like pretty humongous) and lots of yummy, attractive, to die for cakes.


though they were only on 25% discount, i found myself very much glued to them. then this 1 cake caught my eye, the Signature Passion Fruit Cake. it looked like that dome shaped cake from Centre P's which i REALLY wanted to try, but thus far, haven't gotten the chance. So without looking further and since it's passion fruit which i truly heart, i got it. unfortunately, i realised there was another passion fruit with mango cake i was like 'aiyah! i didnt take more time to look!!' thank goodness i wasn't greedy coz mum bought fried chicken back and i had two drumsticks before i attacked my cake.

partially staked by the fork as you can see

initially, i was dubious and kinda felt i had prolly chosen the wrong cake. staking the fork into the cake, it looked just like any other normal ones. there was a uber thin, opaque and gelatinous 'force fielding' the rest of the fluffy, light, cheesy and lemony interior. at the bottom is a layer of spongy cake. still, i didn't taste much passion fruit and thought that i had been cheated of sorts.


it was only until i 'staked' the centre of the dome did i find my surprise. OMG! guess what?! the passion fruit oozed out like how you break half boiled egg with your metal spoon, except there were seeds of course! it was such viewing pleasure which i immediately shot with my SLR. from then, the whole taste of the cake changed entirely. lemon, passion fruit, cheese, bits of pistachios and those sourish red berries. it was citrius acidity to the max and i love it! i felt less sinful with the drumsticks after having the cake.

see the passion fruit 'sauce' starting to ooze?!?

the whole blob just oozed out like that.. looks like a bao right??

love it and will prolly try the others another day. yums! :D