One of my birthday gifts this year was an assortment of seasonal sweets from La Rocca Cakes. These were purchased from their Creative Kitchen retail boutique in Richmond Hill.
The phrase “too pretty to eat” gets thrown around with more force and frequency than a re-gifted present. In this case however, it is absolutely apt.
It all starts with the pristine packaging. The vibrant colours and kaleidoscopic design are extremely eye-catching.
Since we’re La Rocca-ing Around the Christmas Tree, let’s start with the Evergreen Tree:
This cake does a fantastic job of visually living up to its namesake. Pistachio mousse makes up the tree's foundation. Then, white chocolate slivers and spheres represent ribbons and ornaments. And to top it all off—a gold star!
Texturally, there was a nice contrast between the decorations and the tree. The white chocolate ornaments and ribbons provided crunchiness, while the pistachio mousse and strawberry jelly provided smoothness. Unfortunately, the strawberry jelly also stole the show for the wrong reason. It was tremendously tart, to the point where it was the dominant flavour, when the pistachio should have been the star of the show.
Christmas Comparison Verdict:
The Evergreen Tree is like when you get the Christmas gift you wished for, but turns out to be completely different than what you expected.
⭐️
La Rocca even managed to make a jet-black pyramid look picturesque. This is the result of the candied orange, chocolate orange sticks, hazelnuts and golden flecks garnished on top. They helped give great contrast and an added dimension to the devilishly dark dessert.
In terms of texture, the pyramid was:
✔️ Soft but not mushy
✔️ Rich but not heavy
And as the video above illustrates, it is real sturdy. It took a concerted effort to break off a piece. And it still stood strong afterwards. La Rocca definitely did the pyramid name proud!
Most importantly, in terms of taste, it was:
✔️ Sweet but not sickly
✔️ Bitter but not biting
✔️ Orangey but not overpowering
Finally, a dessert that lived up to its billing! All the elements worked together in perfect harmony.
This cake does a fantastic job of visually living up to its namesake. Pistachio mousse makes up the tree's foundation. Then, white chocolate slivers and spheres represent ribbons and ornaments. And to top it all off—a gold star!
Texturally, there was a nice contrast between the decorations and the tree. The white chocolate ornaments and ribbons provided crunchiness, while the pistachio mousse and strawberry jelly provided smoothness. Unfortunately, the strawberry jelly also stole the show for the wrong reason. It was tremendously tart, to the point where it was the dominant flavour, when the pistachio should have been the star of the show.
Christmas Comparison Verdict:
The Evergreen Tree is like when you get the Christmas gift you wished for, but turns out to be completely different than what you expected.
⭐️
Chestnut Tart
The Chestnut Tart was another appealing dessert. The candied chestnut and its connected chocolate ribbon helped give it a more memorable look.
The berries were bearable this time, enjoyable even, as they were not too tart, and slightly sweet. This was further balanced by the refreshing vanilla mousse. As for the pastry part, the surrounding tart and underlying base were buttery and flaky.
Ultimately, this Chestnut Tart suffered from a similar fate as the Evergreen Tree—the flavour with top billing failed to shine. Although it wasn't washed away by the other components, it also did not provide a punchy enough chestnut flavour to live up to its name.
Christmas Comparison Verdict:
The Chestnut Tart is like that sweater your Aunt gifts you; it's fine, it's functional, but it doesn't possess the pizzazz to be regularly featured.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chocolate Orange Pyramid
La Rocca even managed to make a jet-black pyramid look picturesque. This is the result of the candied orange, chocolate orange sticks, hazelnuts and golden flecks garnished on top. They helped give great contrast and an added dimension to the devilishly dark dessert.
In terms of texture, the pyramid was:
✔️ Soft but not mushy
✔️ Rich but not heavy
And as the video above illustrates, it is real sturdy. It took a concerted effort to break off a piece. And it still stood strong afterwards. La Rocca definitely did the pyramid name proud!
Most importantly, in terms of taste, it was:
✔️ Sweet but not sickly
✔️ Bitter but not biting
✔️ Orangey but not overpowering
Finally, a dessert that lived up to its billing! All the elements worked together in perfect harmony.
Christmas Comparison Verdict:
Like Santa and his Reindeer on Christmas Eve, I will be dashing through the snow this weekend to get a second helping before it flies off the counters!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
