La Rocca Revisited Part 3—Here's the Scoop 🍦

(Note—this is the final post of a series.

1) The first review was for Mango Coconut Cheesecake.
2) The second review was for S'mores Cheesecake.)

The seasons change. The head chefs might change. But one thing that doesn’t change? La Rocca’s desserts remain breathtakingly beautiful, and their summer collection is no exception!

Avid readers may recall this previous post I wrote about La Rocca Creative Kitchen’s Christmas Collection.

With summer coming to a close, I decided to try some of their summer desserts before they’re gone.

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And now, for our final dessert. 

What screams summer more than a big scoop of ice cream? And in a waffle cone too! Presenting: Here’s the Scoop. 🍦

The first thing that hit me when I opened the box was a wonderful waffle cone aroma. A great start!

Although the scent was strong, the taste was milder. I find waffle cones a bit too sweet, so this was just right for me. It was softer than a typical waffle cone due the chilled nature of the dessert. However, it still gave a good crunch.

Unlike the waffle cone, the pink ribbon was over-the-top sweet. The tiny chocolate ball enclosed within actually helped temper this.

Time for the inside Scoop.

You may recall I found La Rocca’s pistachio cake from their Christmas collection extremely disappointing. Then, this particular dessert, Here’s the Scoop, also included lemon anglaise. And as you may recall from my Mango Coconut Cheesecake review, I don’t like lemon/sour things. So needless to say, I was more than a little apprehensive about trying this.

Thankfully, I spoke with Jessica, the head pastry chef, (who was wonderfully gracious 🙏) and she eased my concerns.

Regarding the lemon anglaise (the yellow triangle in the photo below), she swore that it would not taste sour because it was mixed with vanilla. And in case I still didn’t like it, the dessert was designed in a way whereby I could simply eat around it. I still didn’t like it; it tasted too creamy to compensate for the lemon. As she promised though, it wasn’t sour.

I was interested in Here’s the Scoop for the scoop part—pistachio (my favourite nut). My other concern was that it would only offer a faint flavour like the Christmas version. She proudly proclaimed that if one of her desserts is promoting a particular flavour, it would definitely come through strong. Again, Chef Jessica lived up to her words. 👩‍🍳💯

If the previous pistachio dessert had the intensity of a lazy river, this one, and in particular the praline, hit like a tsunami! 🌊

The pistachio mousse (light green) was very flavourful. They sprinkled some pistachio pieces to give it even more flavour and some added texture. It was also airy, melt-in-your-mouth soft. The mousse was creamy, but this time, the pistachio got to shine.

Somehow, the pistachio praline took the taste to another level. You’ll notice in the photo that it’s a deep green. This is indicative of its phenomenal potency. Every spoonful was intoxicating! They also added pistachio pieces in here too, so there was a terrific crunch to it. It was brilliantly balanced, with just the right amount of sweetness, also allowing the pistachio to shine. 

It’s fitting that the last component we cover is the chiffon cake. With everything else happening inside the cone, it would’ve been easy to overlook it. It was simple in its sweetness but so sublime. Also, it was fantastically fluffy, providing a different enough texture from the mousse to add some depth. I could eat this chiffon cake plain and straight as it is, so I can see why they charge $55+ for a whole cake!

Verdict (aka Here's My Scoop on Here's the Scoop):
The pristine praline and magnificent mousse were immaculate. The first-class chiffon cake and wonderful waffle cone were lovely. Combined, they more than make up for the sub-optimal lemon anglaise and pink ribbon. To wit—this dessert was so nice that I had it thrice!

Summer may be over, but I’ll remember this perfect pistachio praline forever!

(Since this series is about summer, we're swapping out stars for suns.)

P.S. Thank you for reading this review series on La Rocca’s Summer Collection. Follow me on Instagram for more sweet content!

La Rocca Revisited Part 2—S'mores Cheesecake 🔥

(Note—this post is the second in a series. The first review was for Mango Coconut Cheesecake.)

The seasons change. The head chefs might change. But one thing that doesn’t change? La Rocca’s desserts remain breathtakingly beautiful, and their summer collection is no exception!

Avid readers may recall this previous post I wrote about La Rocca Creative Kitchen’s Christmas Collection.

With summer coming to a close, I decided to try some of their summer desserts before they’re gone.

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Today, we'll be checking out the S'mores Cheesecake.

As you can see from the picture below, they've got all the s’mores components covered. The varying sizes of marshmallows is a nice touch and exemplify the level of detail and planning put into this. Bravo for yet another exquisitely designed dessert!

La Rocca advertised this as a smooth chocolate cheesecake, and it definitely lives up to it texture-wise. Although not as light as the Mango Coconut Cheesecake we looked at (few desserts are!), it's still solidly on the lighter side of cheesecakes.

As for flavour, the chocolate was a little subtler than I hoped for. It’s still on equal footing with the cheesiness of the cheesecake though. And it’s still sufficiently sweet.

Usually, I don’t like marshmallows; I find them too synthetic and too sweet. However, these hand-made vanilla bean marshmallows were more mellow, making this one happy fellow! Plus, the fact that they were roasted conjured some campfire comparisons.

From hand-made to house-made, the graham cracker was also well-executed. It supplied some snappiness to complement the cheesecake’s smoothness. And in a pleasant surprise, it was also slightly spiced. This added another dimension to the dessert’s profile. They also included graham cracker via the outer crumble and in the crust.

Lastly, the La Rocca emblazoned chocolate atop added some welcome chocolatiness. It was a good quality milk chocolate, which is a good segue for our verdict.

Verdict:

As a chocoholic, I was hoping for a stronger chocolate flavour. With that said, this S'mores Cheesecake is both a faithful and flavourful re-imagination of the signature summer treat. It works well because all the flavours get their moment in the sun! 😎

☀️☀️☀️☀️

(Since this series is about summer, we're swapping out stars for suns.)

La Rocca Revisited Part 1—Mango Coconut Cheesecake 🥥

(Note—this post is the first in a series.)

The seasons change. The head chefs might change. But one thing that doesn’t change? La Rocca’s desserts remain breathtakingly beautiful, and their summer collection is no exception!

Avid readers may recall this previous post I wrote about La Rocca Creative Kitchen’s Christmas Collection.

With summer coming to a close, I decided to try some of their summer desserts before they’re gone.

---

First up is the Mango Coconut Cheesecake.

I’ve definitely consumed my fair share of sweets. So, there are times where I’ll be eating one and immediately think back to a similarly tasting sweet. This Mango Coconut Cheesecake immediately conjured comparisons of zestier Chinese mango pudding. They both burst with magnificent mango flavour and are silky smooth. Although the mango is the main attraction, the cheesecake is a solid sidekick. It provides tanginess to complement the mango's sweetness.

The glaze atop adds even more mango goodness while supplying some sourness with its hint of lemon. I’m not a fan of lime and lemon, so I could’ve done without its inclusion. For those of you that do though, you’ll like it! 

A coconut white chocolate whipped ganache crowns the cheesecake. The coconut counterbalances the typical sweetness that comes with white chocolate. And it’s airy as expected.

Now, for the one part I haven’t mentioned yet—the coconut almond crust. The mango is the star of the show, but this was particularly impressive. Admittedly, the almond could’ve been a bit stronger. However, using almond, along with some desiccated coconut, gave the crust a memorable crunchiness. It provided a welcome textural contrast to the rest of the dessert's softness. 

Also, if I’m honest, standard cheesecake crust, made with graham cracker, is a bit plain to me. So like a cool summer breeze on a hot, humid day, this coconut almond crust was a breath of fresh air! 

Verdict:

The Mango Coconut Cheesecake was a very refreshing, tangy and tasty treat. Perfect for summer!

☀️☀️☀️☀️

(Since this series is about summer, we're swapping out stars for suns.)

La Rocca-ing Around the Christmas Tree 🎄

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.
⭐️

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!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️