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!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy Holidays and New Year! 🎉

Thank you to everyone who read the blog this year. Hoping for bigger and better things in 2019!

Speaking of which...


Hope your Holidays are merry,
And your New Year is cheery.
🎉

I wish you all the best,
In all your endeavours,
And that 2019,
Is your best year ever!
🍀


Warmest regards,
Kevin

La Crème de La Crème 🍫

 

Sportsnet Slays with Provocative Pregame Raptors Hype Video 😮

Link to the video

I commend everyone involved, their work was astounding!
The best hype video – got all of our hearts pounding!
This piece delivered pristine production all-around:
The visuals, writing, voice-over, music and sounds.  

The most notable feature was that it was so blunt,

There was a method to the madness, not just a stunt.
This was truly provocative, everyone was panned:
The media, players, coaches and even the fans.
It was all justified though, a brilliant plan.

They called out our All-Stars for leaving:
Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Chris Bosh,
The frankness was raw and disbelieving:
Seasoned journalists exclaimed, “Oh My Gosh!”

The video also took aim at our two most recent flames:
The Face of the Franchise, DeMar, and the Coach of the Year, Dwane.
This was copywriting at its best – amplifying the pain!


Most importantly, it also gave us hope for this season,
A great team added Kawhi Leonard; that’s the main reason.
Although he is a man shrouded in mystery,
He’s also the best player in our history!

We should believe in ourselves, our team, our city,
Instead of dwelling on supposed inferiorities.
As Masai also wisely preached, “We should move past that.”
Kawhi had the first, let’s hope he also has the last laugh.



Photos via Sportsnet

The Newest Krispy Kreme Fiend 🍩

This was my first time trying Krispy Kreme,

This fact alone is extremely obscene!

Having lived all these years in this world,

Never bothered to give it a whirl.

I have a good friend who will always go nuts,

At the mere mention of Krispy Kreme donuts!

He was the one always bugging me to try them,

So it’s no surprise he ended up buying them!

He kept raving about how they were so delicious,

His Krispy Kreme devotion almost seemed religious!

In case you were wondering, I did not eat all of these! 😛

I started with the Original Glazed;

Krispy Kreme’s classic, the one that trailblazed.

It also provides the critical foundation,

For most of their other circular creations.

It is the one that is most recommended;

I concur, I definitely commend it!

The first bite was heavenly, like a christening

The hype was for real; I regret not listening!

Yes, the donut was sweet but not too overwhelming,

I was able to eat much more, that’s the most telling.

My main gripe? All the artificial colours and flavours.

But when it tastes this sublime? Just forget it and savour!

The next two were Original but with some wrinkles:

Both glazed with chocolate, the second was dipped in sprinkles.

Although they were both still good in their own ways,

They masked the taste of the Original Glazed.

Cake Batter was topped with confetti bits,
So many textures—a certified hit!
The donut itself was soft and chewy,
While the Kreme filling was soft and gooey.
The colourful bits then added a crunch,
A triple threat of textures in each munch.

The plan was to save half of it for later,
It wasn’t something my body could wait for!
So I devoured the rest of it in that sitting.
Krispy Kreme is so satisfying and addicting,
It is a new habit that I won’t soon be quitting!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The King of Kit Kats 👑

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An Ode to Ozymandias 🙌

Today marks the five year anniversary of the best television episode I have ever witnessed: Breaking Bad’'s Ozymandias.

Note: I typically use a couplet, or if I’m feeling really inspired, an alternate rhyme scheme for my stanzas. Given the intensity of the episode, I decided to use (mostly) monorhyme to mimic the pulsating heartbeat I had while watching it.

=============================================

Season 5B was Breaking Bad’s absolute apex.

Of this batch, the magnum opus? Ozymandias.

It tied many plot points together, it was seamless:

The opening scene’s pilot flashback was ingenious,

Hank’s final scene was legendary, it left me speechless,

Walt’s confession to Jesse about Jane was the meanest.

Marie’s talk at the car wash left me feeling depressed.

Walt’s barrel roll had me rolling: a needed recess!

The White family knife fight was viscerally grievous,

Walt’s motto of “We’re a family” never did mean less.

There was so much destruction, it was almost fiendish:

Seeing Jesse in captivity made me squeamish,

Walt’s call with Skyler—Heisenberg’s a goddamn genius.

It was so incredibly intense, it made me breathe less!

A perfect hour of television—simply the best!