28 November 2014

Best of Canberra Taste Off: Cakes

| Canfan
Join the conversation
5

For the cake taste off, Flute in Fyshwick drew the most support with Ricardo’s in Jamieson the challenger.

I should start out by confessing that I love cake. I do however say that with one caviat. I like ‘real’ cake. The spongey, floury goodness of a bouncy cake. My favourite is carrot cake closely followed by chocolate cake. I kind of miss old fashioned cake as it doesn’t seem to feature on many menus anymore.

That being said, I decided to go with chocolate varieties at each location and went ahead on a mission in sugar and all things sweet.

First up, I tried Flute. I had initially planned to present both cakes at my mum’s birthday, in turn killing two birds with one stone. But, as it was on a Sunday and Flute is only open Monday to Friday, I figured a two day delay may see a decline in cake freshness. So, I was forced to sample the Flute cake on my own. I went with the chocolate profiterole cake and it’s a good thing I took the photo early on. I had every intention of waiting for my husband to return from work before cracking into this baby, but the gorgeous looking profiteroles were calling me to pluck them off and pop them in my mouth as I fussed about the kitchen. The cake is a layer of chocolate sponge topped with chocolate mousse and then a layer of profiteroles. Topped off with some chocolate sauce and chocolate shavings it is in no way for the feint hearted. It is sweet and rich. It is also delightful. The profiteroles are light and mousse is smooth. A real treat, it would be perfect for either a celebration cake or dessert for a dinner party. Just don’t order it too early or like me, you may turn it into a chocolate cake with no profiteroles prior to serving.

flute-cake-task-off

The Flute cake was $40. I pre ordered it in store and collected it no problem. The challenge of purchasing is the store opening hours (8-3 Mon-Fri) and parking, but not enough to put you off as the end result is a triumph.

The second cake was a chocolate caramel mousse cake (gluten free) from Ricardo’s. I ordered this online, selected my pick up time within the half hour (7 days a week) and paid with a card. I was pretty impressed with this system. The cake was more expensive than Flute at $60 for the same size (although the Ricardo’s cake was taller), but beautifully presented. Covered in chocolate dusting and little chocolate ‘pebble’s on top, it was certainly appealing.

ricardos-cake-taste-off

This cake ended up as my mum’s birthday cake so I had many an opinion to work with. We sliced into the cake to find it predominantly chocolate mouse on a thin sponge base with a thick layer of salted caramel running through the middle. I started out serving what I thought were small serves but as the thick caramel oozed from the centre, people started requesting smaller pieces. Of the 12 people sampling the cake, only one finished their piece. It was rich, very rich. My sister is the biggest chocoholic I know and this cake was even too much for her sweet tooth. It would perhaps fare better with a dollop of ice cream and some berries to cut through the chocolate, but it wasn’t a winner for us.

I guess it’s no great surprise the Flute is the winner. They have become a well-known name over the years and I must say, I can absolutely see why.

Join the conversation

5
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Ricardo’s are superb. +1 for them

Alexandra Craig11:34 am 12 Sep 14

I’m nearly dribbling looking at the profiterole cake. Might have to try that one!

I love the cakes from the Flute but the lack of credit card facilities when you are paying such a high price for the cakes is off putting in these days of credit over cash. sadly I stick to buying the snack sized ones and go elsewhere for event cakes.

Agreed, The Flute got the balance right. Wishes Ricardos’ team review its formula, it seems everything has salted caramel and 1kg of sugar per bite in their sweets, over priced and rated.

Good choice , Sorry but Ricardos is overrated and trying to be a washed down version of Adriano Zumbo I have tried many from Ricardos and one thing is missing is taste. Flute is hands down the winner aside from the parking.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.