We ate our way through 20 Japanese strawberry shortcakes. Here are the best six. BY MIA CHENYZE
We ate our way through 20 Japanese strawberry shortcakes. Here are the best six. BY MIA CHENYZE
PATISSERIE G
$8 a slice, and $72 for an 18cm cake. #01-40/41 Millenia Walk, tel: 6338-7578.
This dainty number was as close as it gets to the perfect strawberry shortcake. The cream was speckled with vanilla beans and sugared just enough to tantalise, while the strawberries were pleasantly sweet. The sponge could have been a tad softer though.
BAKERZIN
$8.80 a slice, and from $38 for a 12cm x 14cm cake. From all Bakerzin outlets, including #01-207 Vivocity, tel: 6438-8700.
The sponge, moist and not too eggy, was a startling yellow. We appreciated that the cake was generously studded with strawberries and that the freshly whipped cream was light, but the sweetness could have been more restrained.
DOLCETTO BY BASILICO
$9.50 a slice, and from $38 for a 500g cake. Level 1, Regent Singapore, I Cuscaden Road, tel: 6725-3243.
Our testers wondered where Dolcetto got its strawberries – so aromatic and sweet. The rest of the cake checked all the boxes, too. The cream was light, the sponge moist and not too eggy, and the coating of sugared peanuts was a crunchy bonus. A bit fluffier, and it would have been true perfection.
PACIFIC MARKETPLACE
$58.50 for a 1kg cake; order one day in advance. Level 1, Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Boulevard, tel: 6826-8240.
The soft and pillowy sponge cake was one of our favourites, and the combination of fresh cream and mascarpone was the right balance between milky and sweet. That said, our testers felt the cream could have been a little lighter.
OLD SENG CHOON
$88 for a 900g cake. www.oldsengchoon.com.
Looks can be deceiving. Seeing the globs of cream on this Japanese strawberry shortcake, we were initially doubtful. But they turned out to be like clouds of meringue. The airy sponge was a dream to eat, too. Such a pity that the strawberries were bland, and the peanut coating a little less crunchy than preferred.
THE WHITE OMBRE
$7 per slice, and from $45 for a six-inch cake. #01-1209, 206 Toa Payoh North, tel: 6254-6434.
This Earl Grey Strawberry Shortcake was unconventional, and we were intrigued, then smitten, by the subtle perfume of Earl Grey tea in the cream, as well as the crunchiness of the caramelised puff pastry flakes and crust. The cream could have been slightly less sweet, and its rustic look could have done with a contemporary makeover.
