Indulging in some sweet treats is one of the best things about the festive period. Although not everyone is a fan of a traditional Christmas cake, there are plenty of other offerings out there to suit all tastes.
Patisserie Valerie, known for its decadent cakes and pastries, has unveiled its festive range and it includes several “show stopping centre pieces”, which can be delivered straight to your door. You can choose from the Candy Cane Hot Chocolate Cake, priced at £49.95 and serving 14, a Traditional Yule Log which serves up to 14 people, costing £54.95, the Madame Valerie, which will set you back £59.95 and serves up to 20, or the Gingerbread Cake, which serves 14 and costs £39.95.
At the M.E.N we tried the Candy Cane Hot Chocolate Cake, which looks as impressive as it sounds. The cake arrives in a cardboard box, which can be easily opened up so you can slide the cake straight onto a serving plate - the box unfolds so you don’t have to worry about reaching inside.
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The decoration is spectacular. It’s covered in a smooth white butter cream with candy-cane stripes encircling it in festive green and red. It’s topped with green buttercream ‘trees’ and mini chocolate candy canes.
It’s certainly festive and fun, and would definitely stand out on a Christmas table. However, it does look - and sound - rather too sweet, and we feared it would be a bit on the sickly side.
Slicing into the cake reveals the chocolate sponge inside, layered with fresh cream and mini marshmallows. It’s easy to cut into, but though the cake suggests it can serve 14, it can be tricky to portion it up.
It doesn’t help that there are only 12 ‘trees’ on the top, as they would have served as a useful guide.
However, the biggest surprise was the taste. The sponge is deceptively light and airy, and far from sickly sweet.
There’s a faint taste of peppermint in the chocolate buttercream which hints at the candy-cane theme, while the fresh cream and marshmallows give the cake a pleasant texture. The decorative frosting on the outside isn’t too heavy, but it could do with being slightly sweeter.
We shared the cake around the office and all of us agreed the cake’s appearance was deceptive. It definitely seems like it should be a lot richer and indulgent from the way that it looks.
The mint flavour was surprising too, although not too overpowering, actually giving it a refreshing taste. Apart from the marshmallows the hot chocolate theme ends there, so it would perhaps be more apt to have called this a ‘candy cane chocolate cake’ instead.
The verdict
Overall it’s a fun cake and the lightness means you could easily squeeze in a slice of this cake after your Christmas dinner or party food spread. But is it worth the £49.95 price tag?
If you're after an impressive centrepiece for a festive party it definitely has that "wow" factor. While you can get plenty of show-stopping desserts in supermarkets for around £15 - £25, we could not find that many options for large festive cakes of this style that can be home delivered across the UK so it has a certain niche in that regard.
It would just about cut into 14 slices (aside from there being only 12 trees), which would work out at around £3.50 a slice which is what you'd probably expect to pay if you are heading into a cafe and buying this style of cake. But there's no doubting that £49.95 is an expensive investment for a whole cake like this.
The cakes, all handmade, are available for nationwide delivery and ours arrived exactly within a one hour timeframe as they said it would in an email delivery note.
It arrives frozen, so you’re advised to get them delivered the day before you want to serve them if you are going to want to serve straight away.
They’re packed with dry ice to protect them during transport and should be defrosted for eight hours in the fridge before consuming. We used the workplace fridge which had plenty of space, but be warned it is a large cake so you would need plenty of space to home it.
We found it’s best to bring the cake up to room temperature before serving.
How do you order?
The Candy Cane Hot Chocolate Cake and Traditional Yule Log are available in-store if you want to simply sample a slice. You can book them online as a whole cake until 31st December.
The Madame Valerie and Gingerbread cake are available online only until December 31. The last orders for delivery on Christmas Eve are on December 23 by 2pm.
