Happy New Years Eve, Folks! I trust you all had a fantabulous Christmas with family and friends alike - To those who are still celebrating, I salute you and agree that the party may as well continue as 2016 is only hours away! Ever ones to go out with a bang here on R4R, the last review of the year has to be something Extra Special.. Something chocolatey and of course, something very much cakey! Asda have our backs..
I actually picked up this Belgian Chocolate Layer Cake the week before Christmas for £10 but would assume there might be some still lurking about if one was quick - Search high and low in the celebration cake aisle!
Luxurious layers of Madeira, caramel and chocolate flavoured sponge with rich Belgian chocolate ganache, encased within chocolate plaques and finished with lustered white chocolate.
Look how well it cut - Even the thick slabs of chocolate, fencing the cake didn't crack or crumble! All 4 layers were very distinct, transitioning in colour from dark to light with visible ganache between each.. Not to mention the almost inch of the stuff on top! As this was a soft, yet robust cake that sliced like a a dream, I can't imagine that it would be a problem to cut thinner slices and achieve greater than the 16 servings suggested on the box - 20 would definitely be doable!
I ensured that I got an end piece purely for the sneaky delight of a slab of chocolate on the underside - It really was thick and I wasn't going to pass it up! Starting with the sponge, the texture was quite dense (As Madeira is) but soft enough to be tender and not dry in the mouth which is something never to stand for when it comes to cake! The base and darkest layer was not compromised by the use of cocoa at all and was full of chocolatey tones which paired nicely with the caramel cake it supported.. Fairly mild in flavour but with a buttery sweetness, the second layer worked perfectly and wasn't too much at all. The 2 remaining layers were a little harder to distinguish and I would say were essentially the same in being plain vanilla - Pleasant but nothing special. Sandwiching the lot as well as topping the cake was an indulgent, thick gooey ganache that was very rich and tasted of an extremely good quality thanks to the Belgian Chocolate used. The finishing touch was the solid chocolate "decorations" - The plaque had a satisfying crack to it and a deep flavour with the stars and ball made of white chocolate, being deliciously sweet and not cheap tasting. Yum!
Overall, I am mightily impressed with this Extra Special Belgian Chocolate Layer Cake from Asda - The all round quality is superb, it looks spectacular and it will feed a crowd at not to great of an expense! My only real qualm is how the proportions of ganache are a little off.. I can't help but feel that the thick topping would have served better distributed throughout the layers rather than just all piled on top.. But that is just personal preference! Definitely one to give a go, if not this year then certainly next - A 4 out of 5 from me!
Enjoy yourselves tonight whatever tomfoolery you get up too! I shall see you all on the other side - Let's make 2016 our best year yet!
Yum this cake looks really good! I'd been eyeing it up in Asda but thought it would be far too big for the size family I have haha. I agree though, looks like the ganache would have been better had it been evenly distributed between the layers.
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