Another year, another birthday, another cake - It's the only good part of ageing.. Well aside from the presents obviously.. Who doesn't like presents? No one, that's who!
I opted for something a tad "fancier" as my celebration sponge this time round, having eyed up the £10 Tesco Finest Cakes for months*. Swaying back and forth over whether the Red Velvet option should be the one.. Or Mocha.. Or Salted Caramel.. I eventually got a grip and settled on the latter and whacked it in my trolley, prior to speeding off so I couldn't change my mind for the 100th time.
Indulgent toffee sponge filled with chocolate frosting and covered with a salted caramel buttercream, decorated with Belgian milk chocolate chips, fudge pieces and a salted caramel drizzle.
Designed to feed 14 as well as being suitable for vegetarians, the cake certainly looked the part with a swirly frosted top and not so expertly drizzled, drizzle.. But we can live with that.
Cutting with ease into neat slices, the sponge felt plenty soft with a decent/well proportioned layer of both the two fillings.. Not to mention, smelling absolutely divine!
Ensuring I got a massive wodge, I got stuck in and was immediately greeted by deliciously sweet, buttery tones, just as its scent suggested. Super soft and tender, the 3 sponges were pretty decent texture wise, not dry in the slightest and provided the first whiff of caramel. This was only cranked up a gear by the smooth, thickly slathered buttercream which was sweet, naturally, but no overly sickly or cloying. The middle layer of chocolate, which I found to be more akin to a set custard than frosting, delivered a strong hit of cocoa and went a long way in helping diminish any potential overdose of sugar, but I did feel it took away from the overall caramel flavour.. Well, that was until hitting the drizzled sauce upon top which oozed salted, toffee flavour and even a lingering, pleasant saline aftertaste! A final measly scattering of fudge and chocolate hardly contributed any flare but if one was lucky enough to get some on their piece, there would be no complaints! YUM.
Overall, this Tesco Finest Salted Caramel Cake is a sheer delight. It's been executed superbly, tastes mouthwateringly good and delivers on the promised and oh so important, salted caramel aspect.. Even if only the case in the sauce opposed to the buttercream! If you've got a Birthday coming up (Or just a cake!) I highly recommend you opt for one of these beauties - I am sure Mum would be thrilled with one for Mother's Day come the 26th also! It's a 4.5 out of 5 from me.
*Not to mention the fact that I've somehow managed to exhaust all that Asda have to offer - Including last years almighty Flake Cake!
