A Chocolate Affair

This month, Marina Bay Sands chef Alejandro Luna is partnering renowned French pastry chef Stephane Glacier to come up with five chocolate themed desserts. Chef Glacier has won the Best Craftsman of France, only 4 out of 100 pastry chefs can earn this title, the most prestigious accolade in the pastry world. This time, the chocolate cakes here used Felchin Chocolate from Switzerland and the decadent desserts are all found in Chef Glacier's shop in France.

Without having to fly to Paris to try these delights, I excitedly tried them during the week when Chef Glacier is still here even though they will be available till the end of Sept at the Sweetspot (MBS). For the price range of $5.50-$9.10, the patisseries here are worth the value.

Le Petit Antoine Cake
Layers of hazelnuts, chocolate cream, almond cake, hazelnut crunch

Not only was this my favorite, this was chef Glacier's pick as well. This resembles a royal hazelnut cake but the quality is much superior. Tastes and looks similar to Pierre Hermes' Plair Sucre. Those who like kinder bueno or ferrero rocher will definitely like this. Quoting from his interview in ST, he said that mousse cakes that are just mousse cakes are not exciting. They must have textures and a balance of flavors.
Chocolate verrine
Dark chocolate ganache, chocolate mousse, salted caramel, thin chocolate brownie

This one is my favourite one as I did not expect the bottom yellow layer to be Salted Caramel!!! There was no description at the counter so we do not know the components. For a dessert done by a world chef, the price of $5.50 (the cheapest of all here) is definitely very worth it. Not too sweet but very rich indeed.I find it very difficult to describe the caramel because it is not just one thin cream layer but like a tofu that holds it's shape but melts in the mouth. A Must Try

Praline Tenderesses ($6)
I actually wanted to make this when I saw the recipe in a Japanese book. But well it is easier to eat then make. This is actually a baked almond cake (but here it is changed into a hazelnut version) that is similar to the making of a financier.
Dark chocolate is filled in the middle and melts when I warmed it up. Ooh, I think it tasted better when eaten warm. The cake is dense but not too buttery.You can spot finely grounded hazelnuts in the cake.

Chocolate Tartlet with Silken Chocolate in a fragrant crisp tart($6)
Very crispy shell that holds its shape despite being halved. The chocolate is the richest here compared to the rest of the cake but it is very velvety and has a bittersweet flavour. There are two distinct types of chocolate ganache fillings here which I can't tell it's cocoa percentages exactly.

Le Marceau
Chocolate sponge,chocolate mousse and toasted nuts

This is actually a very simple cake but what makes it sparkles is the roared almond nuts that surround the cake. The nuts are really crisp as though they have been caramelized. But the funny thing is that the nuts are not sweet at all. An elegant dome-shaped chocolate indulgence.

Last but not least, I spotted another cake the Tropique which I guessed might be the work of Sweetspot pastry chef and not the French chef.

Tropique
Chocolate mousse and passionfruit centre, chocolate sponge base
Surprisingly, I find that the mousse here is the least sweet amongst all the cakes here.There is even a subtle tea aroma.
Cannot really spot the passionfruit mousse filling visible but it is actually right in the core of the cake in light yellow-brown colour. Has a nutty crunchy base as well.
Of course Sweetspot sells many other cakes but it is worth making a trip down to the South of the island just for those cakes above, especially when it is a rare chance to have a collaboration like this.

Sweetspot
MBS Tower 3

http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Restaurants/Quick-Eats/SweetSpot/

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