RC Memories

Cake ! "We've just opened something and my immediate thought was of you" said the PR lady recently when she called me "Really I said, what's this all about?" "Come and try" she said "I'll give you a clue it's about Cake !" And so I found myself in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, DIFC one afternoon being led to a new contemporary patisserie and cafe called Cake. The team explained that this philosophy behind the name is to be all about great cakes and desserts. Cake is situated just off of the lobby of the hotel and serves a wide range of elegant pastries and cookies which are handmade each day using fresh quality ingredients, paired with fine teas, traditional and unusual coffees, juices, milkshakes and smoothies and a range of fresh salads and sandwiches. Afternoon tea is served in the lounge area. The interior decoration is unusual, it's classical yet with arabic influences, overhead there are 460 traditional coffee pots suspended in a floating carpet type arrangement, on the walls are various arabic pieces or artwork, and as you enter you walk past a large display of Cakes leaving you in no doubt that these guys mean business, serious cake business. Executive Pastry Chef Dragan Rucnov is the creative force behind the menu and he explained that the inspiration was based on providing classic cakes as well as some of his personal favorites including the moist Chocolate Caramel Pecan Fudge Cake, Date Delight, a date and walnut cake with Valrhona chocolate cremeaux and caramel mousse, Lemon Yuzu Meringue Tart, and a classic Carrot Cake with apple, walnuts and traditional cream cheese icing. For those wanting something more classic, the collection features an assortment of classics as well as mousse sponges, pastries and tarts, and seasonal ingredients are integral, with chestnuts, apples, pears and hazelnuts featuring heavily in the current Autumnal offering. Quirkier choices include the innovative Tiramisu, served in an old-fashioned jar, Strawberry Pinky, a layered vanilla cake with hazelnut crunch, orange blossom cream cheese mousseline, strawberry mousse and strawberry jelly, and White Chocolate Cheesecake, designed to look like Swiss cheese. The star of the show for those who visit the Ritz-Carlton and are in the know is The Ritz-Carlton Cake, the result of a global contest that saw 23 Ritz-Carlton chefs from across the globe competing to create the ultimate cake that carries the history of The Ritz-Carlton on its sugared shoulders. The result; a decadent chocolate slab with Valrhona Coeur de Guanaja chocolate sponge, and Valrhona Caraibe ganache infused with candied orange peel and Grand Marnier[1], served as a single slice or in full, presented in an ornate box, perfect as an elegant gift. I've sampled the Ritz-Carlton cake before, and loved it, as did all of my friends who came to sample it one afternoon over tea and slices of decadent, rich and indulgent cake. We sampled a range of dishes which chef recommended including the Ritz-Carlton Cake, Strawberry Pinky, Chocolate Caramel Pecan Fudge Cake and Carrot Cake, plus the Apple Crumble Cake which I sampled as a takeaway. They not only taste great, but they looked great too with all of the individual images in this article taken by me, I also sampled a wickedly strong coffee called the Eye Opener and a Coconut Latte which was a little too sweet for me, but I loved the unusual use of coconut milk and coconut cream paired with coffee, for those of you who like coffee with sugar, this will hit the mark I'm sure. Cake is open from 6 am until midnight and offers takeaway (I can vouch for that also) (Image credit for photos below courtesy of Ritz-Carlton, DIFC). Disclaimer : I was a guest of the hotel, however all opinions are my own. [1] Contains alcohol. Alcohol-free version also available, made with orange blossom.