May 3, 2009

The Pleasure Dome

Cocoa Patisserie
167 High Street, Kew

Pleasure dome

The title of this post is very fitting. I often get distracted by the tittle of dishes and there was no exception when one day I walked into Cocoa Patisserie and saw the Pleasure Dome. The first time I purchased it, it was from sheer novelty. It was such a good looking cake that I just HAD to have it. I knew it was a chocolate mousse cake but I had no idea how the thing was constructed. I had taken it into work for a colleague's birthday, and for hours before actually cutting it open there was heated discussion as to the internal make up of the "dome". I had suggested that it consisted of a cake shell and then filled with mousse. Oh how wrong I was. It was much more complex than this. In actual fact it is many layers of cake followed by mousse and then covered in chocolate ganache, with ganache piping, chocolate flowers and juicy blueberries. 

Deconstructed pleasure dome

Recently I purchased it again for my brothers birthday. This time I decided to go for the coffee Pleasure Dome. The flavour of coffee is definitely there. When you think of mousse cakes, you think of something that is light and airy, in fact this cake is extremely dense and rich. It should only be eaten with a tall glass of icy milk.....well thay's how I like it.

I really like Cocoa. I try to buy most cakes from there, but so far they have all proven to be extremely rich, this isn't a problem so much if you take it into account when giving out portions, portion size is always important......the bigger the better I say! 

pleasure dome cut up

Even though they stock a healthy range of small pastry's and biscuits, I had never tried anything else they have on offer. So when we stopped by to purchase the Pleasure Dome we decided to indulge ourselves. I had a polenta, lemon and almond cake, and Daz had an apricot danish (which is extremely boring, he always buys apricot danish's). My polenta cake was beautiful. Polenta cakes have a tendency to be very heavy and a little bland, but they had soaked it in a thick lemon syrup, which made it moist and tasty. I thoroughly enjoyed it, a great way to start the day. Daz also enjoyed his danish, he especially enjoyed the thick vanilla custard that the apricots were sitting on.  

Polenta lemon and almond cake

apricot danish

At the moment Cocoa only has the one store in Kew, but I think this might quickly change when everyone discovers the awesomeness of this place. Laurent has 13 stores in Melbourne and I think Cocoa's is much better. All you have to do is walk past their window fronts to be instantly lured within.

Cocoa window front

Its been almost 2 weeks since my last visit, I think I will have to go back soon, I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms!

13 comments:

Anita said...

What a gorgeous cake! I love the construction of it plus the beautiful flowers on top.

Simon Leong said...

wicked cakes! YUM!

Maree said...

This post makes me wish I weren't trying to lose a couple of pounds! Definitely on my list for the day my diet is over!

Chefspiration said...

OMG that looks super sinful!! Yumm...

Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said...

That pleasure dome looks incredible. I think I almost swooned at the sight of it! :o

April @ My Food Trail said...

WOWOWOW! How amazing does that cake look?! Now I've got another place I can buy birthday cakes from, especially if you say it is better than Laurent! Are the cakes expensive?

I love your pic explaning all the different layers!

April @ My Food Trail said...

P.S. Thanks for adding me to your blog list!

arista said...

Looks like lovely food, I especially like the look of the polenta cake - I've made some and it's really nice with fruit.

Arwen from Hoglet K said...

What a beautifully decorated chocolate cake! Was the polenta cake gluten free?

Anonymous said...

Pleasure dome indeed!! soo purrddyy! Too bad I'm not too much of a coffee fan anymore but still yuummm

Maria@TheGourmetChallenge said...

Hi Anita - The flowers are gorgeous. Even I can be persuaded by beauty.

Hi Simon - Every cake so far......AWESOME!

Hi Maree - Forget the diet, indulge in richness!

Hi Alexandra - super sinful and super delicious!

Hi Lorraine - This cake does have the ability to make your knees shake

Hi DiscoveryMe - They arent too expensive. They are about the same price as Laurent, but like I said a hell of alot better!

Hi arista - I've never tried polenta cake with fruit pieces, it does sound good though

Hi Arwen - I'm pretty sure its gluten free. It was made with polenta and almond meal, but I'm not a 100% sure its gluten free.

Hi FFichiban - They have it in chocolate flavor if you dont like coffee.

Anonymous said...

Cocoa patisserie have just recently opened in north fitzroy. I just tried pleasure dome for the first time and i say it wins over laurent!
The new shop is on st georges st

Anonymous said...

i live right near the fitzroy store and i visit frequently its number 252 st georges rd. the coffee is far better than the surrounding cafes in the area and is always consistent. the store is bigger than the kew one and the decor is much nicer and stylish.. definetley worth visiting