have cake, will travel

About a week ago, I was asked what could be the easiest question ever:

"Would you be willing to try one of our cakes in return for a review?"


Um...yeah!

The request came from a representative of Carousel Cakes, and my answer was an immediate and emphatic YES! They even let me pick the type of cake, which I can assure you was no easy task. They have over 20 varieties, including a red velvet cake made famous by Oprah, an appropriately-titled chocolate outrage cake (three layers of chocolate cake filled with creamy chocolate fudge, topped off with an outrageous chocolate icing, surrounded with sweet chocolate chips), and even a strawberry shortcake. They also offer a number of magnificent mousses, cheesecakes, and pies and are happy to make personalized and/or customized cakes.


In the end, after doing quite a bit of waffling, I chose the hazelnut torte. It's described as being "two layers of moist nutty hazelnut cake filled with praline buttercream and raspberry, topped off with praline buttercream," which sounded too tempting to resist.

Only two days after declaring which cake I'd like to sample, it arrived at my doorstep. Even though I intended to take it to work with me, there was no way I was going to wait three days to try it. (Patience has never been a virtue of mine.) I sliced into it, and just look at what I found:


Can you believe that massive layer of frosting on top? GLORIOUS. As someone who prefers at least a 1:2 frosting-to-cake ratio, I was elated. (I would say 2:1 frosting-to-cake, but that's a bit extreme...)

Perhaps you're wondering how it tasted. After all, looks aren't everything. Well, folks, it was truly decadent. The moment the light, smooth, ultra-creamy frosting hit the roof of my mouth, I was in heaven. The bit of tartness supplied by the raspberry in the filling was a perfect complement to the sweet icing and nutty cake. Frankly, I could've eaten a lot more than I did--the combination of flavors and textures was such that it was difficult to stop.


Although they're located here in NY, Carousel Cakes can ship to any location nationwide so cakes come fresh and frozen, right to your doorstep. They pride themselves on making products with natural and fresh ingredients mixed by hand and with love. The next time you find yourself needing a fancy-shmancy and delicious cake and are without the time or means to make it, I hope Carousel Cakes comes to mind--you won't be sorry!