Epid'or

Too often many of us food bloggers get caught up with the thrill of visiting fancy restaurants and unique, boutique-like pâtisseries that we sometimes find ourselves neglecting the more "commonplace" eateries and bakeries. "Epid'or" sounds like another one of those pastry boutiques but it's actually the name of the Raffles City branch from the Four Leaves chain of bakeries. Of special mention here is their "Coco Exotic" cake, a cake that can be found in all their other branches and one that I've also been eating quite often this year from birthdays. But I'm not complaining.

It's certainly one of the better chocolate cakes that I've eaten, and it's cheaper too. A 15cm x 15cm cake costs about $26 (price list here) and can be shared amongst eight people. I like the simple chocolate mousse and sponge cake because it is not overwhelmingly sweet or creamy, but the highlight is really it's "biscuit" layer of crunchy hazel-nut flakes that reminds you of either Rocher chocolates or Nutella, or both. It also reminds me of (but is not completely similar to) my favourite Chocolate Praline Cake from 1 Caramel, though the Coco Exotic admittedly has a bit more sponge than does the Chocolate Praline. I would agree with Four Leaves that the Coco Exotic is "a delectable treat for chocoholics" :)


Some of you have observed that I've been over-indulging in sweet treats lately and I have to agree. I had the Coco Exotic cake on the same day that I had the delicious Chocolate Tortino from Pizzeria Giardino and an ice-cream sundae (featuring the merry trio of one cheesecake brownie, chocolate macadamia and chocolate chip cookie dough) from Ben & Jerry's. Most satisfying indeed :)