Did Marie Antoniette really say “let them eat cake?” Whatever the answer, cake is one of those truly happy foods. Recently, I was reading Frederico Duarte, Rita João and Pedro Ferreira’s Fabrico Proprio (Made Properly): The Design of Portuguese Semi-Industrial Confectionery (below) and was reminded of how much I adore semi-industrial desserts. This book is a tasty survey of the best Portugal has to offer. But not having access to their delights, I’ll share my all-time favorite confection (apart from Hostess Sno Balls, that is).
It’s called Chocolate-Almond Joy and it’s a vegan specialty of Candle 79 in NYC (made with mouth-watering chocolate mousse, almond mousse, coconut, chocolate shell, and berry coulis). And guess what? It’s guilt free (though not calorie free) since no animals or animal products were used in its preparation.
Sadly, I don’t have a photo of it since it doesn’t last long enough on the plate to shoot. But I do have a record of my second favorite (and decidedly more guilty) pleasure: cupcakes from the Cupcake Cafe in NYC (top)–with the best icing in the city, state, and maybe the universe.
Do you have a favorite confection? Can I have some?