Aimer La Patisserie
Apple of your eye
It is easy to drown in a sea of Christmas treats. I find myself doing that every year as I try to figure out what to order, what is worth eating.
This year, my pick is Aimer La Patisserie’s giant Aimer La Palmier. It is as big as, maybe bigger than, my face and shaped like an apple, which is the theme for its Christmas offerings.
The crisp, buttery layers of laminated pastry have just the right amount of sweetness, and it is so easy to polish off a whole one, with a cup of coffee or tea.
My choice would be the Raspberry ($9.50) or the Plain ($8.50). There’s nothing wrong with the Chocolate ($9.50), but the zing of raspberries is more thrilling to my taste buds.
In this busy season of rushing around, take some time out for self-care and treat yourself to a giant palmier. Of course, they make excellent gifts too.
The patisserie also has Christmas Apple ($9), pretty little cakes shaped like the fruit. Dig into one, and finely diced green apple spills out. Vanilla sponge, and an apple and lime ganache, keep things light.
The Pistachio Pomme Log Cake ($108) is similarly ethereal, with pistachio sponge, vanilla cream and green apples layered atop a biscuit base. Best of all, each log is decorated with two mini Christmas Apples filled with zingy, crunchy cubes of Granny Smith.
Still, the palmier is the apple of my eye.
Where: 01-42 Aperia Mall, 12 Kallang Avenue
MRT: Lavender
Tel: 9734-1513
Open: 8.30am to 8.30pm daily
Orders: Go to www.aimerlapatisserie.com, order at least two days in advance. Available until Dec 31
Carlton Hotel Singapore
Tropical log
How did Singapore, which sits firmly in the tropics, come to embrace the logcake? These cakes are said to have been inspired by the practice of burning a large log in the hearth at Christmastime to celebrate the winter solstice.
That said, patissiers go all out every year, coming up with flavours and textures that are classic, fanciful and everything in between. Carlton Hotel Singapore went with delicious tropical and Asian accents for its Golden Bird’s Nest Yule Log ($78 for a 1kg cake).
The bird’s nest is not what makes this a worthwhile cake to get. It’s the well-thought-through elements that make it worth the calories. There is light and very fragrant osmanthus sponge, osmanthus-vanilla cremeux, mango compote and, yes, bird’s nest. So far, so soft and velvety. That is where water chestnuts come in, juicy and crunchy.
The sugar is held in check enough to not induce a food coma after the Christmas feast. That is a good thing in my book.
Where: Carlton Hotel Singapore, 76 Bras Basah Road
MRT: Bras Basah
Orders: Festive takeaways available at the hotel lobby until Dec 25, from 11am to 7pm daily. To order, call 6349-1292 or go to celebrations.carltonhotel.sg
Patisserie Woo
No-fail pairing
It might be the season for excess, but the thought of dealing with leftovers fills me with dread. I love a Christmas feast, but my family is small, and I do not want to still be eating turkey in January.
Same thing with dessert. Brandy-soaked fruit cakes keep for months, but cakes with cream in them do not last that long.
So I am grateful for Patisserie Woo’s Dark Chocolate & Grand Marnier Tart ($32). The 14cm tart serves four to five generously and comes in at a sweet price too. Larger versions are also available – the 18cm tart goes for $68 and a 24cm one at $98.
The crisp, buttery tart shell is filled with dark chocolate livened up with orange liqueur – Grand Marnier in this case. A phalanx of fruit on top makes it festive, but really, it’s the chocolate and orange pairing that makes this a lovely, boozy Christmas treat.
Where: 01-01 Guthrie House, 1 Fifth Avenue
MRT: Sixth Avenue
Tel: 8013-3280
Open: Dine-in from 8am to 9.30pm daily; order collection from 11.30am to 9.30pm daily
Orders: Go to patissierwoo.com, order at least three days in advance
