Friday, May 12, 2017

Quick Cream Pie made with real cream to boot!

While driving back to a supposed cakeless cake hour a Stop and Shop was seen so I decided to stop and shop for something.  A quick visit to the bakery section for a quick pick and came up with a chocolate cream pie - made with real cream!!! They have to make that disclaimer, I suppose, because a lot commercial bakeries use vegetable based cream whipped toppings of which we are not fans.  So the disclaimer helped seal the deal with this pie.

Grab and Go Bakery from Stop and Shop or Market Basket or...
The disclaimer is what we like to see!
It was a classic chocolate cream, pie with a good basic pie crust, a good thick layer of dark chocolate filling - pudding based - not mousse - and a decent amount of real cream on the top.  It hit the spot and was very much enjoyed.  The dark chocolate was a plus.

Real cream in ample mounds on the top!
Nicely drizzled with chocolate sauce!
 We've had this many times and even though it is supposedly made in store this type seems to be in several stores - we found one in Market Basket also. Whatever, it is a good version of a classic American dessert so get it at either place and enjoy!

Two relatively thick layers of good stuff!

Thursday, May 11, 2017

The pineapple cakes are back!

Pineapple cakes are a tradition in Taiwan.  It is a relatively simple cake or small tart consisting of flour, butter, egg, sugar and pineapple jam or compote.   It is believed to have originated with Taiwanese wedding tradition where the wedding cake is supposed to have six flavors to accompany the six rites that are part of the ceremony.  One of the flavors was pineapple and is it supposed to symbolize that the marriage will be fruitful - lots of kids, that is.
Lovely souvenir box!!

Nicely individually wrapped and two kinds!
One of our colleagues returned from Taiwan and brought several boxes back with him for souvenirs - a very thoughtful gesture for sure.  These ones came from the award winning Shu Shi bakery which was endorsed by the former president of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou. We know it is award winning because there is a card in the box that told us so!!  In addition the signature of the former president is on the package!
The pink ones are the ones that have the "cranberries"!
A little promo for their award winning cakes!
 The cakes are actually small individually wrapped tart-like cakes. The outside crust is very much like an American pie and the inside filling is more of a jam-like than fresh fruit filled. Most of the sweetness is in the jam not the crust. There were two variations in the box, the standard pineapple cake but also one that contained "cranberries" though the package called them "vine raspberries". They were both good and they went great with coffee as they do with tea which is how they are normally consumed in Taiwan!
Basic but pretty good!!

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

A nice lemon tart for the day

We are glad that people keep cake hour in mind when they visit Trader Joe's. It is a place that everyone seems to like.  One of our group paid a visit and picked up a Viennese Lemon Tart.  You must admit it sounds better to say a Viennese Lemon Tart as opposed to just a Lemon Tart.  Who knows if the people in Vienna even make this kind of thing.
Someone went to Joe's and we got a lemon tart!

Simple yet nice!!
It is essentially a relatively unadorned flan type cake with a regular pie crust bottom, a layer of not too sweet lemon curd or custard, and a dusting of confectioner's sugar on the top.  It looked very good and certainly tasted so.  The tartness of the lemon was refreshing and as already mentioned it had an appropriate level of sweetness.  If you are at Trader Joe's and want to give it a try, we certainly recommend it.
Good and round!
Just a little dusting helps to offset the tang of the lemon!

Just because it looks unassuming doesn't mean it it isn't good!