#7 true blue tiramisu

ever wondered what would life be without the hustle & bustle of life & stupid dramas ? no doubt, it will be peaceful and fun but overtime, you will feel plain BORED. imagine having no schools, work, etc. how are we supposed to live life this way ? in my opinion, i feel that only with bad situations we faced in life, we will learn to grow stronger, cherish our loved ones even more and live life to the maximum.

so in my dictionary, tasting the truly divine tiramisu in the weekends is the first step to enjoying life after the hectic weekdays.

+ + + +

la boulangerie
845 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 642-2939

[EDITED] LAST UPDATED ON THE 30TH OF MARCH 2010

it was kenny’s birthday and we had lack of ideas on what cakes we should get for him as time was running out. since joey stays directly across la boulangerie, she decided to get the chocolate truffle from there.

6″ chocolate truffles – CAN$24.50

it consist of bittersweet chocolate mousse creme de menthe. it was really rich in chocolate but we all enjoyed it. kenny commented that it is a tad too sweet for his liking though. i love the chocolate coating on it but the truffes itself is too much to handle. this cake can never beat la boulangerie’s tiramisu though.

ratings: 3/5★

a day later, i find myself in the exact spot joey was in and i saw adorable strawberry heart-shaped cake that reminds me so much of jennifer so i decided to get it for her.

strawberry angel food cake – CAN$35

the cake taste has layers of strawberry sponge, strawberry jelly and strawberry mousse. the edge is filled with coconut toppings and such. it is the first fruit cake i have tried from la boulangerie and i have to say it’s not that bad after all. of course, no cakes have beat the tiramisu cake i got from la boulangerie.

ratings: 3.5/5★

[/EDITED]

[EDITED] LAST UPDATED ON THE 11TH OF NOVEMBER 2010

la boulangerie serves one of the best tiramisu in town so i recommended it to kenny during inez’s birthday. when i ate the cake, it was really light and delicious but since it’s been out of the refrigerator for a long time, it was not fresh.

however, i got the 6″ tiramisu cake for phoebe on her birthday yesterday and it cost a total of CAN$24. the person serving me was very patient with me taking a snap shot of the cake. she even asked where i was from and we had small talks for a bit. the cake tasted a little like an ice-cream cake. the espresso flavor is not as rich as other tiramisu cakes and i could not taste the rum. it was creamy and light and i like the fact that the marscarpone is rich. the biscottis at the edge were the highlight of the cake. HUGE THUMBS UP !

my ratings for la boulangerie’s tiramisu is 5/5★ [/EDITED]

+ + + +

[EDITED] LAST UPDATED ON THE 16TH OF AUGUST 2010

ganache patisserie
1262 Homer St.
Yaletown
Vancouver, BC
604 899 1098

i made an order for a tiramisu 8″ cake 2 hours before i went to pick it up. it cost a total of CAN$36.95. ganache is really famous for it’s cakes but somehow i found their tiramisu lacking of rum. also, it’s far too creamy so it didn’t taste as good as other restaurants i got tiramisu. in conclusion, i felt that it isn’t a true blue tiramisu like the other tiramisu i’ve tried. i’m not trying to tarnish ganache’s reputation. my reviews of other delicious cakes of ganache can be found at HERE !

hence, my ratings of ganache’s tiramisu would have to be 2.8/5★

[/EDITED]

+ + + +

breka
6533 Fraser Street
Vancouver, BC V5X 3T4
(604) 325-6612

7″ for 24.95
8″ for 32.95
& so forth (they have tiramisu cakes that cater to 100 people)

my neighborhood cafe serves tiramisu cakes & the best thing is you can call them to order a day prior to collecting it. it is THAT simple ! i remember i have mentioned in my previous entries that breka is a 24/7 cafe so this shows that you can order the cakes ANYTIME of the day/night. believe me when i said i have tried practically ALL their cakes & i have got to confess that though this bakery specializes in breads, their tiramisu is their BEST cake ever made ! i SWEAR by it !

therefore, i’ll rate it 3.5/5★

+ + + +

manzano european bakery inc.
214-4820 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H 4P1
(604) 437-1318
CAN$2.50 for 1 slice

i would have to say i was rather rather shocked by the taste of the cake as it only has one layer of lady fingers. the rest of the cake taste just like an ordinary cake. there seems to be very little of the espresso & marscarpone as i could not taste much of it. comparing the price of this to portobello’s, it is way cheaper & thus, the quality decreases. i am not trying to say that the cheaper the food is, the better it tastes but sometimes it does reflects that way.

in conclusion, i’ll rate it 1.5/5★

+ + + +

portobello
1429 West Broadway,
Vancouver BC V6H 1H6
(604) 734-0697

1 slice is CAN$7

UBC’s food society organized the portobello workshop as their first event last year & i didn’t managed to go for the first round of it. it left me disappointed because of the raves of many members of food society. many of them told me NOT to leave portobello without trying their tiramisu and they swear by it’s awesome taste !

i was grateful to be able to go for the second round of it & i would have to say the tiramisu was fabulous !! it was pretty light and truly authentic. the tiramisu practically melts in your mouth, totally dreamy i would say !

hence, i’ll give it 4.5/5★

+ + + +

stuart’s bakery
1) 650 W. 41st Ave
Vancouver, BC V5Z2M9
(604) 261-2511

2) 1689 Johnston St., #123
Vancouver, BC V6H3R9
(604) 685-8816

1 slice (left pic) for CAN$3.50
6″ for CAN$26.99
8 X 12 for CAN$54.99
12 X 16 for CAN$ 99.99
16 X 24 for CAN$179.99

i have not been to the store at granville island before but i witnessed the opening of stuart’s bakery at oakridge mall as i was working just across it. i was drawn to their variety of cakes and of course, i chose to try their tiramisu.

the biscottis surrounding it are coated with fine sugars and are very crunchy. the taste of the cake itself is very creamy but not rich and dense. it is done perfectly. the tiramisu is also nicely decorated, which gains an additional bonus point for the store.

thus, i will rate it 4/5★

+ + + +

sweet obsessions
2611 West 16th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K 3C2
(604) 739-0555
6″ for CAN$29
8″ for CAN$44
10″ for CAN$67

i would have to say for it’s reputable name and hefty price, this tiramisu is just your average tiramisu. although it is one of the best cakes amongst the other sweet obsessions cakes, it is seriously too creamy. i  have to admit that i will order the tiramisu from my neighborhood cafe, breka over sweet obsessions ANYTIME.

in conclusion, i’ll rate it 2.5/5★

+ + + +

t&t supermarket
stadium skytrain station & metrotown
yes, the tiramisu looks appealing BUT it is truly DECEIVING !

i was disappointed that this was nothing more than an ordinary cupcake coated with a thin layer of tiramisu and topped with fruits.

good way of attracting customers for the first time but definitely NOT for returning customers.

it’s absurd how they can label it as tiramisu with just inputing final touches of tiramisu taste.

definitely the WORST of the lot !

(i am just referring to this particular cake by the way.)

therefore, i’ll rate it 0.5/5★

+ + + +

D.I.Y tiramisu

& of course, like i stated in my cheesecake entry that i’ll prefer home made desserts over commercialized ones anytime !

p/s: iva & i made the above during the winter olympics break

recipes for the tiramisu & cheesecake will be put in an entry altogether soon ^^

till next entry, i have more reviews for you guys !

swisscheese*

Tags: breka, chocolate truffle, DIY, ganache patisserie, la boulangerie, manzano european bakery, portobello, stuart's bakery, sweet obsessions, T&T, tiramisu, vancouver