Sweet of the Week: Chocolate Cake at The Terrace at Trump

When it comes to iconic desserts, there's chocolate cake and then there's the chocolate cake at The Terrace at Trump. As someone who typically bemoans chocolate cake (I've never been a "chocoholic," and especially not a chocolate cake person), the standout dish at a recent dinner on the sixteenth floor terrace was a looker of a chocolate cake. Not only was it the prettiest thing I ate all night, but it was gorgeous enough to steal the show from the impeccable view. And it had the flavors and originality to back it up too. 

 

Rather then present a standard slice of chocolate cake, the terrace does a masterful job of thoroughly rethinking the cake template from beginning to end. This is the Trump Tower, after all. One expects a bit of pomp and circumstance. Aptly dubbed "Chocolate Indulgence," it's a dessert that transcends chocoholic obsessions; it's a dessert fit for anyone who likes dessert at all. Heck, it's a dessert for someone like me who was too full to even consider dessert, but am damn glad I let the waiter persuade me. What sets this version apart is in its crafty striation. Multiple elements come together in perfect unison to create a killer slice. The base is a moist chocolate cake, topped off with layers of dark chocolate ganache, caramel buttercream, and cinnamon-mascarpone mousse. That mousse is my favorite part, erupting with flavors and textures of cheesecake. So basically, this dessert tastes like a cheesecake inside a chocolate cake. There's a lot going on here, but it works in tandem wonderfully. 

- Matt Kirouac