The 10 Best Christmas Gifts to Give The Food Lover On Your List#8: Costa Brava’s Marshmallow Cake

Thu, December14th of 2006

8:50 pm

I’m the odd man out at my house because I don’t like marshmallows. My Bin and Boo buy these bagfuls of marshmallows – jet-puffed, miniature, jumbo, pink whirligigs – whatever variety is out there, they eat it. I don’t even like it in hot chocolate since I find it superfluous, although mini marshmallows bobbing in the brown liquid is quite the visual delight.

There is one type of marshmallow that I do like however, even though it looks nothing like the fluffy orbs associated with the term. I’m talking about the marshmallow cake from Costa Brava.

Soft and light with a slight tang, this is an exquisite dessert. A sponge cake that gets its remarkable “lift” from the eggs (whites and yolks) that are beaten together, the “marshmallow” appears here in the form of the frosting. Popularly known as 7-minute icing, it’s a filmy, meringue-type of icing made of egg whites, cream of tartar, water, and vanilla. The mixture is beaten constantly in a double boiler for exactly 7 minutes, hence the name. This is the same type of icing that I made to frost my 1st year anniversary cupcakes.

So, here’s this gossamer icing cloaking this wondrous cake; in between the cake layers hides a cache of buttercream possessing a flavor that reminds me of pandan. It stays on the tongue for the briefest of moments and then fades, just like the cake, so airy it almost floats away. This is an excellent cake to give someone who doesn’t like desserts that are too sweet. It dependably satisfies even my sweet tooth.

White marshmallow cake from Costa Brava
Prices begin at P350/7×9-inch cake
Larger sizes available

Nelusko Cake

As a kid, I always had these mocha cakes decorated with large sugar roses for my birthday. Fairy-light and fine, I remember thinking that eating the cake must be what it was like to eat a cloud. Fast forward several years and I’ve found that mocha cake again, reincarnated and ever so much better in Costa Brava’s Nelusko cake.

It’s a cake that epitomizes coffee at its most refined. Tinted tan with a coffee buttercream filling, its smoothness is highlighted by the shards of sugar brittle providing a texturally stark contrast. They gleam in the fading afternoon light, bouncing off tiny glints on the coffee frosting. This is a cake so silky that it rolls around my mouth with every chew, ripples of deliciousness punctuated by those shards of sugar finishing with an undertone of butter and a blush of coffee.

Nelusko Cake from Costa Brava
Prices begin at P400/7×9-inch cake
Larger sizes available

Costa Brava
12 Polaris St.
Bel-Air Village 3, Makati
(632) 896-6872 / 896-1267

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15 Comments »

Lori, For me, the Caramel cake at Costa Brava is an all time, all season winner and guaranteed crowd pleaser! I have served it at numerous parties and the guests always rave about it and then ask where to get it. I now want to try their Nelusko cake based on your suggestion. I learned something new about my favorite cake place today. Thank you.

The 10 Best Christmas Gifts to Give The Food Lover On Your List#8: Costa Brava’s Marshmallow Cake

15 Comments »

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