Roladin Cupcakes

קולקציית קאפקייקס אישיות ברולדין

The other day I was walking by a Roladin and noticed cupcakes in the display window. I don’t go to Roladin that often so I was not sure if it was a new line for them or something that I just had not noticed before. I asked the sales person and he said they are new, so I thought I would treat myself and report back to you guys.

There were a few options to choose from but surprisingly the guy serving me had no idea what flavors each one was. I was even more surprised they did not have a “flyer” detailing each option; as Roladin normally has when they come out with a new or seasonal line. Since the server was of no help I chose the one that looked the most interesting and elaborate to me at that moment. It was a chocolate cupcake topped with a mountain of white cream covered in chocolate sauce/syrup then sprinkled with mini marshmallows.

Lachmi's Premium Line of Cakes & Cookies

לחמי מאפי פרימיום

Lachmi, who was recently bought by Wissotzky, has a new line of cookies and cakes on the market; they are calling it their Premium Line. It includes many different classic cookies and cakes that they claim to have put a “modern touch” on. Their main goal for this line is to give us “bakery quality mass-produced baked goods”.

There were a number of different cookies and cakes for me to choose from at my local supermarket, but I decided to try what they are calling a Chocolate Fondant Cake.

Oreo Cakesters Sale at Megabul

When I was at MegaBul 

today I noticed that they had

Oreo Cakesters

on sale 

אוראו קייקסטר

Elite "Chocolate Para" Kids Cake ~ Coupon

I found a coupon online

for Elite cakes 

One of the cakes included in this

 25% off coupon 

is the 

"Chocolate Para" Kids Cake 

 I told you about here. 

source

Kapulsky's Pesach Chocolate Mousse Cake

קפולסקי עוגת מוס שוקולד לפסח

Given that I didn’t enjoy the Kapulsky cookies or cakes I have reviewed in the past I didn’t want to spend money on their Kosher for Pesach Mousse Cake only to find out that I did not enjoy eating it /serving it to friends and family. Therefore I wasn’t going to review this product at all but when I was at Mega Bul the other day I bumped into a close friend’s husband at the checkout counter and he was holding the Kapulsky Chocolate Mousse Cake. I warned him of my past experiences with this brand and told him he may want to pick something else. He said he needed a Kosher for Pesach non-dairy cake for a party they were having Saturday night, this was the only cake they had that fit the bill so he decided to “take his chances” but he appreciated the fair warning.

When my friend called me after the party the first thing she said was “Gosh, that cake you warned my husband about was kinda awful”. I asked for details so that I can give you her review, here is what she told me.

Oreo Cakesters

Just a short post to let all Oreo fans know that Oreo Cakesters have finally made their way to Israel. Seeing as they've been around since 2007 my guess is most of you have tasted an Oreo Cakester by now and have formed your own opinions about them.

אוראו קייקסטר 

Kapulsky's Sugar-Free Cakes

קפולסקי עוגות ללא תוספת סוכר

About two months ago I read a press release about two new sugar-free Kapulsky cakes, one Cheese Cake and one Chocolate Cake. As far and wide as I looked for them I could not find them anywhere. Mega carries Kapulsky's other refrigerated cake but every time I checked Mega and Mega Bool, in more than one city, I couldn't find the sugar-free ones I had read about. Even if I didn’t have this blog I would have been really curious to taste them. I mentioned in my review of Kapulsky cookies that I have very fond memories of the old Kapulsky restaurant and after the disappointment I felt when I reviewed their cookies, I sort of want to redeem the Kapulsky name in my mind, for old time sake.

A few days ago when I was at Mega Bool I decided to jot down the customer service number, from the back of a different Kapulsky cake, and I gave them a call to find out where I can actually find the sugar-free cakes I was looking for. The next day they called me back and said the Mega Bool I was at should carry them. If I can't find it I should ask them to order it for me. That's exactly what I did. As I was standing there the manger of the department called the distributor and I was told they would have the cakes in two days time. Lo and behold two days later they were sitting in the refrigerator section of Mega Bool as promised. I took one of each and thanked the manger, whom I saw as I was walking to the checkout counter.

All that to say… I don’t usually review things that have been on the store shelves for over two months. I think by then most people who are interested in the product would have tried it and formed their own opinion. Given that I had such a hard time finding these cakes I'm assuming others did too, so I guess they haven’t really been in the stores for two months. Maybe I can still consider it a new product?

Elite's "Chocolate Para" Kids Cake + Coupon

עלית עוגות שוקולד פרה לילדים

As I have mentioned in past reviews of Osem and Elite cakes I'm not a fan of mass-produced cakes. If I can't have something home baked I'd much rather get something fresh from the bakery. So when I read the press release for these new Elite Chocolate Para Cakes I thought I was going to skip them.

Then as I was standing in the supermarket trying to decide if I should spend the 14.90 NIS, and possibly be disappointed, I got a call from a good friend who told me that she and her husband where here in Israel for a few days and before they get back on the plane this afternoon she'd like to pop by for a quick hello. I was really excited to see her. I knew I wouldn’t make it to the bakery in time so I decided to get this cake. As an extra bonus I'd be able to give you two more opinions, other than my own, in this blog post.

Roladin's Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake

Aside from Roladin's Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche the other Rosh Hashanah cake of theirs that caught my eye was the Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cheese Cake. I thought it sounded creative and different so I wanted to try it.

According to the ad I had seen in the paper a full "strip" of the cake cost 59.50 NIS. I didn’t want to spend that much on a cake that I may not enjoy so I was not planning on getting it. When I was at Roladin I noticed that they also had "portion size" slices available. Although I thought 10.00 NIS was expensive for such a small rectangle of cake I decided that the cake was unique enough and I was willing to treat myself just this once.

The Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake is a mascarpone cheese cake with a middle layer of raspberry coulis (a thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits) with honeyed kadaif noodles on top and bottom of the cake that are sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Kadaif is a very fine vermicelli  like pastry that according to Wikipedia is sometimes known as shredded phyllo. It's very popular here in Israel seeing as it's used to make Kanafeh.

My first disappointment with this Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake came when I realized the kadaif was soggy and did not have the "crispy" texture you get when you bite into a kanafeh. I didn’t even taste the honey that was supposed to be mixed into the kadaif. If there was honey it was such a small amount that it got completely lost.

Next I thought the mascarpone layer had an overwhelming jell-o like taste and texture that I really did not enjoy. I know there was mascarpone in the mix but it was not the dominant flavor of this layer. Even Nestlé's "Nok-Out" Mascarpone & Lemon Ice-Cream Bar had more of a mascarpone flavor than this cake But what bothered most about this part of the cake was the waxy aftertaste it left in my mouth. 

רולדין מסקרפונה קדאיף בדבש

The layer of raspberry coulis was fine, neither here nor there. Since this Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake is part of Roladin's Rosh Hashanah "lineup" I wonder why they didn’t go with a pomegranates coulis and give the cake even more of a Rosh Hashanah "feel".

Bottom Line: I was disappointed with almost everything about this Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake and really happy I didn’t buy the full cake. In my opinion compared to their Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche this Roladin Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif cheese cake was a major FAIL.

1 full cake 59.90 NIS

1 slice of cake 10.00 NIS

Kosher Dairy Rabbinate Jerusalem

Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.

Roladin's Sticky-Bun Rosh Hashanah Brioche

As they do for each holiday, Roladin has a few special cakes and treats for Rosh Hashanah. The one that caught my eye and intrigued me most was the Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche.


According to Roladin's website this Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche won first place in a taste test that was done, by the Israel Hayom newspaper, of all the new Rosh Hashanah cakes. I'm not sure what other bakeries and cakes they were up against but knowing it was considered the "best new Rosh Hashanah cake" gave me the extra push to try it.



This Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche turned out to be exactly what I anticipated it to be; a buttery brioche base with a honey, brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, generously poured over it, then sprinkled with a few pecans.

רולדין בריוש סטיקי באנס בדבש

The brioche part was wonderful and enjoyable. It had a small amount of a cinnamon and sugar mixture "swirled" through the "layers", as you would expect in a cinnamon bun. Since the top is so abundantly sweet I was glad that the inside of the cake only had a bit of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. The cake part being fairly plain helped balance the overall sweetness of the sticky-bun. For those that prefer a less sweet cake they can cut off the top keeping only the center of the cake and still enjoy this brioche. I'll be happy to eat the top for them :)

Although the honey, brown sugar and cinnamon "sticky" mixture was extremely sweet I didn’t think it was way too overly sweet. I did taste the honey but it didn’t seem to be the dominant flavor of the syrupy topping. I'd say the honey was mixed well with the brown sugar caramel. I guess this Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche can be perfect for those that don’t love traditional honey cakes but still want to partake in the unofficial "custom" of eating some sort of honey cake over the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

There were only a few pecans sprinkled on top of the cake. I don’t think there were any pecans in the rest of the brioche. So for those who don’t eat nuts on Rosh Hashanah I think it should be fairly easy to remove the few pecans and still enjoy the sticky-buns.

The brioche was a little smaller than I anticipated it to be, after having seen an ad for it in the newspaper. It was about the size of 3 sticky-buns baked together and cost 37.90 NIS. As I think I mentioned in my review of Roladin's Oznei Haman Roladin is a more expensive bakery/café. As tasty as their products might be I don’t usually think their prices are justified. Although I did enjoy this Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche I still thought it was a little overpriced.  


Bottom Line:  I liked Roladin's Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche. I think it would make the perfect indulgent and sweet "breakfast treat" for Rosh Hashanah morning. Although it lived up to my "sticky-bun" expectations I'm not sure it's an award winning cake. Then again I didn’t taste all the other cakes it was up against in the Israel Hayom "competition" so it may have deserved the first place in their taste test after all. 

Kosher Dairy - Rabbinate Jerusalem

1 Cake 37.90 NIS

Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.

Elite's Honey Roll Nut Cream Filled Cake

For this new "Rosh Hashanah cake" Elite teamed up with Yad Mordechai; one of Israel's leading honey manufactures, to give us a Honey Roll Cake with Nut Cream Filling. 


רולדת דבש עם קרם אגוזים של עלית

Given that I'm not usually a fan of any commercial cakes that Elite (or Osem, among others) makes, I wasn't going to review this cake at all, but when I saw it on sale (at Rami Levy) it seemed a bit "unique" to me. The fact that it’s a honey roll cake and has a nut cream filling intrigued me. I decided to give it a try.

 

When I opened the package this Honey Roll Cake with Nut Cream Filling looked pretty. I liked the thin layer of milk-chocolate at the bottom; I thought dipping the roll cake in chocolate like that was a nice extra touch.

 

The cake was soft and spongy. It had a definite honey flavor but it was not totally overpowering, like many mass-produced honey cakes tend to be. Still, if you don’t like honey cake you most likely would not enjoy this one either. I guess I can call it a "Lighter Honey Cake" but it's absolutely a honey cake.

 

It's also absolutely mass-produced! Very quickly all things I dislike about such commercial cakes kicked in. There was a very powdery "flour" aftertaste to the cake that I really did not enjoy.

 

I didn’t really taste the cashews or hazelnuts in the nut filling. It seemed to be  somewhat more like shortening than cream; I certainly did not enjoy that.

 

Even the thin layer of chocolate at the bottom disappointed me; I thought it had  a waxy aftertaste.

 

Bottom Line: I liked the "idea" of Elite's Honey Roll Cake with Nut Cream Filling but in my opinion it had all the downfalls of a mass-produces commercial cake and I didn’t enjoy eating it. 

 

300 gram cake 11.99 NIS (was on sale for 8.00 NIS)

 

Kosher Dairy OU

חלב ישראל
 

(I didn’t want to spend any money on Osem's two latest cakes; Chocolate & Caramel Crumb Cake and Cherry Crumb Cake because judging from all the past Osem cakes I've tasted, I was almost sure I would not like them. If you tried either or both of the new Osem crumb cakes I would love to know what you thought of them, thanks :)

 

Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.

This weeks Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival is now up on   

To Kiss a Mezuzah's Blog 

Tnuva's Yoplait Cheesecake Flavored Yogurt with Cookies "On Top"

Like all the dairy companies here in Israel, Shavuot is Tnuva's busiest time of year. Their sales dramatically rise the week or so before the holiday, as everyone buys all sorts of milk products for festive meals. It's no surprise that Tnuva releases many limited edition and special products for Shavuot.

יופלה "און טופ"  עוגת גבינה ופירורי עוגיות

One such item is from their "On Top" line of Yoplait yogurts, it's a cheesecake flavor yogurt with cookie bits to add in. In that way it's similar to Strauss-Danone Yogurt with Cranberry Granola that I reviewed back in February.

As with the Danone yogurt this Yoplait container seemed quite empty, I understand that they want to leave you room to add in the topping but I still think they could make a slightly smaller container or put a little more yogurt in it than they do.

This cheesecake flavored bio Yoplait yogurt, like many yogurts, had a slightly sour taste, not too sour, but it was clearly yogurt. I did think it resembled a cheesecake flavor to some degree. Without the cookie topping, it was an enjoyable sweet, but not overly so, smooth and creamy yogurt.

I thought the cookie pieces "on top" were very dry and almost seemed to have a slightly burnt taste to them, which I didn’t really enjoy all that much.

They're a nice sized chunk of cookie, not crumbs, like you would get as a topping or base of a real cheese cake. Somehow I would have preferred more of a Petit-Beurre/ tea biscuit type of cookie but these chunks didn't go soggy when I added them to the yogurt and I am guessing the Petit-Beurre /tea biscuit would have.

So if you are looking to get the cheesecake flavor this Shavuot without all the calories of a real cheesecake, this 3.7% fat bio yogurt might be a nice treat to enjoy on this Shavuot holiday.

Bottom Line: Aside from my slight disappointment over the taste of the 17 grams of cookies "on top", this Yoplait Cheesecake Flavored Yogurt with Cookies, was pleasant enough. But I still much prefer the 2 yogurts I reviewed a few days ago; Tzuriel's Goats-Milk Yogurt & Muller's Yogurt with Dark-Chocolate Shavings.

If I want a low calorie cheesecake I might attempt to make this Ultra Light Cheesecake recipe I saw on Pragmatic Attic's wonderful blog.

Two 150 gram containers of Yogurt – 9.70 NIS

Kosher- Dairy Rabbi Whiteman

Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.

This weeks Haveil Havalim blog Carnival is now up over on

 Frume Sarah's World

Osem's New Apple-Cinnamon Cake



עלית עוגת תפוח-קינמון עם נגיעות תפוחים

Somehow I associate Apple-Cinnamon as a winter flavor, so I was kind of surprised to see that one of Osem's new "summer cakes" is an Apple-Cinnamon with a touch of Apples Cake. There is also a New Chocolate with a touch of Wild-Berries Cake on the shelf, to me that makes more sense as a summer flavor.

I was hesitant to buy the new Osem cakes given that I really didn't enjoying Osem's Kosher for Passover Cake. Then the other day I went to visit a neighbor and I noticed Osem's New Apple-Cinnamon Cake sitting on her counter. I didn't object when she offered me a slice.

My first impression was that the cake is simply too sweet. After reading the label, that didn’t surprise me considering that sugar is the first ingredient, and there is more than one form of sugar in this cake.

I didn’t like the oats scattered on top of the cake. They were harder than the soft fluffy cake and the contrast of textures bothered me.

At first I didn’t think there was too much apple or cinnamon in the cake. There seemed to be the perfect amount of each but then I got this sharp spicy aftertaste that convinced me there was way too much cinnamon in the mix. It was an awful ending to a bad cake. 

Reading the label, seeing all the artificial things added to the cake, made me more convinced than ever that I made the right choice by not purchasing this cake in the first place.

Bottom Line: I enjoyed the visit with my neighbor but neither of us really enjoyed Osem's New Apple-Cinnamon Cake. I was glad I didn’t buy it and I have no intention of buying it in the future.

330 gram cake- 11.49 NIS

Kosher Parve - OU and Rabbinate Nazareth-Illit

   

Disclaimer: The cake was purchased by my neighbor. No one is paying me or my neighbor for this review. All opinions are my own.

This week's edition of Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival is up on

Esser Agaroth's blog

Osem & Elite's Kosher for Pesach Cakes

Both Osem and Elite have a few Kosher for Pesach cakes available.

Osem Ha'Bayit has Marble, Chocolate Chip, Brownies, Brownies with Coconut and finally Date-Silan Walnut Cake.

Elite has Rich Chocolate Brownies, Coconut Brownies and Vanilla Cake with a touch of Chocolate Cream cakes.

I tasted the Date-Silan & Walnut cake from Osem and the Rich Chocolate Brownies from Elite.

Osem's Date Silan & Walnut Cake was very moist and fluffy, but the cake was too sweet. I was disappointed that it was a "sugar" sweetness rather than "date silan" flavor. I should not have been surprised, considering the first ingredient is sugar. Sadly the date-silan flavor got totally lost.

I thought there was a perfect amount of walnuts in the cake and they did help balance the sweetness a bit, but not enough.

One of the biggest issues I have with Kosher for Pesach cakes is; I do NOT enjoy the taste of potato starch. Any product that has an overwhelming potato starch taste will not get rave reviews from me. This Osem Date Silan & Walnut cake actually kind of passed the "potato starch test". Yes there is a potato starch aftertaste but it really is not as bad as most other commercial Kosher for Pesach potato starch cakes.

This cake is NOT gluten free. It has matzo meal in it but, it does not have Kitnoyot and it is Kosher Parve Mehadren. Kosher for Passover

400 gram cake 16.99 NIS

Elite's Rich Chocolate Brownie is a whole different story. It was very dry and had way too much of a coco taste as opposed to a chocolate taste. It seemed like I was eating a spoonful of coco and potato starch, no it did NOT pass my "potato starch test" at all!!

This brownie was more of a cake than a brownie. That's never a good thing in my book. I really enjoy a good flowerless Pesach brownie but this Elite rich chocolate brownie is NOT a winner.

Its Kosher Parve Rabbanut, Nazareth-Illit Kosher for Passover

 It seems to be gluten free but it's not clearly written as such. It does have "Laptit" which I understand is what canola oil is made of.

380 gram cake- 12.99 NIS

Bottom Line: Osem's Date Silan & Walnut Cake is alright. It's not the best or the worst Kosher for Pesach commercial cake I've tasted throughout the years, whereas Elite's Rich Chocolate Brownie was one of the worst in my opinion.

If I need to buy "store bought" baked goods for Pesach I think I would rather try my favorite bakery and stay away from any Osem or Elite commercial cakes.

I wanted to let my USA readers know that Mara over at Kosher on a Budget blog is running a contest-the prize is a package of goodies from Osem USA , so if you want to possibly win some of the items I'll be reviewing between now and Pesach, go over to Kosher on a Budget and enter. Sadly its only for USA readers, and you gotta hurry because the contest ends tomorrow April 7, but her blog is worth reading all the time. Not only for her USA coupons but also for her great money saving tips no matter where you live     

Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.