Bringing Foreign Flavours Home with California Fried Chicken
California Fried Chicken is a place that lives up to its name with some of the best chicken meals in the city. But that is not all it offers. This long-time restaurant has a whole different side to it when you take a look at their cakes and pastries, and what goes behind creating each and every piece.
THE MAIN HIGHLIGHT
We order cakes for pretty much every occasion nowadays-- from birthdays to graduations, cakes serve a purpose nothing else can replace. And for this we hunt down the best bakers and the finest designs. But have you ever wondered what goes into making your perfect cake? California Fried Chicken is renowned for their chocolate cakes, but that is not where their creativity ends. To allow us to have a deep understanding of the cakes, the importance of the ingredients and how it is all put together to create the perfect centerpiece for you, Manzur Rashid, head chef of CFC, allowed us a peek at the ingredients and behind the scenes.
FRUITY FLAVOURS
Although fruit flavours are not everyone's piece of cake, some really enjoy them, and for those who do, artificial colouring and jam just does not cut it. Made with real preserved fruits brought straight from Belgium, every cake and pastry is filled with 70 percent fruit filling of the real stuff so you get that kick you seek. There is the passion fruit pastry topped with real passion fruit seeds that give a burst of fresh tanginess every time you bite into it, and adds the perfect little crunch to tone down the creaminess. And the blueberry cakes topped and glazed with juicy blueberries, a perfect complement to the white icing; the Diplomatic Kiwi that gives off a slight sour taste of the kiwi fruit, with the creamiest cream fillings gives it its diplomatic title, and last of all some Mango and Strawberry pastries too.
TRUE CAKES
The Black Forest and White Forest cakes come with layers of cherries in-between, and are garnished with the finest dark and white chocolates from Singapore. The cakes are light, airy, and have just the ideal amount of creaminess to them without being too sticky or overpowering. The popular Red Velvet is also layered with cream cheese filling which make the cake soft enough to feel like velvet, but not too much so that it gets too rich to consume.
"The origin of the Black Forest Cake is Germany, and that of the Tiramisu is Italian. The cakes you get here have an authentic taste and are no different from the ones you would find there," Manzur Rashid said.
CUSTOM CAKES
If you have ever wanted to have a little taste test before custom ordering large cakes, you know the struggle of finding one here in the city. CFC offers this service only for large custom orders, where the person can skim through the cakes, sit down and consult with their head chef about the best combinations to explore, and the ones to avoid. This allows one to really experience what goes into perfect cakes.
MARVELLOUS MACAROONS
Macaroons are a European delicacy, and perfecting them takes some serious skills that CFC chefs have mastered. Perfect outlines, identical sizes and the prettiest colours achieved by original French food colouring is what you get here.
A ONE OF A KIND TART
If your sweet tooth is craving more still, take a look at their collection of fruit tarts that will help balance out the creaminess with an assortment of fresh fruits. From dragon fruits, to grapes to pomegranates, the fruit toppings keep changing with the season, so you always get something new and one of a kind. If fruits are not your thing, the Almond Peach Tart might speak to your soul with minimal peach toppings, and a solid almond core.
SAVOURING SAVOURIES
We know CFC is popular for their chicken meals, but from the numerous in the menu, two in particular really stand out. Juicy chicken steaks nicely drizzled in sauces and sandwiched between two burger buns is what their Grilled Chicken Burger offers. It has a smoky scent to it that is bursting with flavours, and this really adds a nice touch which is rare and tells you how perfectly the patty has been grilled.
The next option seems pretty basic, but even basics catch your attention when they are made so perfectly. This basic crispy chicken burger has an even patty that is nicely seasoned and topped with lettuce and sauce. It is not over flowing with crisps, and the perfect even shape makes it easy to devour.
MAKING TEA TIME GREAT AGAIN
One should not exit the store without bringing back a jar of cookies. Vienna cookies are a popular variety with almond slices in the core, while the jam cookies are an absolute delight sandwiching jam in between two sublime cookies, and are perfect tea compliments. Other than these, there are the oats cookies and sugar free cookies for the health conscious, and a wide range of chocolate cookies, some incorporated with coffee, others with chocolate chips, some bitter and some sweet and some nicely set in swirls.
MUST TRY
The Chocolate Mousse is hands down a must try with its three distinct layers. The bottom layer is a soft milk chocolate mousse, followed by creamy and airy white chocolate and topped off with a bitter dark chocolate mousse layer, garnished with white and dark chocolate flakes on top.
Where each cake is a story and a creation carefully crafted with the finest ingredients, it sure deserves some spotlight. Keeping the standards and maintaining quality is what CFC believes in and it reflects in every bite of their delicacies as well. Next time you want to order in, or have a special idea you want to recreate into a cake for a special occasion, California Fried Chicken should definitely be on your list if you want your cake to not only look good, but taste just as great and fresh!
Photo courtesy: CFC/Manzur Rashid
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