Got a free piece of chocolate cake at Buffalo Wild Wings for my BD. Not bad!

I'm going to have to out myself as a rube and admit I really like the chocolate cake at Jewel. Most are open late if not 24 hours, it's readily available in the bakery case, and it's actually good.

zoid wrote:I'm going to have to out myself as a rube and admit I really like the chocolate cake at Jewel. Most are open late if not 24 hours, it's readily available in the bakery case, and it's actually good.

Jewel cakes were a routine going-away party feature at my one-time office (which had frequent goings away until it all went away entirely a few years back). They were always very decent.

You can google Portillo's chocolate cake where you can find the recipe or what is purported to be. Basically it appears its make from a box mix with added mayonnaise and ice water.

stevez wrote:

earthlydesire wrote:I don't even know if you can get it in the restaurants -- I've only had it catered in. It is the lightest, yet most chocolately cake I've ever tasted and the milky fudgy frosting is absolutely delicious.

Yes, you can get it in the restaurants (at least at the Taylor Street flagship) and it is surprisingly good for a simple restaurant chocolate sheet cake.

I swear to God, as soon as I saw the topic title, I thought of the great chocolate sheet cake at Pompeii's Wellington/Sheffield location. And then the very next thought I had was, nah, no one's going to give that recommendation any credibility. But I opened up the thread nonetheless, and lo and behold. So let me third it.

Not only is the chocolate cake at Portillo's great, another option for eating it is to order their chocolate cake shake. They throw a whole slice, frosting and all, into the shake when they make it. I'm sorry I ever ordered the first one, because now I can't walk out of there without getting one.

Suzy

Rolf's started out almost 30 years ago as a hole-in-the-wall Swiss Bakery on Diversey and has grown to a big wholesale bakery that makes deserts for restaurants and stores. The one thing that has not changed (at least as I recall) is their Chocolate Truffle cake. This is a moist fudgey layer cake that has chocolate mousse between layers and is completely covered in a dark chocolate shell with chocolate truffles placed around the top edge (so each thin slice gets a truffle). It is my understanding that some of Rolf's other deserts have been affected at an inverse ratio to the company's growth, but this is one that seems the same as I remember it from decades ago. They are not cheap, but ceartainly worth the splurge on a special occassion (like my next birthday). These cakes are special order, so call ahead.

Rolf's Patisserie
4343 West Touhy Avenue
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
847-675-6565
Fax: 847-329-7653

We went to Clark's Saturday for dessert with friends. I didn't try the apple pie, but it looked pretty unpleasant - gummy innards, an oddly plastic-looking, board-flat crust. Joel had the Dulce de Leche cheesecake, and although he loved it I was underwhelmed. I had the Fudgy Wudgy Chocolate Cake and a glass of milk. I think I liked it better than the Portillos cake. It was crazy rich and that dollop of frosting on the top was overkill, but that didn't stop me. I loved the crumbled up cookie things on the end. I'd still prefer a nice piece of homemade, fluffy cake, but it was pretty decent.

I've always loved Portillo's chocolate cake. I also loved their lemon cake, which was taken off the menu (although you might be able to order a whole cake still). My buddy even had them make him a lemon cake shake with a vanilla shake.

The Jewel tiger cake/chocolate mousse cake is great.

Ram4 wrote:I've always loved Portillo's chocolate cake. I also loved their lemon cake, which was taken off the menu (although you might be able to order a whole cake still). My buddy even had them make him a lemon cake shake with a vanilla shake.

The Jewel tiger cake/chocolate mousse cake is great.

I agree with you on the lemon cake at Portillo's. When my office used to celebrate office birthdays monthly, Portillo's was in the rotation. The lemon cake is seasonal, but I can't remember when it's available.

toria wrote:You can google Portillo's chocolate cake where you can find the recipe or what is purported to be. Basically it appears its make from a box mix with added mayonnaise and ice water.

I have very seriously considered opening a bakery and selling nothing but box mix cakes and cookies. It's not that I think the box mixes are the pinnacle of baking, it's just that most bakeries are no better. I could probably sell a coffee cake made with Pillsbury's frozen pastry and it would be better than most of the bakeries around Oak Park.

zoid wrote:

toria wrote:You can google Portillo's chocolate cake where you can find the recipe or what is purported to be. Basically it appears its make from a box mix with added mayonnaise and ice water.

I have very seriously considered opening a bakery and selling nothing but box mix cakes and cookies. It's not that I think the box mixes are the pinnacle of baking, it's just that most bakeries are no better. I could probably sell a coffee cake made with Pillsbury's frozen pastry and it would be better than most of the bakeries around Oak Park.

There's a great story about a woman who worked for Aristotle Onassis, who had started out as a nanny but also did some cooking for him. She wasn't much of a baker, so she once served Duncan Hines' chocolate cake to Mr. O. Apparently, he thought it the best chocolate cake he had ever had and, as a result, cases of the boxed cake mix were shipped all over the world in order to be able to serve it to him regularly!

toria wrote:You can google Portillo's chocolate cake where you can find the recipe or what is purported to be. Basically it appears its make from a box mix with added mayonnaise and ice water.

I can believe it. That cake is terrible, but I have cousins who swear by it. Whenever we're invited over to their house for dinner, the Chow Poodle always offers to bake something and they routinely turn her down in favor of Portillo's Chocolate Cake. I can't eat it, myself.

I was in Jewel in Niles a few minutes ago and over the loudspeaker, someone was calling for SteveZ. Was that you?

In the aforementioned Jewel trip, thanks to Mr. Pie I ended up bringing home an individual Suzy Q and a box of Swiss Rolls.

(Plus a box of Nutty Bars and Oatmeal Creme Pies. We are no longer talking about the virtues of Little Debbies).

And now that we're on the subject, where the hell are Fudge Rounds?

Pie Lady wrote:I was in Jewel in Niles a few minutes ago and over the loudspeaker, someone was calling for SteveZ. Was that you?

The closest I would ever be to that Jewel is in Minelli's. I'm not a Jewel shopper.

Vincent in Andersonville last night had a dreamy layered chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse and salted chocolate frosting. It looked like a tall whoopie pie, and was light and delicious.