Per tradition, we had saved the top layer of our wedding cake in the freezer and planned to eat it on our first anniversary. The freezer, located in the basement of Josh’s parents’ house in NJ, is not one they use often so I thought the cake had a better chance of keeping well during the year. I actually don’t remember how it tasted the night of our wedding, as the only bite I got was the one Josh fed me during the cake cutting ceremony. We did pick out one of our favorite cakes though – strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream frosting. So after our dinner at Kefi, we met Josh’s parents and other family members back at our apartment. Josh’s mom had defrosted the wedding cake during the day, and, smart lady that she is, also had the foresight to purchase some delicious mousse cakes from Patisserie St. Michel in Teaneck, NJ.
Our beautiful cake the night of our wedding
To put it bluntly, our wedding cake was disgusting. It came out of the box in a sad state, and when I tried to move it onto a plate, almost the entire outer layer of frosting peeled off in one piece. Not exactly appetizing.
Our wedding cake after a year in the freezer - gross!
No one dared to try a slice of the cake so Josh took a forkful and said it wasn’t too bad. He then shoved a bite into my mouth, and the disgustingness was almost overwhelming. The cake, aside from the dry, gritty texture, had picked up various flavors from the freezer and tasted rotten. I couldn’t even get the mouthful down and had to spit it out, much to everyone’s amusement.
A quick swallow of coffee and a bite of raspberry chocolate mousse cake soothed my taste buds immediately. The chocolate mousse was delicate and light, though rich and flavorful at the same time. The raspberry layers on top complemented it perfectly.
Sinfully delicious mousse cakes
The other mousse cake, which I think may have had a thin layer of pistachio mousse on top, was dominated by the hazelnut layer. It tasted exactly like a Ferrer Rocher hazelnut chocolate ball; it even had a thin wafer on the bottom to provide a satisfying crunch. Even though I was still full from dinner, I couldn’t resist having two small slices of each cake.
Layers of pistachio mousse and hazelnut
I recently read that the Patisserie will soon be closing and am saddened to hear that. I can recall many special dinners that have ended with a box of assorted treats from the Patisserie. The hardest part was choosing which item we wanted, whether it be a fruit tart with a buttery shell, a flaky napoleon, an airy cream puff, opera cake or any version of a miniature mousse cake. No matter what we chose, dinner always ended with a sigh of satisfaction and a big smile.
Patisserie St. Michel
1389 Queen Anne Rd.
Teaneck, NJ