Sant Ambroeus Signature Chocolate Cake

After brunching at Morandi and enjoying a semi-dessert of Ricotta Fritters (bottom photo) with pine nuts, rolled in sugar and dried fruit, I found myself wandering the West Village in search of yet another sweet fix. I ended up following my heart into the cozy little espresso bar/restaurant that is Sant Ambroeus. A bunch of scattered tables in the dining room - I hear they serve real food in addition to sweets but I wouldn't know anything about that - and a bright case full of cakes and cookies beckoned like some holy light from the side of the counter. I ordered a cappuccino out of habit; any espresso bar transports me back to the time I spent in Italy a few years ago and I order coffee on auto-pilot even if I am already over my daily caffeine limit. Then I sat back sipping my cappuccino to await my Sant Ambroeus cake (top photo).

When it arrived, I was struck by the attention to detail that went into the decoration. Inside, I was elated to find a rich chocolate mousse atop a thin layer of sponge cake with a creamy chocolate center and the occasional cocoa nib strewn throughout. There was a tiny drop of fudgey chocolate sauce on top. And with that, my sugar craving was finally sated. 

Sant Ambroeus. 259 West 4th St, New York, NY.

(212) 604-9254

http://www.santambroeus.com/new/frameset.php

Chocolate Cake at The Chocolate Room

Please excuse my photo quality. Photo quality isn't relevant to the delicious morsel I'm going to blog about here, anyway. It is so exceptional that I would leave my Manhattan home, following my severe chocoholism, to venture into the largely unfamiliar territory that is Brooklyn. The Chocolate Cake at The Chocolate Room in Park Slope is three layers of moist, dark chocolate cake that is smooth in texture and consistently satisfying. It is not overly dense, nor is it too light. It's that tender happy medium that is sometimes hard to find in a cake this rich. The frosting is creamy and ganache-esque, which takes the dessert over the top. The best part about the frosting is that it is layered into the cake as well. The more the merrier.

The Chocolate Room. 86 5th Avenue, New York, NY 11217.

http://www.thechocolateroombrooklyn.com/

Zen Butter Ice Cream at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

I'm one of what appears to be a rare breed of people (over the age of 12) who find themselves able to eat ice cream all year round. Through sub-freezing temperatures and snow storms, ice cream still sounds like a fine idea. The other night I stopped at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and shivered through a scoop of Zen Butter with toasted sesame seeds. The smooth buttery flavor must have kept me warm. 

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. 65 Bayard Street, New York, NY 10013.

http://www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com/

Free Cake at Jacques Torres

Mr. Chocolate is giving away free slices of cake at his Hudson Street location today in honor of their 10 year anniversary. Since it's Jacques Torres, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the flavor of cake will be chocolate. 

Jacques Torres. Hudson Street at King Street, NYC.

http://www.mrchocolate.com/hudson.php

Hot Chocolate Car Bomb at The Redhead

The Redhead has an unexpectedly interesting cocktail list and menu, and the hot cocktail options made me smile (through chattering teeth) on a freezing December night. Their Hot Chocolate Car Bomb took the edge off the cold night upon first sip, living up to its description on the menu; "the ultimate winter warmer". Guiness and Jameson were both swirled into hot chocolate and the finished product was topped with a little whipped cream and Bailey's marshmallows. I'm already looking forward to going back for more.

The Redhead. 349 E. 13th Street, New York, NY. 

http://www.theredheadnyc.com/

Bissau Cookie at Rubyzaar Baked

The Bissau Cookie by Rubyzaar Baked incorporates roasted peanut butter, sun-dried bananas and dark chocolate chunks. Rubyzaar claims that this specific cookie is a "taste of West Africa" but I can't speak to that. I can say, however, that my personal dream of peanut butter, banana and chocolate baked into a cookie materialized in front of my eyes at a Rubyzaar Baked stand. Unfortunately, none of the flavors really sang and they sort of disappeared into each other and a ton of butter, the greasy feel of which really filled my mouth in a regrettable manner. The texture was also sort of dull.

Rubyzaar seems to offer their cookies during the holiday season only, so note that your time to ingest this cookie has a limit. I got mine at the 16th Annual Union Square Holiday Market.

http://shop.rubyzaar.com/

Kissable Cupcakes at Sugar Sweet Sunshine

Mint and chocolate is a tried and true combination. But in a cupcake?

The Kissable Cupcake at Sugar Sweet Sunshine is a chocolate peppermint cupcake with cream cheese frosting, topped with red and green sprinkles to commemorate the upcoming holiday season. It had an alluring minty, chocolately fragrance. The cake was the perfect consistency and the peppermint shone through despite a truly chocolate flavor.  Like the Spicy Pumpkin Cupcake, the frosting to cake ratio was done right. It was incredibly delicious. And the best part was that, after I had inhaled the whole dessert, the refreshing minty finish left me fully prepared to pucker up!

Sugar Sweet Sunshine. 126 Rivington Street, New York, NY 10002.

http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/