Amazing Cakes

I realize this blog about my adventures in Brazil has a strong emphasis on food, especially desserts. However, I am a foodie and in my opinion the best way to experience a culture is through the food. To me, it is how cultures are both alike and different at the same time.

A few weeks ago I took a detour down a side street in Centro and discovered an interesting little spot – Sensações Doces. My first assumption is that it translated to Sweet Sensations, but Google translator is telling me it is more like Sweet Feelings so maybe one of my regular readers from Brazil can let me know the true translation.

I could tell by peaking in the window that this place was all about cakes. When it came time for my husband’s parents to visit us we knew that they would be here during Mother’s Day. We thought this would be the perfect occasion to try one of these amazing cakes.

Picking just one cake to try proved to be a harder task than I had anticipated considering that they have 68 unique flavors!! We learned from those working inside that there are many of these shops in Sao Paulo state, but that this was the first in Maringá. You purchase the cakes per kg, of course, and they also have a little café where you can try it by the slice and enjoy a coffee.

I took the menu with me after we got all the details and studied it for about 3 days before I finally went in and placed the order. My husband gave me free reign on choosing the flavor which I suspect because it was such a difficult task. I ended up choosing the Chocolate com Amendoim, Chocolate with Peanut.

We were not disappointed! I am not exaggerating when I say that these cakes are truly amazing. It was a chocolate cake with a layer of chocolate mousse and a layer of doce de leite (caramel from milk and sugar) with peanuts in it. The cake was then iced with chocolate frosting and covered with expertly shaved chocolate curls. It tasted every bit as good as it looked.

Cakes like this would go over so well in the US. They are so unique! However, there is one thing that would be very different between Brazil and the States. This cake was about 1 kg (2.2 pounds) and cost R$19. That is $11.50 USD. I mean, look at this thing. Less than $12?!!

There is a bakery I love in Lexington and they make specialty cakes that aren’t nearly as beautiful as this one. They charge about $40 a cake!

So now I’m trying to figure out how many holidays over the next year are deserving of a cake. We are looking at almost one a week if we want to try them all! I think I will just settle for stopping in every now and then and trying a different slice.