Want to bring something on Thanksgiving to steal the spotlight? Maybe you want to go all out for a Friendsgiving celebration— either way, look no further than Paris Baguette! On Friday, November 1st, Paris Baguette released gourmet, limited-edition Thanksgiving cakes. The beloved bakery’s seasonal cake menu boasts four cake selections: Cookies & Cream Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake, Double Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake, Crepe Cake, and Maple Pecan Layer Cake. Every cake is enticing in its own way, as you can indulge in the decadent salty sweetness of the caramel cake, the soft creaminess of the crepe cake, the irresistible flavors of the cheesecake or maybe you’ll enjoy enveloping yourself in the cozy essence of fall with the maple pecan layer cake. Due to the amalgam of promising choices, in order to give you an idea of which cake you’ll like best, and which is better for a Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving celebration, I’ll give an in-depth review of each.

Starting with the Cookies & Cream Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake, my first impression of this cake was that it looked incredible. The perimeter of the cake is covered in powdered sugar-dusted Oreos, while the middle is layered in a swirl of bittersweet dark chocolate ganache that makes the cake look like it will pack a powerful punch flavor-wise, and one can only hope the taste matches the appearance. Fortunately, it did. The first bite was delicious. The cream cheese is solid and thick, one could almost forget that it’s cream cheese and not typical cake bread. Although the cream cheese has the standard New York Cheesecake flavor, there’s a hint of tang that gave the cream cheese a unique kick, and made it taste fresh in the way a typical NY Cheesecake would be sweet. Something else I hoped would make this cheesecake unique was the chocolate ganache, but unfortunately, it fell short. While the ganache does wonders for the appearance of the cake, there’s not much to be said about its taste, as it was drowned out by the sea of flavors provided by the tangy filling, buttery Graham cracker crust, and Oreos. I suppose in this case, the chocolate being drowned out isn’t necessarily a bad thing, simply something worth noting if anyone wanted this cake specifically for the prospect of a cheesecake with a chocolate flavor. You’ll get cocoa from the Oreos, but that’s about as chocolatey as it gets.

If you’re looking for chocolate, it’s best that you go with the next cake I tried: the Double Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake. My first impression of this cake was that it’s the ideal fall cake; with warm brown caramel in the center and dark brown chocolate cream on the perimeter, the look was reminiscent of the colors of autumn leaves. Already, compared to the cheesecake, the appearance of the caramel cake was more fit for Thanksgiving. I hoped that the taste reflected that, and my hopes were fulfilled. The first bite was outstanding. There was a perfect salty-to-sweet ratio, and the cake itself was soft and moist, especially with the cool, sweet chocolate cream between the layers. However, I have to say that the rest of the cake was not as good as the first couple of bites, which can be attributed to the fact that the salted caramel isn’t layered on top of the whole cake—only in the middle—which means that if you’re cutting a traditional triangular slice, the majority of your slice won’t have caramel. I don’t mean to say that the rest of the cake isn’t good,— it’s still a solid creamy chocolate cake,— just that without the salty, nutty caramel, the cake loses the part of it that offsets the super sweetness and makes the taste exquisite. 

Exquisite flavors are certainly appreciated in cakes. However, sometimes, simple is better. This was the case for the next cake I tried: the Crepe Cake. It is very simple in appearance— akin to a vanilla cake with no frosting and dusted with cinnamon on top. I don’t mind a simplistic look or flavor so long as it tastes good, and indeed it did. The texture of the cake was fluffy (due to the thin layers of crepe and the airy filling used), it was legitimately like biting into a cloud as the filling melts on your tongue, much like cotton candy. Naturally, this cake tastes like crepes, but due to the light vanilla flavor of the filling and the equally light texture, it tastes fairly similar to a souffle pancake… just less sweet and without syrup. This cake, surprisingly enough, turned out to be my favorite. However, despite the love I had for the taste, there’s nothing festive about this cake relating to Thanksgiving. That’s why I think instead of bringing it to a Thanksgiving celebration, it’d be better off as merely a simple cake for you to enjoy during the fall.

Speaking of simplistic cakes, the Maple Pecan Layer Cake shares the minimalist appearance of the crepe cake but, contrastingly, is the most festive cake out of the lineup. As soon as I took this cake out of the packaging, I was hit with the seasonal scent of maple and the nutty smell of pecan, with a hint of sugared praline. I hoped the intricacies of the smell would reflect in the taste, but sadly, this cake was merely average. The maple flavor comes from the actual cake breading, and the pecans are littered throughout the frosting, which is light and airy. I will say that I typically dislike cakes with nuts in them, but the pecans were so soft and small that, while they were noticeable to my taste buds, they weren’t overwhelming or aggravating to chew on— which is especially important if you’re sensitive to textures in your food. This cake was like eating maple syrup-infused bread with pecans on top, and while there is a good amount of frosting, it only has a faint flavor—likely so it would not drown out the nuttiness of the pecans. Overall, this cake tastes good, but the flavors aren’t particularly strong. 

With all of that being said, I think the cakes are best for different occasions. If you’re going for the wow factor, the cheesecake is guaranteed to impress others at whatever celebration you may be attending. If you’re going for festivity, although the maple and caramel cake both encompass the warm essence of fall, the caramel cake has the advantage of a stronger, and therefore better taste. As for the other two, I believe they would be better as something to treat yourself with while they’re available, up until December 1st. Ironically, the Crepe Cake and the Maple Pecan Layer Cake happen to be the only two cakes out of the four that are available as slices instead of only as whole cakes, so I suppose it’s fate. Everyone has different tastes and preferences, so whether you choose one of the layer cakes, the cheesecake or the crepe cake for a celebration or your own pleasure, you and others are sure to enjoy it.