Where:
Cake Crush – 蛋糕爆炸 (月湖店)
Zhenming Road 103, Ningbo 镇明路103号, 宁波(月湖盛园对面)
Ⓜ️ Chenghuangmiao (2)
💵 +/- 100¥ per pers

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In China, we can find a high technical level in the french pastry and bakery industry, even outside of Shanghai. Of course, you can also find a wide quantity of shops very unorthodox.
Cake Crush is the kind of shops that reminds me how determination, vision, funding and a spark of genius can give way to shops that have few to envy to many pastry shops in France.

Created in 2012, Cake Crush is a pastry chain committed to one thing: bringing to Ningbo a high-end pastry shop, down to the smallest detail.

Inside, the decoration is flawless. The atmosphere is unquestionably chic, hushed and 100% contemporary.
The use of curves and rounded shapes brings a feeling of comfort, enhanced by the use of rather neutral tones, with a dominant of grey, green, marble and gold. The whole thing is rightly lit: you never feel a lack of light but never feel assailed either.

Desirous to bring a refined experience, Cake-Crush has also made the choice of houses of great renown for its porcelain and its cutlery, to enhance your dining experience.

Bernardeau and Legle for porcelain, two historic houses in Limoges, France(French porcelain capital), and the English brand “Studio William” for its cutlery.

After ordering at the counter, customers can choose to settle in the main room for a more “lively” atmosphere, or upstairs for more privacy.

In the plate

The ingredients sourced and used, of high-quality as-well, also have an important role to play: Isigny butter and Elle & Vire cream, Tahiti vanilla,…Cake Crush does not cheat and delivers the best, to ensure its consistent quality.

1: Tahiti vanilla mousse: This is their signature product.

Above all, it’s very neat and elegant: a fine disc of white chocolate rests upon a drop-shape dessert, speckled with vanilla seeds.

I cut it in half, and find inside a Yuzu cream, this Japanese citrus with subtle tangerine notes, and a dripping heart of praline with pistachio that brings so much pleasure!

The idea here is to pick a bit of each layer, to balance the subtle acidity of citrus with the touch of salt brought by praline.

2: Guava Entremets: the illusion is perfect. The bright green entire guava sits in the middle of the plate. 

The whole, very slightly sweet & sour, is perfectly balanced between the slight acidity of the fruit and the sweetness and roundness of white chocolate.At the cut, a generous guava jam flows from the heart of the entremets. 

3: Mille-Crêpes Yuzu, white chocolate & strawberry: Mille-Crêpes can be found everywhere, but few are sublimated to this point, without any artificial dye or additive of texture or taste. It is an emblematic dessert of the store, which the Pastry Chef embellishes according to seasons and moods.

4: Matcha, duck egg-yolk custard, black sesame entremets: The latest creation of the shop: It goes without saying, the aspect is impeccable as on all other entremets served.

At the cutting, we discover three levels: a Matcha mousse (Japanese green tea), black sesame cream and a flowing custard enriched with salted duck-egg yolks. A delicacy that particularly pleases the local market and which is not to displease me either.

You can choose to accompany your pastries with the usual hot drinks: coffee, tea, as well as fresh fruit drinks, probably popular during summertime.

We went for a large teapot of White Peach Oolong Tea also served in a very elegant tea-pot from the French brand Legle.

Conclusion

The dessert themselves are remarkably balanced, never too sweet nor too rich, and highlight seasonal ingredients as much as possible.
Of course, it all comes at a price and shop is not to be categorized as “cheap”.
However, Cake Crush for sure is a unique place in Ningbo, and a place you should visit if you like desserts and memorable experiences.