You know the kind of little treat that can light up your entire day? Perhaps like a tub of Ben & Jerry’s or a huge slice of the most chocolaty chocolate fudge cake. My kind of treat happens to be anything with salty-caramel. And I get really excited seeing any sort of pastry that comes with salty caramel. (I read on NYTimes that President Barack Obama likes it too). I strongly believe that it is the most genius creation ever in the pastry world. I always wonder who came up with the idea of adding salt to sweet caramel. Never mind who that genius was, it might be one of those accidental discovery; mistaking salt for sugar, but I do know that one of the pioneers that “fashionize” the salty-caramel trend was the revered pastry god – Pierre Herme. He invented the Salty-Caramel Macaron that had the whole world raving about it. My first bite of a salty-caramel macaron although wasn’t from Pierre Herme, but from my talented pastry friend- Pang from Canele, it managed to get me instantly hooked on as well. That was officially the beginning of my craze for salty-caramel and I never look back ever since.
I’m always on a look-out for anything that comes with salty-caramel. (The two of my greatest salty-caramel finds are Sadaharu Aoki’s Salty Caramel Éclair and La Maison salty-caramel ice-cream. This two are to die for. Life will be perfect if I can have them at my whim. Unfortunately, both are not available here in Singapore). My latest discoveries are Arinco King Salty-Caramel Swiss Roll from the fabulous food hall at Ion Orchard and Meiji’s Pucca Creamy Salty-Caramel Biscuit (available at Yamakawa Super). The caramel roll is indeed a treat at $18 a roll. Despite its hefty price tag, the roll has been selling like hot-cake since its opening. You are lucky if you can get one without prior reservation. I can totally understand why, Fluffy like cotton, not coyingly sweet and with the right tinge of salty-caramel , it will have you yearning for more after a slice. As for the Meiji’s biscuit, you bet I will be stocking up tons of it on my next trip to Yamakawa Super.
