Taste It Presents Desserts

As you know by now, desserts, and baked goods in general, are pretty much my favorite things to review.  And by "review", you know I mean "eat".  For "research".  While I certainly love local small bakeries, for my group at work, we are required to order through foodservice distributors, so I've had my share of wholesale items.  Many taste like the freezers they come from, most are non-offensively average, and every once in a while I find a vendor that makes a noteworthy item.  Like Taste It Presents.

"Taste It Presents creates gloriously tempting gourmet desserts, delighting pleasure seekers across the country. "

Taste It Presents also has 4 sister brands, Cannoli Factory, Love & Quiches, Joey’s Fine Foods and Sweet Sofia’s Bakery, but I've only tried the signature Taste It Presents line.  

"We offer a full range of triumphant frozen desserts for Foodservice and Retail, including American, Italian, Spanish/Latin, Asian and other world-renowned specialties. Choose from a wide assortment of delectable cakes, trays and pies, creamy cheesecakes, individual desserts, mousse desserts, brownies, dessert bars, cookies and cupcakes, grab-n-go, gluten free, baked goods and other top-selling favorites."

The lineup from Taste It Presents is reasonably extensive, but I've only tried the cakes.

Cakes

"No major milestone in life can be passed without cake marking the occasion. Our memory-making temptations have been capturing the hearts of diners for decades.

From the Belgian chocolate in our mousse cakes and the Italian Amarettini cookies atop our Toasted Almond Cream Cake to authentic Key lime juice in our Key Lime Pie, we source only premium ingredients, ensuring each cake has just the right balance of flavor, sweetness and texture."

The lineup of cakes is quite extensive, and I've tried several.  The quality bar is high.  And, spoiler, they make my favorite lemon dessert of all time.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake.

"Our luscious Limoncello Mascarpone cake is a rich combination of Sicilian lemon infused sponge cake and Italian mascarpone topped with European white chocolate curls. A refreshingly light creamy dessert with the perfect combination of sweet and tart."

Limoncello.  I like Limoncello.  But ... I dislike most citrus based desserts - lemon curd, key lime ... just, sorry, not my thing.  And cake?  Eh.  Its ok, but, generally I want a pie, crisp, cobbler, mousse, or just something ... more interesting.  

The first time I saw the Limoncello Mascarpone Cake, I tried it, mostly because I was desperately wanting something sweet, and I figured, if nothing else, I'd eat the creamy frosting and white chocolate off the top.

But ... this is actually really good.   Really, really good.  It is a repeat order for my team.  We all rave about it every time it is served.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake: Side Profile.

The sponge cake is light as air.  So fluffy, yet moist.  Amazingly light.  Like I said, I don't like cake, and I genuinely like this.

The layers of filling are sweetened, rich mascarpone cream, far more interesting than just sweet buttercream.  Perfect compliment to the lightness of the cake.

The white chocolate curls on top add an extra hit of sweetness, and a bit of texture.  The manufacturer recommends serving with fresh berries, whipped cream, or raspberry coulis.  I think the sweet coulis would be overkill, and mask the lightness of the limoncello, and more whipped cream is just totally unnecessary (not something I say often!), but berries I'd like to try sometime.

Is it good for you?  Well, no.  The mascarpone and cream add up.  A single slice (4oz, as pre-sliced is 380 calories), but honestly, it feels lighter!

4.5/5.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake: Again!

I'm shocked every time I have this, as I genuinely like it.  I've added it to our rotation to theme alongside "Italian night" when we have it.

Most recently, I took my own suggestion and paired with fresh blueberries and raspberries, and they complimented the lemon and cream beautifully.  Definite success.

4.5/5.

10" Mixed Berry Cake.

"Sponge cake with Mascarpone cream, topped and filled with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, black and red currants." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Mixed Berry Cake is refreshingly light and creamy, with colorful blue, red & black wild berries." -- Taste It Presents

After the surprise success of the Limoncello Mascarpone cake, I eagerly ordered the new Mixed Berry cake, as it too promised layers of mascarpone cream.

It is a nice looking cake, loaded with berries and white chocolate garnish on top.

And it too delivered.  The cake was again light and really not bad (for cake!), although this time not soaked in anything.  The mascarpone cream with thick, rich, and pretty fantastic.

Mixed Berry Cake: Side Profile.

The fruit was also found in the layers, assorted types of berries - blueberry, raspberries, strawberries - and tiny currants.  All the assorted fruits gave great pops of flavor, and I especially appreciated the currants.  Add in a bit of sweet white chocolate curls and I was quite pleased.

Update: we have had this several other times, and I've always enjoyed it.  Best when allowed to warm up to room temperature, and soften a bit, rather than "refrigerator" temperature.

3.5/5.

Mixed Berry Cake / Wildberry Cream Cake.

"Two layers of light, buttery sponge cake are delicately soaked in vanilla syrup, then enveloped with two layers of heavenly Italian mascarpone cream that is hand mixed with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, black and red currants.

Topped with white chocolate curls."

Same cake, new name?  I think it is now marketed as the Wildberry Cream Cake, with a more accurate description, but I'm pretty sure this is the same cake.

I again do like the cream, but the berries weren't as great as I remembered - specifically, I wasn't into the currants, and they were dominant.

3/5.

Toasted Almond Cake, 10" Round.

"Delectable combination of imported ladyfingers lightly soaked in amaretto syrup, layered with smooth and creamy Italian mascarpone. Finished with crushed amaretiini cookies and roasted California Almonds." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"This 2 layer sponge cake is delicately soaked in amaretto syrup layered with imported mascarpone cream and topped with Italian amarettini cookies and roasted almonds." -- Taste It Presents

After enjoying the previous cakes, I branched out, ordering more cakes, again drawn in by teh mascarpone.

This cake is one of their signature items, and is available in a slew of formats - a full tray tiramisu style, a 7" round cake, a 10" round cake, and even individual pudding cups.  We had the larger 10" round.

Toasted Almond Cake: Side Profile.

It was a fantastic cake.

Much like the limoncello mascarpone and the berry mascarpone, it was made from light, moist ladyfingers, this time soaked in amaretto syrup.  I really don't tend to enjoy cake, but, when its this light and moist, it really is nice.  The soaked cakes from Taste It are better than the unsoaked.

And then, of course, their wonderful mascarpone cream.  Thick, rich, smooth, creamy.

Just the layers alone were a wonderful cake actually, but the crunchy amaretti cookies and bits of caramelized almond on top really pushed it over the top.

Light and moist.  Creamy and decadent.  Crispy and sweet.  Very good.

3/5.

Update:
I had it another time, and ... it wasn't as good.  It tasted stale in a strange way, like, the cream filling actually tasted stale, which is not a flavor I've ever associated with cream before.  I wonder if it was in a fridge with something with odor?

Tiramisu Cake.

"A light sponge cake and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso, alternately layered with imported mascarpone cheese and finished with a light dusting of cocoa." 

Tiramisu, as a cake?  Ok, why not?

This looked basically like a tiramisu, with layers of alternating soaked sponge cake, and mascarpone.

Tiramisu Cake: Inside.

Three layers total, but it was clear from immediate inspection that the ratio of everything was far more "cake" than I wanted.  Yes, this was a cake, not a tiramisu.

The cake was ... fine.  But boring.  Standard cake.  A bit dry.  Not a light airy one like in some of the other products.

The mascarpone filling though of course was thick, rich, and delicious.  I wanted more of it, like a real tiramisu.

The amount of cocoa on top was too aggressive for my tastes.

2.5/5.

Tiramisu.

"A traditional Italian dessert consisting of alternating layers of imported Mascarpone and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso with a hint of liquor."

Taste It also makes traditional tiramisu, which comes in a large tray of pre-scored slices for banquets and catering.

It was pretty classic, decent enough tiramisu.  Unlike the layer cake, the ratios were much better, enough cake obviously, but, look at the cream topping!  Much better.

The ladyfingers were nicely soaked, moist, lots of espresso.  The mascarpone cream was thick and rich, good flavor.  Powdered cocoa on top.

Very classic, no more, no less. 3/5.

Update: I had it a second time, and was less thrilled.  The cake was nicely soaked, but, the cream didn't have much depth to it, and, eh, cake.

Tiramisu (2026).

"A traditional Italian dessert consisting of alternating layers of imported Mascarpone and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso with a hint of liquor."

I had this years ago and found it pretty average, but it looked just so inviting that I tried it again.

And ... yeah.  Eh.  The ladyfingers were well soaked, but that just meant mushy, and the espresso flavor wasn't particularly strong.  The fluffy sweetened mascarpone-whip was tasty enough, and with the cocoa powder on top that was enjoyable.  But I wouldn't get this again, just not enough flavor overall.  Low 3/5.

Dulce de Leche Cake.

"A rich chocolate cake topped with dulce de leche mousse, sprinkled with chocolate curls." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Savor this rich chocolate cake topped with dulce de leche mousse (caramel flavor) sprinkled with chocolate curls." -- Taste It Presents

I was excited to order this one, something totally different, featuring mousse.

Sweet. Very, very, very sweet.  That is what I have to say about this one.

It looked like such a stunner, and everyone was excited for it, but most slices wound up in the trash.

Dulce de Leche Cake: Side Profile.

The base was fairly dry, not rich as advertised, chocolate cake.  I didn't care for that, but I never really care for cake.

The rest was the "mousse".  The texture was smooth and creamy, but the flavor was overwhelmingly sweet, in a cloying way, with a strange aftertaste.

The chocolate curls on top were at least good, nice dark chocolate.

1.5/5.

Caramel Pecan Fudge.

"The ultimate combination of rich chocolate mousse cake, topped with pecans, swirls of caramel and milk chocolate." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor.

"Caramels, pecans and fudge? Is there any BETTER combination? Put this cake on your menu, and watch the smiles come..." -- Taste It

There were some good, and some bad, parts to this.

The cake was dry and boring, not rich, not chocolately, not moist.  Throwaway component.

The chocolate mousse however was good.  Very thick, very rich, very chocolately.  Intense.

The caramel drizzle over the top was also nice, sweet, standard caramel.  I liked the crunch from the pecans too.

Overall though, it was actually ... too rich.  It needed whipped cream.  Badly.

Once I removed the cake, added whipped cream, and just had an amazing chocolate mousse with caramel and pecans and whipped cream, I really enjoyed it.

2.5/5.

 Belgian Chocolate Mousse.

"For the chocolate lover. A satisfyingly smooth chocolate mousse on a chocolate crust." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"A chocolate lover's dream. This light and satisfying cake has smooth Belgian chocolate mousse and is finished with tasty chocolate shavings." -- Taste It Presents

This was an ok product.  The mousse was creamy and rich, not super intense chocolate, but enough.  The texture was spot on.  I really liked the dark chocolate shavings on top.

The cake crust was dry, boring, and best left behind, but chocolate mousse doesn't need chocolate cake with it anyway.

Even better with some whipped cream.  Not an amazing mousse, but not awful.

3/5.

Flourless Chocolate Cake.

"Indulge your senses with this decadent, flourless chocolate cake. A chocolate lover’s dream, this dessert will delight gluten and non-Gluten Free customers alike.  Made with the finest Belgian semi sweet chocolate, butter, cocoa powder and vanilla. Unlike other flourless chocolate cakes which can be gritty, flakey or dry, this cake is delicately rich, and bursting with a smooth, moist, and creamy texture."

This was one of the better flourless chocolate cakes I have ever had.  It really was remarkably smooth and creamy, almost like a really thick pudding or mousse.  Deep, rich chocolate flavor.  

I laughed at the pieces my cafe cut them into, but I understand why - this is a "little goes a long way" kind of cake.  Best paired with some whipped cream to cut the heaviness, or strawberries/raspberries if consumed cold.  I also heated up a second slice the next day and added a scoop of coffee ice cream, which worked beautifully as well.

4/5.

Takumi Taco

Mexican and Japanese fusion is not new nor novel.  Sushi burritos are all around these days.  But what about a place that is actually both Japanese and Mexican, as in, not just Japanese ingredients treated in a Mexican way, but rather, has real Mexican food too.  That's a bit different.  And honestly, a bit confused.  

"Takumi Taco serves Japanese Inspired Mexican food. The concept was born from our love of two incredible cuisines with deep, rich, and unique food cultures. Takumi Taco started in April 2012 as a taco stand at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn. From there, we expanded to multiple food halls across New York City growing our menu along the way to serve the ever-changing needs of our customers. We pride ourselves on serving fresh, unique food in a fast casual setting."

Takumi Taco is such a place, offering up mostly Mexican tacos, burritos, bowls, and sides, but then also has a few fusion items in the mix.

Popup Menu.

At the restaurant, most of the tacos use traditional corn tortillas, with the exception of the Japanese inspired ones (spicy tuna or curry beef), and a vegetarian lentil one that use a far more fun sounding crispy gyoza shell instead.  For our event, we had just one with the gyoza (spicy tuna), so of course I had to get that.  We also had the choice of two others (chicken, vegetarian cauliflower) and two sides (Mexican corn salad or Japanese slaw).

Bento Box. $13.75.
Spicy Tuna / Cauliflower / Takumi Slaw.

I got a bento box, which comes with two tacos and one side.  It also came with tortilla chips.

Spicy Tuna:

"Sashimi Grade Big Eye Tuna, Jicama, Avocado, Cucumber, Spicy Mayo, Radish, Sesame Seeds, Crispy Gyoza Shell."

This is the item I was most excited for, with the gyoza shell and basically tuna poke filling (although, yes, it had avocado, and yes, I am allergic).  I had hoped to ask for the avocado to be left off, but it was pre-mixed.  My allergy is such that if I don't eat it, but it has touched things I eat, I'll feel it, my lips and throat will swell a little, but it is generally fine, so, I still risked it (unlike my melon allergy which is far more severe).

I loved this and I'm glad I still got it even with the avocado.

The gyoza shell worked so well.  It was super crisp, and seemed pretty fresh, just a big giant wonton.  The filling was full of diced tuna, cucumbers, jicama, and avocado, all cut to about the same size, which made for easy bites.  The jicama added remarkable crunch, and it, along with the cucumber, were nicely juicy.  The spicy mayo was creamy and slightly spicy, and very generously applied.  Speaking of generous, it was stuffed really quite full.

This to me was better than a poke bowl or spicy tuna roll, as it allowed the fillings to shine in a better way, and, did I mention, I loved that shell?  It was fun to eat, it was tasty, and I'd get more of these in a heartbeat.  4/5.

Cauliflower Taco:
"Roasted Cauliflower, Sauteed Onions, Pineapple Pico De Gallo, Corn Tortilla."

Since a bento box contains two tacos, and I wanted to hedge my bets but hate chicken, I got the cauliflower taco as well.  It was al pastor style cauliflower, in a warm corn tortilla, topped with the pineapple pico de gallo to order.

I could care less about the (double) corn tortilla, but the cauliflower bits were flavorful from the al pastor sauce, and the pico de gallo was pretty vibrant and the pineapple a nice touch.  I don't get excited about Mexican flavors, and I'd prefer bigger hunks of cauliflower, but this was fine.  3/5.

Takumi Slaw:
"Napa/Red Cabbage, Carrot, Kale, Radish, Sesame Seeds, Sesame Dressing."

I adore slaw, I adore Japanese style things, so this was a great match for me, a slaw with a bit of Japanese inspiration in the dressing.  I liked that the dressing was added to order, rather than pre-mixed, as it meant the cabbage was crisp.  But otherwise this was a bit boring, I liked everything in it, but the dressing was a bit goopy, and there just wasn't much crunch.  Fine, but boring.  3/5.

Tortilla Chips:

I'm not one for tortilla chips, and would have asked to have these left off if I had known they'd be included, but I have to admit, they were good chips.  Crisp, fresh, thin, really well seasoned.  Definitely seemed homemade.  Far better than average.  4/5.

Bento Box.
2x Spicy Tuna / Slaw / Chips.

I liked Takumi so much I went back a few days later, but opted for two of the spicy tuna. 

The chips seemed less seasoned this time, more like just generic tortilla chips, and I again wished I'd left them off, but otherwise, this was much the same.  My feelings on the slaw were also unchanged.