In a press release issued on November 16th, Holland America Line shared that Pastry chefs across Holland America Line’s fleet are showcasing their favorite creations during Cake Me Away, a new Lido Market dessert celebration. Debuting on board in time for National Cake Day Nov. 26, Cake Me Away displays more than 22 tantalizing five-layer cakes in 16 decadent flavors, with extra servings of the most popular types.
Holland America Line’s international pastry team also has created a selection of mini-jar cakes that will be added to the daily dessert rotation at Sweet Spot in Lido Market.
“Our pastry team has some of the most talented chefs in the world, and Cake Me Away allows us to bring flavors from their home countries to our guests,” said Michael Stendebach, vice president of food, beverage and guest services at Holland America Line. “The culinary team is always developing new ideas, and Cake Me Away gives them the opportunity to share their favorites and introduce new original cakes for our guests to enjoy.”
Cake Me Away occurs once on seven-day cruises and multiple times on longer sailings, depending on length, in Lido Market. Cake Me Away combines culinary décor with all-time favorite and popular cake flavors – including original cakes like the Heaven and Hell cake (which layers angel and devil’s food cakes with a peanut butter frosting).
To accommodate the dietary needs of all guests, Cake Me Away selections include gluten free, vegan and no-sugar added options.
Cake Me Away flavors include:
- Mille Crepe Cake with layers of cream and crepes.
- Heaven and Hell Cake with layers of angel and devil’s food cakes topped with peanut butter frosting.
- Concorde Cake, a gluten-free option made from chocolate meringue.
- Almond Roca Cake layers chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, whipped cream and homemade almond roca (a hard toffee with chopped nuts and chocolate).
- Sans Rival Cake, a recipe from the Philippines that layers buttercream, meringue and chopped cashews.
- Carrot Cake, a traditional carrot cake with warm spices, chopped nuts and cream cheese frosting.
- Cookies and Cream Cake, alternating layers of cake and crushed chocolate cookies.
- Crème Brûlée Cake, inspired by the classic French dessert with vanilla cake, creamy custard and pastry cream.
Mini Cakes in a Jar
Mini-jar cakes are a bite-size take on the current trend of layered jar cakes. Holland America Line’s mini-jar cakes will be offered daily in Lido Market. Flavors will rotate among the following:
- Black Forest: devil’s food cake layered with kirsch frosting and cherry compote, topped with chocolate shavings and a cherry.
- Carrot Cake: traditional carrot cake layered with cream cheese frosting, topped with toasted and chopped walnuts.
- Cookies and Cream: devil’s food cake layered between cream cheese frosting, and Oreo cookies.
- Key Lime Pie: key lime filling baked on a graham cracker crust, then topped with Crème Chantilly and candied lime zest.
- Red Velvet: layers of red velvet cake, chocolate buttercream and cream cheese frosting topped with red velvet crumbs and white chocolate shavings.
- S’mores: layers of graham cracker crumbs, devil’s food cake crumbs, boiled icing and chocolate mousse with torched icing.
- Strawberry Pavlova: chopped meringue layered with white mousse, fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce and chopped meringue.
The Talent Behind Cake Me Away
Comprising 198 pastry and assistant chefs across the fleet, the pastry team hails from India, Colombia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, bringing their local tastes and recipes to Cake Me Away. For example, one shipboard favorite introduced by pastry chefs from the Philippines is Sans Rival cake — meaning “unrivaled” in French — which layers buttercream, meringue and chopped cashews.
Before joining the Holland America Line fleet, new pastry chefs and assistants attend a pastry training course that is exclusive to Holland America Line. Once complete, they join a pastry team on one of the fleet’s 11 ships. On each ship, pastry teams prepare between 25-30 different desserts and up to 1,000 cookies each day.
