Roladin's Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake

Aside from Roladin's Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche the other Rosh Hashanah cake of theirs that caught my eye was the Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cheese Cake. I thought it sounded creative and different so I wanted to try it.

According to the ad I had seen in the paper a full "strip" of the cake cost 59.50 NIS. I didn’t want to spend that much on a cake that I may not enjoy so I was not planning on getting it. When I was at Roladin I noticed that they also had "portion size" slices available. Although I thought 10.00 NIS was expensive for such a small rectangle of cake I decided that the cake was unique enough and I was willing to treat myself just this once.

The Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake is a mascarpone cheese cake with a middle layer of raspberry coulis (a thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits) with honeyed kadaif noodles on top and bottom of the cake that are sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Kadaif is a very fine vermicelli  like pastry that according to Wikipedia is sometimes known as shredded phyllo. It's very popular here in Israel seeing as it's used to make Kanafeh.

My first disappointment with this Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake came when I realized the kadaif was soggy and did not have the "crispy" texture you get when you bite into a kanafeh. I didn’t even taste the honey that was supposed to be mixed into the kadaif. If there was honey it was such a small amount that it got completely lost.

Next I thought the mascarpone layer had an overwhelming jell-o like taste and texture that I really did not enjoy. I know there was mascarpone in the mix but it was not the dominant flavor of this layer. Even Nestlé's "Nok-Out" Mascarpone & Lemon Ice-Cream Bar had more of a mascarpone flavor than this cake But what bothered most about this part of the cake was the waxy aftertaste it left in my mouth. 

רולדין מסקרפונה קדאיף בדבש

The layer of raspberry coulis was fine, neither here nor there. Since this Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake is part of Roladin's Rosh Hashanah "lineup" I wonder why they didn’t go with a pomegranates coulis and give the cake even more of a Rosh Hashanah "feel".

Bottom Line: I was disappointed with almost everything about this Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif Cake and really happy I didn’t buy the full cake. In my opinion compared to their Honey Caramel Sticky-Bun Brioche this Roladin Mascarpone Honeyed Kadaif cheese cake was a major FAIL.

1 full cake 59.90 NIS

1 slice of cake 10.00 NIS

Kosher Dairy Rabbinate Jerusalem

Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.