A Caprese cake has no flour in it at all. Finely ground almonds do the work flour would normally do, and the crumb comes out dense and damp instead of airy. Ours is the Caprese mini cake, a single-serve version of the Italian original from Capri, built on almonds and dark chocolate.
What it tastes like
Almond and dark chocolate, and not much else. The almonds bring a soft, marzipan-like sweetness. Dark chocolate stops it tipping into confectionery, with a bitterness that arrives late and settles at the back of the mouth. Texture closer to a truffle than a sponge. It presses down under a fork before it breaks. The mark stays. A small one satisfies more than its size suggests. A grown-up flavour, needing no decoration to justify itself.
How it is sold, and how many it feeds
Each mini cake is one serving. The mini cakes range starts at $9. Buy a single, a tray of six or a tray of twelve. A tray of twelve puts one in front of every person at a table of twelve. No cutting, no serving spoon, no argument about who got the corner piece. For a gift, the tray does something a single large cake cannot: everyone receives a whole thing of their own.
The honest wording about gluten
New Zealand's food labelling rules changed, and we no longer make blanket dietary claims about any of our items. What we say instead is narrower and more accurate. The Caprese is made with no added gluten. No flour goes into the recipe to begin with. Our kitchen is small and without exclusive production areas for all of our different recipes, so traces may occur, and nothing we make is guaranteed safe for severe coeliac disease.
Two more things worth knowing before you buy for someone else. Nothing in the range is made with no added gluten and no added dairy at the same time, so a guest who needs both cannot be covered by one item. And this cake is built on almonds, while the Snickers mini contains peanuts. Ask about nuts before you assume.
What else is made with no added gluten
The Caprese has company, and that matters when you are ordering for a mixed table. The Nutella mini is built on ground hazelnuts under a Nutella white chocolate ganache. In the cabinet, the Black & White mousse sits on a flourless brownie base, dense and fudgy under the lighter layers. The Romeo & Juliet cheesecake pairs white chocolate cheesecake with guava jam on a no-added-gluten shortcrust. The lemon tart does the same under lemon mousse and toasted meringue, sharp enough to make you blink.
The pudim, the Brazilian baked caramel custard, belongs on the same list: cold, dense and smooth, sitting in dark caramel that carries a slightly bitter edge. All ten petit fours are made with no added gluten as well, sold as a tray of fifteen pieces. The full picture is in our No Added Gluten Cakes and Desserts collection, and we have written more on eating here without added gluten.
Hand it over in person
Buying for someone who usually eats around a menu instead of from it? The gift is not only the cake. Bring them in and let them choose from the cabinet themselves. Pointing at something across a counter, instead of asking what is possible and waiting to be told no, is the part people remember. A collection becomes an afternoon.
Order the tray ahead so it is boxed and waiting. Then sit down with a coffee and one Caprese on a saucer between you, two spoons going at it, while they work out what else to take home. Our premium gift boxes and the mini cakes and petit fours range cover the larger gifts.
Give the kitchen two days
Mini cakes and trays need two days' notice, and the checkout date picker only offers dates the kitchen can meet for what is in your cart. Petit four trays need seven days. Anything already in the cabinet needs none. Collection is from our patisserie inside The Welder on Welles Street in the central city, and we do not deliver. Open 10am to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday. The frequently asked questions page covers storage and allergens in more detail.
