The latest addition to the Ritz-Carlton legend is not another elegant 5-star hotel. It’s a cake. Not just any cake, but the Ritz-Carlton Signature Cake. Corporate Chef Rainer Zinngrebbe challenged the luxury hotel chain’s pastry chefs to create a taste that was distinctly Ritz-Carlton to celebrate the brand’s heritage. The first proviso was that the signature cake must contain Grand Marnier, travel well and of course be beautiful. Grand Marnier is part of the equation because it is inextricably entwined in the history of the luxury hotel chain. When in 1880 after ten years of pain-staking experimentation, Louis-Alexander Marnier presented his cognac and orange liqueur to his friend Cesar Ritz, the ‘hotelier’s hotelier’ was dazzled by its outstanding flavor and complexity. The two were firm friends. (Later Marnier helped finance the very first Ritz-Carlton in Paris). Cesar Ritz was also responsible for the name of this most famous of postprandial drinks. The fashion at that time in Paris was for everything to be ‘petit’. Cesar suggested to Louis-Alexandre he should be audacious and name his new liqueur ‘Grand Marnier’ to endow it the correct grandeur and nobility.
Grand Marnier is part of the equation because it is inextricably entwined in the history of the luxury hotel chain.
The Signature Cake is a rectangular sponge with a dark Valrhona ilk Majari and Jivara chocolate. This is paired with two stripes of bitter caramel and two of orange ganache made from Grand Marnier and candied fruit. It’s then topped with another fine strip of chocolate and stamped with the Ritz-Carlton lion. ] The cake is not only delicious – it’s presented as both sexy and mysterious making it a perfect addition to special grown-up celebrations. It is wrapped in an elegant dark box and tied with a white ribbon with just “The Cake” embossed on the side. It is currently only available from Ritz-Carton hotels around the world but it will become available online in the next few months. www.ritzcarlton.com
