Buy a Ritz-Carlton Valrhona Chocolate & Banana Cake for Charity

If you haven’t decided which cake to buy for Mother’s Day or, rather, for any special celebration which will fall between May 5 and 11, look no further than this delicious, limited edition Valrhona Chocolate and Banana Cake from The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.

Scrumptious mousse is sandwiched between two moist layers of sponge in a 7-inch treat that is not too sweet or cloying. The cake is demurely wrapped in gold ribbon and topped with a dark chocolate disc. Mum would approve.

Specially crafted for Smile Asia Week, which falls from May 5 to 11, each 500g cake costs $33 (nett) and can be purchased online. All proceeds from the sale of the cakes will go directly to Operation Smile, an international children’s medical charity which provides reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates.

My family and I are supporters of Operation Smile. We donate to them regularly and believe in their mission. We had made our order for this cake and we  hope more will do the same.

There may be only 50 to 60 babies in Singapore who are born with some form of facial deformity every year. But worldwide, one is born every three minutes. These facial deformities do not merely get in the way of looking pretty – a cleft palate, for example, could cause severe feeding, respiratory and speech issues. And not every parent can afford to send their child for surgery, even if it costs as little as S$360 per surgery.

That’s where Operation Smile comes in. Around the world, teams of medical professionals – including surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and speech therapists – volunteer their precious time and services to provide much-needed surgery and medical care for free. The Singapore chapter regularly conducts medical missions to developing Asian regions such as Mongolia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

Doing good and sinful eating has probably never been so well-paired. From now until May 11, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore targets to sell 7,000 cakes. This will pay for approximately 500 surgeries across Asia. 

I had the pleasure of taking part in a baking class conducted by the hotel’s executive pastry chef Terence Pang, where he demonstrated how the cake is made. All of us in attendance “helped” to make half a dozen cakes for the sale! It was fun:

[image_sliders]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2924/13999434441_926d386046_o.jpg”] Atiqah from LifestyleAsia.com pours cake batter into the mould [/image_slider]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5129/13999423262_46427d0746_o.jpg”] Ingredients needed to make chocolate mousse for frosting the cake: Whipping cream, chocolate, gelatine, banana, dash of nutmeg [/image_slider]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2917/14003049674_5cab6dbbe0_o.jpg”] Melting Valrhona Equatorial chocolate over hot water bath [/image_slider]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7337/14002612185_007623fa09_o.jpg”] Chef Rupesh teaches me how to beat the whipped cream into the melted chocolate [/image_slider]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7456/13999443761_90bab7e9bf_o.jpg”] Executive Pastry Chef Terence Pang shaves off the top of a baked cake [/image_slider]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2935/14022626043_9200c8fc21_o.jpg”] Slicing the cake into layers [/image_slider]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5492/14002610365_6f21d9d55f_o.jpg”] The cake is ready to be assembled [/image_slider]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7458/13979506226_4caf8cca25_o.jpg”] We fill up piping bags and get ready to fill our cake with mousse [/image_slider] [image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7332/14003045834_6e97c94c96_o.jpg”] The first layer of cake and the sides have been frosted [/image_slider] [image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5208/14002607955_6c96f39921_o.jpg”] Chef Shang Yee shows me how to apply mousse to the top layer [/image_slider]

[image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2931/13999435631_235fff9bba_o.jpg”] Once it’s done, the cake is frozen before melted chocolate is drizzled on top for the finishing touch [/image_slider] [image_slider link=”http://on.fb.me/PyWFqc” source=”https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/14003043714_18b473e964_o.jpg”] Now it’s ready to eat! [/image_slider]

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What: Valrhona Chocolate and Banana Cake, approx. 7-inches/500g each

Order at: http://www.smileasiaweek.org/sg/

How much: S$33 nett

When: From now until May 11

Self-collection points: 1) The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore OR 2) The Royal Bank of Scotland at One Raffles Quay OR 3) Operation Smile Singapore Ltd, 352 Tanglin Road

If you want it delivered: Minimum purchase of 6 cakes required, at a delivery charge of $3 per cake. Complimentary delivery for orders of 10 cakes or more.