Naughty or Nice

from Zee Digital • Volume 3 • 2018-2019

by Zee Digital

Gin Cartel

With the holiday season upon us, do we really need the guilt that comes with that decadent slice of cake? Or can we indulge in our favorite treats and be guilt-free?

by Michael Karlo Lim photography TJ Delima

That “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” has many of us on our toes to get on Jolly Ol’ St. Nick’s good side. Then “‘tis the season to be jolly” becomes a loophole for significant backslides. With one party coming after another and gifts most often of the edible kind in endless supply, it’s too easy to charge the holidays’ indulgences to auld lang syne.

Gone are the heydays of the Neverending Christmas Fruitcake. Its circulation via regifting has lost favor to the ever increasing multitude of holiday offerings available nowadays. We rounded up some of our favorites with which you can either dive completely into delicious or make more conscious choices of.

With the makers of the Instafamous Chocolate Dream Cake already trademarking their take on the layered chocolate cakein-a-can, local purveyors of sweet goodies, Tazza Cafe and Patisserie, elicits what we’d assume to be similar oohs and aahs with their Marvelous Cake. Pierce the outer hard chocolate shell dusted generously with chocolate powder and let the creamy and smooth chocolate glaze ooze out as you push forward into the dark chocolate ganache and ultra moist chocolate cake base.

**Yema Cake from Tazza Cafe and Patisserie. Tazza Cafe and Patisserie, Banilad Town Center. For orders, contact @tazzacafeandpatisserie on Instagram.**

**Bellezza Casa Bergamo Placemat. Available at www.bellezzacasa.com.**

From dark and dreamy, Tazza does festive, too. Their signature Rainbow Cake stacks colored vanilla sponge layers finished with a cloud of frosting and sprinkles. Christmas Cake Pops round up the jovial selection.

That chocolate dream need not just be as Love-Eat Low-Carb solves the diabetic’s dilemma and the ketogenic catch with a Low-Carb Dream Cake Deluxe. Sugar-free, gluten-free, low-carb, Keto-friendly, and vegan ticks off all the boxes across the health nazi and hipster boards with layers of almond & coconut flour chocolate cake, gorgeous dark chocolate ganache, decadent dark chocolate cream, crisp chocolate shell dusted with cocoa powder and topped with almond slivers and dried rose blossoms.

In lieu of the classic graham crust, Cafe Georg’s Keto Chocolate Marble Cheesecake has a spartan mixture of just ground cashew nuts and butter to make a softly crunchy bottom. Brown marbling is a subtle combination of coffee and chocolate swirling into the smooth and creamy cheesecake of an almost ice cream-like consistency. Erythritol, a sugar alcohol that is not digested by the body, sweetens the deal to keep it sugar-free, keto-friendly, low carb, and gluten-free.

**Sugar-Free Dream Cake from Love Eat Low Carb. Love Eat Low Carb, For orders, contact @loveeatlowcarb on Instagram**

The same “plain cheesecake” base is turned tantalizingly tangy with lemon cutting through its richness in their Keto Lemon Cheesecake. Japanese Matcha powder added to another makes their Matcha. Already with naturally occurring fructose, a homemade blueberry topping is still within the NSA (No Sugar Added) category and well within the low carb considerations for their blueberry version.

Actual banana fruit in banana bread would raise the sugar index, but Cafe Georg’s Keto “Banana” Bread uses a banana extract instead. Homemade 100% peanut butter replaces the usual wheat flour and eggs, flax meal, chia seeds, erythritol, stevia, yogurt, walnuts, and leavening agent figure into the delicious mix. Thin slices are best toasted then slathered with butter or, for a considerably healthy indulgence, cream cheese.

To donut or do not may no longer be a struggle to decide on with these vegan alternatives from Kit’s Kitchen. Their Vegan Baked Doughnuts are made of unbleached flour from the USA, leavened with cocoa which also adds a deep chocolate note, sweetened with homemade applesauce, made creamy with almond milk, and enhanced by the sweetly woodsy flavor of