Have your Christmas cake and eat it too: Seoul's luxury hotels prepare gourmet seasonal treats

Home > Culture > Food & Travel

Have your Christmas cake and eat it too: Seoul's luxury hotels prepare gourmet seasonal treats

Published: 28 Nov. 2024, 09:49 Updated: 28 Nov. 2024, 11:30

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Taste of Luxury truffle cake priced at 400,000 won ($287) at The Shilla Seoul [THE SHILLA SEOUL]

With less than a month left until Christmas Day, hustle is key for many looking to spend the perfect holiday in the city. The best rooms, restaurants and gifts sell out fast, but arguably, the most competitive items are cakes, particularly those made by the bakeries of five-star hotels.

Considered the crème de la crème of the industry, these cakes become more refined — and pricier — each December. The Shilla Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul, set a new record on Monday by launching a black truffle holiday cake costing 400,000 won ($287).

The same dessert cost 300,000 won last Christmas, but the price rose 33 percent because “this year’s contains 25 percent more truffle,” said the hotel in a statement.

Vanilla Raspberry Crown Cake (90,000 won) at Andaz Seoul Gangnam [ANDAZ SEOUL GANGNAM]

The hefty price tag of these cakes is also indicative of the extensive labor that goes into them, according to Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas’s statement. The hotel said it takes multiple pastry chefs at least 24 hours to finish a whole single cake.

“It is a craft that leans closer to art than food,” the hotel spokesperson said.

Pine Tree mascarpone and raspberry sponge cake (98,000 won) at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas [GRAND INTERCONTINENTAL SEOUL PARNAS]

There are comparably more reasonable options as well.

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul’s Crimson Noel Cake, priced at 120,000 won, is an elegant yet wholesome pound cake baked in a Bundt pan, covered with red glaze and topped with chocolate ribbons. Infused with spices, nuts, dried fruit and a dark rum ganache, it evokes a warm Christmas spirit.

Crimson Noel pound cake (120,000 won) at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul [FOUR SEASONS HOTEL SEOUL]

Four Seasons also offers petit options, ranging from 14,000 won to 23,000 won. Grand Hyatt Seoul sells slightly quirky yet adorable Christmas-shaped chocolates for 95,000 won. Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul has one of the most affordable cakes of this season: a 68,000-won pistachio sheet cake with berries.

Festive chocolates (98,000 won each) at Grand Hyatt Seoul [GRAND HYATT SEOUL]

Christmas vibes also started earlier than usual this year — a commercial phenomenon led by local department stores to compensate for the lack of sales during the longer-than-usual summer weather. Some hotels, likewise, pulled forward holiday cake reservations “to coordinate with the city’s move to begin Christmas as early as October,” local hotel conglomerate Paradise Group stated in its press release.

Most hotels have now opened reservations. The following is our annual list of hotel Christmas cakes on the market this season.

The Shilla Seoul

The Shilla Bear’s Whisper (300,000 won) chocolate cake, in the shape of its stuffed animal mascot at The Shilla Seoul [THE SHILLA SEOUL]

This year’s Taste of Luxury black truffle cake, in mille-feuille style covered with truffle cream, shavings, powder and oil, reportedly contains 48 grams (1.7 ounces) of European black truffle for each whole cake. The batter has a fruity aroma enriched by figs and nuts marinated in Château d'Yquem wine. It is layered with truffle slices and chocolate ganache.

The idea behind the cake, according to the hotel, is to give diners the impression of “enjoying a fine dining course” in one bite.

The hotel also newly launched The Shilla Bear’s Whisper (300,000 won), in the shape of its stuffed animal mascot, the Shilla Bear. It is a chocolate cake at large, incorporating Valrhona chocolate mousse, but different parts of the bear have varying tastes and textures — up to six different flavors — according to the hotel.

(02) 2233-3131
shilla.net/seoul/

Andaz Seoul Gangnam

Christmas cakes at Andaz Seoul Gangnam. From left: Vanilla Raspberry Crown Cake (90,000 won), Andaz Festive Tree red velvet cake (200,000 won), Black Forest Log chocolate cake (75,000 won, and Strawberry Charlotte (100,000 won) [ANDAZ SEOUL GANGNAM]

Andaz Seoul Gangnam is offering four Christmas cakes: a coronet-shaped Vanilla Raspberry Crown Cake (90,000 won), a chocolate Black Forest Log Cake (75,000 won), its best-selling Strawberry Charlotte (100,000 won) and the newly added Andaz Festive Tree Cake.

Priced at 200,000 won, the tree cake is a red velvet with seven layers of cream cheese frosting. The exterior is covered in green tea chocolate leaves and the tree trunk is recreated with Valrhona chocolate. It takes three chefs three days to make, said the hotel.

“End of Year” chocolate cake (150,000 won) at Andaz Seoul Gangnam [ANDAZ SEOUL GANGNAM]

Andaz is also offering an End of Year chocolate cake (150,000 won), only available on Dec. 30 and 31. It is overlaid with a delicate clock design. Its wheel chains are molded by hand by the hotel’s pastry chef, according to the hotel.

(02) 2193-1234
hyatt.com/andaz/selaz-andaz-seoul-gangnam

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

Winter Wonderland layered mousse cake (140,000 won) at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul [FOUR SEASONS HOTEL SEOUL]

In addition to the Crimson Noel Cake, Four Seasons offers the Winter Wonderland Cake (140,000 won). This two-layer mousse cake features pecan dacquoise, maple syrup, pear-infused mousse and caramel dulce ganache. It is topped with ornaments and a Four Seasons envelope crafted with white chocolate.

(02) 6388-5000
fourseasons.com/seoul/

Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul

Christmas cakes at Banyan Tree Club & Spa. From left: The Cheminee coffee and caramel cake (73,000 won), Noel C’est la Vie pistachio cake (68,000 won), Noel Fraise (80,000 won) and Neige lime and blueberry-infused cake (73,000 won) [BANYAN TREE CLUB & SPA SEOUL]

Apart from the 68,000-won Noel C’est la Vie cake, Banyan is also offering its Noel Fraise (80,000 won) filled with custard cream and strawberries. The Cheminée cake with coffee dacquoise and lemon caramel glaze and the Neige cake with lime, blueberry and crème de cassis are both 73,000 won.

Reservations for Banyan Tree’s cakes open on Dec. 1.

(02) 2250-8000
banyantreeclub.com/web/en/main/

Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas

Wheel of Wishes cake (350,000 won) at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. It features a large chocolate art resembling a Ferris wheel. [GRAND INTERCONTINENTAL SEOUL PARNAS]

Among its whopping 13 different holiday cakes, Grand InterContinental’s headline gâteau this year is the Wheel of Wishes cake (350,000 won), which features a large chocolate artwork resembling a Ferris wheel. Taking 24 hours to make, according to the hotel, its wheels can actually rotate as well. Under it are small chocolate boxes that contain bonbons like the viral Dubai chocolate, stollen and caramel. Last year, the hotel put forward a similar cake but with a merry-go-round in lieu of the wheel.

Snowball banana cake (150,000 won) at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas donates part of its profits to the local nonprofit Community Chest of Korea. [GRAND INTERCONTINENTAL SEOUL PARNAS]

Its Snowball Cake (150,000 won) will donate part of its profits to the local nonprofit Community Chest of Korea as part of InterContinental’s Christmas charity campaign. It is a banana cake topped with a transparent sugar dome resembling a snowball. Inside the dome are a teddy bear and a snowman. The cake can also be purchased with the hotel’s actual snowball for 250,000 won.

Other options include the Wishing Hour tiramisu cake (150,000 won); the Pine Tree mascarpone and raspberry sponge cake (98,000 won); and the White Forest traditional German cherry cake (98,000 won).

(02) 555-5656
seoul.intercontinental.com/grandicparnas/m/eng/

Grand Hyatt Seoul

Santa’s Mailbox cherry mousse cake (110,000 won) at Grand Hyatt Seoul [GRAND HYATT SEOUL]

A mud cake takes center stage in Grand Hyatt Seoul’s lineup of 2024 holiday cakes. Dubbed the Secret Christmas Tree (120,000 won), the thick brownie-like cake shaped like a Christmas tree is encased in a large, pyramid-shaped chocolate.

The Santa’s Mailbox cake (110,000 won), shaped like its name, is a mousse cake with cherry filling; The Christmas Rudolph cake (110,000 won) is a Mont Blanc containing chestnut cream and blackcurrant jam. The White Christmas Lease cake (110,000 won) is a bright mango gâteau and the Santa Clause Choco Belt (100,000 won) is a long cylindrical cake with a buckle design containing hazelnut and passion fruit chocolate.

(02) 797-1234
hyatt.com/grand-hyatt/en-US/selrs-grand-hyatt-seoul

Conrad Seoul

Christmas cakes at Conrad Seoul. Clockwise from top: Snow Flake yogurt mousse cake (80,000 won), Snowman cheesecake (110,000 won), Signiture Tree chocolate cake (95,000 won) and Renard caramel mousse cake (85,000won) baked with buckwheat.[CONRAD SEOUL]

Conrad Seoul launched seven holiday cakes, including its annual bestseller, Signature Tree (95,000 won). Covered in a tree-shaped chocolate mold, the inside is filled with vanilla bean and hazelnut cream.

Newly added this year is the Snowman cheesecake (110,000 won) filled with Tahiti vanilla mousse and Rooibos cream; Renard (85,000 won), which is baked with local buckwheat and containing caramel mousse and buckwheat croustillant for texture; and Snow Flake (80,000 won) with yogurt mousse and grapefruit and peach compote.

(02) 6137-7000
hilton.com/en/hotels/selcici-conrad-seoul/

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]