The 5 best cakes in Seoul

The cold air and hot coffee makes you crave a thick and rich New York-style cheesecake instead of a fluffy soufflé. Perhaps it’s due to the expensive cost of proper ingredients, but it’s relatively difficult to find a place that serves a decent New York cheesecake. However, if that’s what you want, (and you're willing to fork over the cost of an entire meal) then you need to visit Vecchia e Nuovo. Unlike many cake shops that go for Kiri cheese, Vecchia e Nuovo uses Philadelphia cream cheese, known for its richness and mildly acidic flavor. With over 70% of this cake being made of cream cheese, it’s no surprise that cheesecake is their most popular menu. You can get the exact same cake at every Vecchia e Nuovo store around Seoul.

Carrot cakes are often thought of as homemade desserts to enjoy in the comfort of your home. The richness of the cream cheese doesn’t really say "elegant," but no one would disagree that the moist texture that is intermingled with the aroma of cinnamon makes this an absolutely enjoyable cake for the winter, especially if you add a warm drink to it. Some bake this cake with some nuts or raisins, but Hackney simply uses fresh carrots from Jeju, with a generous amount of cinnamon and cream cheese. Even the size gives you a homey feeling, as they serve you a sizable piece just like any loving mother would do. Their second shop, ‘h’, which opened up at the endof October in Hannam-dong, is furnished with wooden furniture and high-quality china, drawing a contrast with their spacey, vibe-filled first shop.

Mille-feuille, meaning "a thousand leaves, "is as complicated as the name might indicate. The orderly layers filled with custard cream come tumbling down at the touch of a fork, making you regret that you didn’t take a picture before going for a bite. Not to worry, because you’ll forget about all of that once the flavor of butter and the sweetness of the custard cream spreads through your mouth. Some mille-feuille are decorated with berries and macaroons, but it’s not quite like the classic mille-feuille with just the thousand layers of pastry and custard cream. Chef Hong-yeon Jung, graduate of one of the first generation of pastry schools Ecole de Patisserie de Tokio, was the one who introduced this French dessert to Korea.

During strawberry season, the fresh cream cake with strawberries at Snob is the epitome of a perfect fresh cream cake. They don’t hold back on the soft cream and sweet strawberries. The most important ingredient, the cream, is made of 100% milk, which makes it rich whilst melting in your mouth with a light texture. What makesSnob’s cake unique is the layer of custard cream that is hidden in between layers of sheet cake. This distinguishes it from most cakes, which are lathered with vegetable oil-based heavy cream and canned fruit. Rush on over to Snob for their strawberry goodness, only available from November to May.