Nanjing, which has a relatively sweet taste, is a favored place for cake shops, from online private stores, French sweet shops to single product stores, no matter what model of store it is, it can quickly sweep the whole Nanjing after its rise, so it has also caused a serious problem of homogenization. Although the number of local cake shop brands in Nanjing is considerable, the quality is not the majority.
Lady M is a cake shop on New York's Upper East Side that started in 2004 and was named one of the "Top 10 Cakes in America" by BON APPETIT in 2012 and "the Chanel of New York's cake world" by Travel Leisure. Lady M has a wide range of well-known outlets all over the world, each of which is enthusiastically sought after by locals, and can be described as the "big man" in the cake industry.
Different Lady M stores offer different types of cakes. In general, Lady M's cakes are available in two types: classic and seasonal, with seasonal cakes changing every two months. The mille-feuille cake is the star product of Lady M. Millefeuille is a very common, common cake style that consists of a multi-layered crepe crust with custard cream or whipped cream. There are no 1,000 layers of mille-feuille cakes, and there is no exact number of layers, and the situation is different for each store. Lady M's mille-feuille cake has more than 20 layers, each crepe crust is as thin as 0.1 mm, and is manually supervised and baked at a high temperature. Every piece of cake produced by Lady M is freshly cut to avoid the cake being cut in advance and exposed to the air for too long, which will affect its taste.
Classic Original, Matcha and Rose are the three most frequently ordered mille-feuille cakes, and for first-time diners at Lady M, they are recommended to be ordered. The classic plain mille-feuille cake is layered with fresh cream between each crust and caramelized on the top. The crust is thin but the texture is quite tough, the cream is delicate and light, and the flavor is full of milk. Compared with other flavors of mille-feuille cakes, the original mille-feuille has a relatively single taste, only egg flavor, and sometimes the egg flavor is too thick, which will produce a subtle egg fishy smell, and the overall flaws are not concealed. Compared to the classic original mille-feuille, the rose mille-feuille is even more special. Lady M's first floral cake is coated with rose-scented cream between the crusts, and the cake is topped with rose jelly and decorated with edible rose petals. Melaleuca has a delicate taste, but is slightly sweet.
Charcoal mille-feuille isn't Lady M's main specialty, but it's a pleasant surprise. The charcoal-grilled coffee in the cake is not heavy, with a slight bitter taste, the whole cake does not make people greasy, and the cocoa nibs on the surface also enrich the taste of the cake.
Negroonni style mille-feuille is a Nanjing-limited cake. Negrony is a cocktail with a bitter taste and a clear mouthfeel. When Nigroni is added to the mille-feuille cake, the bitterness is not strong, only the aroma of light wine. Oranges are added to the cake to add a hint of sourness to the texture and are quite refreshing to eat. In addition to the mille-feuille cake, Lady M also launched other cakes that performed in a decent way.
The queues at Nanjing Lady M are not as exaggerated as those in other cities, but there is still a wait. The cakes sold by Lady M are priced between 65 yuan and 80 yuan, which is on the higher end of the spectrum among Nanjing cake shops, but overall it is good value for money.
