Christmas is yummier with a Cara Mia gelato cake

From its humble beginnings as a school canteen within the compounds of Don Bosco Makati, Amici has grown in popularity over the past few years.

Danny Moran, owner of Amici, felt that there was a lot of potential for the gelato of Amici so Cara Mia Gelateria, a new brand, was conceptualized to build on the gelato, as well as complete an entire line of desserts consisting of gelato cakes, cakes and pastries.

I first met Danny when they launched Cara Mia’s new gelato flavors early this year in celebration of its first year anniversary. He was so enthusiastic about the brand and was confident that Cara Mia’s gelato would top tickle the taste buds of dessert-loving Pinoys. Gee! How time flies. Now, Cara Mia already has seven branches and keeps on growing. In fact, the Cara Mia and Amici’s latest branch had its soft opening last Saturday at Ayala Triangle Gardens.

Cara Mia Gelateria (Italian for “My Dear) was launched in May 2009. Since then, all the gelato sections of the Amici restaurants were converted to the Cara Mia brand.

“The Banana Blast is the most popular of all gelato cakes. It consists of banana, strawberry and chocolate gelato, which provide a delightful mix of flavors as it is set on a chocolate-flavored crust,” says Philip Moran, head of marketing.

“Customers love how we use banana and mixed it up with strawberry and chocolate. It’s similar to a banana split but because we use gelato, the flavors come out even more, providing a scrumptious treat, which both kids and adults love,” he ads

For the holidays, two new gelato cakes were launched — the Mango Symphony gelato cake made of delectable chunks of mango mixed cracker in gelato and nestled on a bed of Graham crust.

Cara Mia marketing director Philip Moran, CEO Danny Moran and general manager Lenard Berba present the P100,000 check donation to Tuloy Sa Don Bosco Foundation’s Fr. Rocky Evangelista

“It tastes very familiar but there’s an interesting twist to it because rather than cream, you have mango gelato embedded inside, ” adds Philip. “The other new gelato cake is the Peach Walnut Passion. It’s a harmonious blend of peach-flavored gelato set in layers of divine walnut crust. An interesting piece of trivia is that both of the new gelato cakes were specially designed to last longer in room temperature.”

Just in time for the holidays, Cara Mia also launched its line of premium refrigerated cakes.

“We wanted to have refrigerated cakes also because this was very traditional and we knew that people would always look for it,” adds Philip. “We made sure, however, to focus on offering unique flavors and combinations which would differentiate us from other cake brands.”

Its signature cake is the Nocciola Gateau. It’s hazelnut cream cheese and rich dark chocolate in layers of crunchy meringue. Another irresistible treat is the Pistaccio Cioccolato, which is decadent chocolate-flavored chiffon layered with pistachio filling topped with deep-dark chocolate.

The Tentazione is one of Philip’s favorites. “It’s our version of the chocolate cake and we use high grade Belgian chocolate icing on moist, dark chocolate cake. It’s sinful but it’s delicious.”

For pastry lovers, Cara Mia has ensaimadas which many are surprised to find out. They use a traditional family recipe to make the scrumptious, moist dough and top it with sugar and a layer of finely grated Parmesan cheese.

Makati denizens need not go to Ortigas or Quezon City to savor Cara Mia’s gelato, gelato cakes, and pastries as it opened its seventh branch at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City.

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All Cara Mia Cakes, gelato cakes and pastries are available for pick-up or delivery. Just call, 87878.

Cara Mia is located in Don Bosco Makati, Bellagio Square in Tomas Morato, Greenhills on Connecticut and Missouri, the Atrium of SM Megamall, the Annex at SM City North Edsa, SM Southmall, Alabang Town Center, Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Place Manila and Ayala Triangle Gardens.