Blinded by Delight

A review of Pausa’s chocolate cheesecake.

I don’t really understand the appeal of having coffee shops inside furniture stores, but apparently it seems to be a trend. Maybe just the fact that it seems to be fashionable is enough to baffle me.

Another thing that I lack an understanding of is shops, but that’s a rather more depressing subject reserved for a different gullible website that doesn’t check the content of its users.

Fortunately, I do have a basic grasp of the concept of furniture. Although chairs often scare me.

Interior design company Dunelm’s choice of sugar seller is Pausa – which I suppose is quite a sweet name (don’t pardon the pun) for a chilling café, always undoubtedly needed after ceaseless hours rummaging through millions of variations of blinds. (Why aren’t all blinds just black? Surely that’s the most practical colour? Also, it would team up well with my soul).

The chocolate cheesecake I investigated was a considerably grander affair than I had envisaged; it even included a profiterole (French: chou à la crème), which in Stoke-on-Trent is practically as ostentatious as roast swan and three bottles of champagne.

For a moment I felt like Boris Johnson. Including the messy hair and inability to speak properly.

The profiterole was a healthy one, stuffed with incredibly fresh cream and providing a welcome relief from the usual restaurant toppings of chocolate powder or watery sauce.

Indeed, a further covering came in the form of dark chocolate flakes that added a deeper, bitterly taste, but contrasted excellently with the other ingredients of cream and biscuit.

The middle of the cake was superbly soft and moreish, not dry or sickly as the case can often be. There was also plenty of it, making the cheesecake a hearty (and always well deserved) treat.

Once the profiterole was guzzled, the majority of the cream atop the cake was removed; however, the disappointment was short lived because the centre filling was awash with an abundance of rich cream. Because of this design the cream helped to make the chocolate middle create the taste of a milkshake – an ideally blended mixture.

As would be expected, the cheesecake was based with a biscuit finish (chocolate, unsurprisingly). The crunchiness is essential for any cheesecake, but it was somewhat saddening to find only a thin sliver of crumbs holding up this one.

It may seem hypocritical to complain about excessive chocolate content in a chocolate cheesecake, but it was very chocolate heavy. What would be wrong with sticking a dribble of orange or even vanilla into the mix?

Pausa’s chocolate cheesecake is a fantastic invention that’s filled with creaminess and is inspiringly furnished (it’s pun o’clock). However, to be at the top of its game it needs a little more oomph – and some hard stuff.

Final review rating: I couldn’t build one myself. 4* out of 5.

Review by JAMES LEWIS Wanderer, wonderer and editor of the Chocolate Dissection blog (which will ideally melt hearts rather than brains). Reliable with sarcasm, less so with a scalpel. Twitter: @IdeasJimbound


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