Premium Christmas cakes with equally extravagant prices, from top hotels in Korea

Christmas is approaching, and the city is full of people hungry for a taste of the festivities. In response, five-star hotels are saying: “Let them eat cake!”

Étoile cake (260,000 won) at Josun Palace in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [JOSUN PALACE]

Christmas is approaching, and the city is full of people hungry for a taste of the festivities. In response, five-star hotels are saying: “Let them eat cake!”

Christmas isn’t complete without store-bought cakes in Korea, and the fancier the better. Luxury hotel cakes in recent years have almost exclusively been hogging the spotlight of year-end treats here. Every year, local news outlets and their comment sections bash the hotels for the absurdly high prices, yet every year they grow more and more expensive — and they still almost always end up selling out.

The most expensive cake revealed so far this season is a truffle cake by The Shilla Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul.

Doused in some 40 grams (1.4 ounces) of black truffle shavings, powder and oil, it costs 300,000 won, or approximately $228.

The Taste of Luxury cake (300,000 won) at The Shilla Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul [THE SHILLA SEOUL]

The cake is 40,000 won more expensive than the priciest Christmas cake last year, which was from Josun Palace in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.

Hotels cite inflation and increased labor costs as the main reasons for upping their prices each year.

They also require careful crafting and intense manual labor.

“It takes our chocolatier eight hours to work on the details alone, and with the time that goes into preparing the cake and putting it together, it takes 24 hours to complete one cake,” said a Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas employee, citing the work that goes into the hotel’s 250,000-won Merry-Go-Round cake.

Merry-Go-Round Christmas cake (250,000 won) at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam District, central Seoul [GRAND INTERCONTINENTAL SEOUL PARNAS]

And despite the wild prices, there aren’t enough of these lavish cakes to "go round."

Shilla Seoul’s Alluring Christmas cake (250,000 won) reservations are closed for Christmas Eve. The Merry-Go-Round cake is also no longer available from between Dec. 19 to 24, and the 31st, as of Dec. 8.

Consumer science professor Lee Eun-hee from Inha University sees fancy, expensive cakes as an easy way to make Christmas Day feel special, targeting the many Koreans who feel they can spare to splurge a little — or rather, a lot — on the holidays.

“It’s not traditional in Korea to put up Christmas trees or decorate their houses,” she said. “You don’t even really hear carols on the streets anymore because of licensing issues. Nonetheless, people want to get into that festive, warm spirit during this time.

“So festively decorated cakes have come to take center stage on this holiday for Koreans. You may be eating galbi [Korean-style marinated beef ribs] with friends for dinner, but having that Christmas cake afterward is what makes it a special holiday for people.”

Alluring Christmas cake (250,000 won) at The Shilla Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul [THE SHILLA SEOUL]

She also pointed out that Christmas is especially celebrated among the younger generations that frequently use social media.

“Life on social media is about attention, and a rare, beautiful cake is going to get more likes than a plain cake from Emart or Paris Baguette.”

The Korea JoongAng Daily made a list of some of this season’s fanciest five-star hotel Christmas cakes in Seoul.

Christmas Saint Honore cake (115,200 won) at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul [JW MARRIOTT DONGDAEMUN SQUARE SEOUL]

The Shilla Seoul

The Taste of Luxury cake (300,000 won) is a black, mille-feuille-style cake covered with truffle cream, shavings, powder and oil.

Some 40 grams of European black truffle, which is approximately one whole mushroom, is incorporated into each cake. It is layered with a fruity aroma, enriched by figs and nuts marinated in Château d'Yquem, the finest example of Sauternes and the most famous sweet wine in the world.

Taste of Luxury is available only through phone reservation through the hotel’s Pastry Boutique. Stock is limited.

Shilla Seoul is also offering three different cakes with prices starting at 130,000 won, available either through Dec. 25 or Dec. 31, depending on the cake.

For more information, visit: https://www.shilla.net/seoul/offers/event/viewEvent.do?spofrId=34741

Josun Palace

Christmas cakes offered at Josun Palace in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [JOSUN PALACE]

The Étoile cake (260,000 won) is an elegant, white chocolate cake resembling a snow-covered Christmas tree.

It is eight layers of cake sheets filled with three different kinds of chocolate ganache and premium French Valrhona chocolate. On the outside, hand-crafted pieces of white chocolate recreate some 120 leaves of the Christmas tree. One whole cake takes the hotel’s patisserie two days to make, according to the hotel.

Josun Palace is also offering four more Christmas cakes with prices starting from 90,000 won. All are available through online reservation on the search portal Naver, until Dec. 25.

For more information, visit https://m.place.naver.com/restaurant/1143697476/booking

Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas

Christmas cakes offered at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [GRAND INTERCONTINENTAL SEOUL PARNAS]

The Merry-Go-Round cake (250,000 won) by Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas is back again this year, following last year’s explosive popularity on social media.

It is a chocolate cake that looks like a miniature merry-go-round. Everything, including the reindeers on the ride, is handmade by the hotel’s chocolatier using premium French Valrhona chocolate. The bottom is garnished with crimson macaroons and various chocolate bonbons. This year, it has added gold decorations and perfected the details of the cake. Each reindeer is different, with varying stances, expressions and designs.

Stock is limited to just 50 cakes for the whole season. Each cake is engraved with a unique number.

Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas is also offering 11 other Christmas cakes with prices starting at 70,000 won.

The cakes must be reserved in advance by calling the hotel's Grand Deli, until Dec. 31.

For more information, visit: https://seoul.intercontinental.com/grandicparnas/Promotion/Restaurant/8027

JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul

Rovaniemi cake (220,000 won) at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul [JW MARRIOTT DONGDAEMUN SQUARE SEOUL]

JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul's Christmas cake Rovaniemi (220,000 won) is named after a city in northern Finland that is said to have been the “official” home of Santa Claus.

The cake depicts the city’s Santa Claus Village, which is also a real village slash theme park inside Rovaniemi.

The cake's houses are made of cheese mousse and chocolate, and the snow piled on top of their roofs is truffle cream, which is a mix of chocolate and truffles, according to the hotel.

JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square also offers four more holiday cakes with prices starting at 70,000 won.

The cakes are available through reservation on Naver, until Dec. 31.

For more information, visit https://booking.naver.com/booking/6/bizes/69277/items/5446653?area=plt

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

Red Christmas cake (98,000 won) at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul [FOUR SEASONS HOTEL SEOUL]

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul’s Red Christmas Cake (98,000 won) is an elegant chocolate cake covered in a shiny crimson glaze. Inside is a velvety chocolate mousse, sponge and spiced cremeux that boasts a warm medley of holiday spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. It has a biscuit base made with almond and hazelnut praline and a cherry compote. The taste is intended to recreate the moment of awakening senses during winter’s first snowfall, according to the hotel. The cake is intricately decorated with an icing drawing of a Christmas tree and seasonal decorations crafted using the “écriture au cornet” technique by its head pastry chef Jimmy Boulay.

Its White Christmas Cake (178,000 won) is a luscious vanilla cake that takes the form of a snow-covered tree. It has three layers: a crunchy biscuit base, vanilla mousse and almond sponge. The cake is topped with caramel drizzle and vanilla cremeux, and enveloped in a vanilla graze.

Four Seasons’ cakes must be reserved at least three days in advance at the hotel’s bakery, Confections by Four Seasons. They are available through Dec. 31.

For more information, visit https://www.fourseasons.com/seoul/dining/menus/confections-cakes/Sofitel Ambassador Seoul

Holiday cakes and chocolate under the theme "Jardin d'Hiver" at Sofitel Ambassador Seoul in Songpa District, southern Seoul [SOFITEL AMBASSADOR SEOUL]

French hotel chain Sofitel Ambassador Seoul released four cakes under the theme "Jadin d'Hiver." The most expensive cake, Mémoire d'enfant (120,000 won), resembles a childhood photo album, invoking a sense of nostalgia and warmth this Christmas season. The cake has a pistachio flavor with bright notes brought out with Mandarin orange and passion fruit confit.

The hotel also offers a Noisette Rudolph cake (105,000 won) containing hazelnut chocolate cream and praline and raspberry confit, topped with an edible white reindeer; the traditional French holiday dessert Bûche de Noël Paris (85,000 won) with a white-and-gold twist, containing apple and lemon confit, rooibos citrus cream, vanilla ganache and Sablé cookies; and Gateau Nantais (75,000 won), which is a traditional cake in Bretagne, France, containing rum-infused mascarpone cream and fresh strawberries.

The cakes are available through reservation on Naver, until Dec. 25.

For more information, visit here.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]