It doesn't get any better than ice-cream cake. Except when ice cream is replaced with gelato. And when that gelato is hazelnut flavored. Yep, your wildest gelato-meets-cake dreams are now a reality thanks to Gelato-Go.
Our Best of Miami 2013 gelato pick, Gelato-Go, has been serving the best scoops of nocciola (hazelnut) ice cream in the Magic City for years. The perfect end to a beach day, workday, or any day, really, gelato is always a good idea. And now the little gelato shop that could has introduced gelato cakes and — wait for it — gelato cake pops to its lineup of saccharine delights.
Owners Alessandro Alvino, Antonio Armino, and Domenico D'Addi decided to introduce the treats after trial and error with their Washington Avenue location, where they were baking pastries and the likes. "People love and want gelato," D'Addi says. "And in Italy, we actually sell more gelato cake than gelato." Pan di spagna, as it is called, is considered a daily afternoon snack. (We can get behind that.)
So what's the difference between that and ice-cream cake? Well, the gelato, of course. But also the cake itself is more like angel food cake layered with gelato, some more angel food cake, and then double gelato. In other words, it's effing delicious. Cakes are offered whole (prices vary) or by the slice for $5, which considering it's a pretty sweet-tooth-satisfying dessert, it's a helluva deal.
I tried the hazelnut and the chocolate chip renditions, and though both were delish and gone in no time, I was torn in terms of which to pick. The hazelnut gelato reigned supreme, but the layered cake in the chocolate chip was significantly moister. Cakes are also available for parties and in different flavors, from cherry and chocolate to strawberry and even chocolate and hazelnut combined. (Yes, please!) What's best is that because it's gelato and non-cream-based, the cakes will last up to a month without losing quality. "The sooner the better-tasting, of course," D'Addi says. Indeed, I can vouch that it's delectable when eaten within three days.
Cake pops ($5), on the other hand, must be enjoyed instantly. Gelato-Go whips up a variety of flavors. Think vanilla dipped in dark chocolate, mango-strawberry gelato covered in white chocolate, and strawberry sorbet dipped in white chocolate and infused with peach fragrance. "We cut fresh peaches and burn it almost into a custard of sorts, then put it together with the white chocolate as it's melted." It's frosted onto the strawberry sorbet for a perfect and literal bittersweet ending.
Follow Carla on Twitter and Facebook.