The transition of the Today Café from the previous quick service options showed a real effort by Universal Orlando to increase the quality of their dining options. Of course, it did not hurt to add more NBCUniversal synergy to Universal Studios Florida. Each season of the theme parks brings a new rotation of treats to several dining locations with bakery cases at Universal Orlando. With the holidays beginning at Universal Orlando on November 12^th, several new holiday-themed items appeared at The TODAY Café.

I sat down to try one of the holiday offerings at TODAY Café on holiday opening day at Universal Orlando.  I selected the Chocolate Peppermint Cake. Universal Orlando continues to do a good job with this style of cake. Would that be true with one? To tell you behind the scenes of blogging, I am sitting in TODAY Café typing this. I have not tried a bite of the cake yet. This will be a play-by-play type of review.

The presentation, as expected, invites guests to enjoy this piece of cake. Often the eyes tell us what to expect. I expect a good piece of cake with lots of flavor and sugar. Will I receive that?

I started with just a small portion of the chocolate cake. The cake portion itself tastes just okay so far. I can tell from just that bite that the frosting brings the peppermint flavor since I got some of that in that bite.

The peppermint frosting provides a less powerful flavor than expected. Compared to the Tribute Store treats, this icing brings a subtle touch.

Then, I tried the red frosting on top of the cake. Since the presentation on top alternated between red and white, I expected peppermint. That frosting tasted okay but once again it had a very subtle flavor.

Okay, now time to see how it does altogether. The peppermint flavor starts to shine this way. Still, I expected a more powerful flavor.

Maybe, my sugar-sensing taste buds still feel the intense sugar in the Tribute Store offerings. This cake makes a nice treat. Yet, it lacks the strong flavors usually found in this style of cake in the bakery cases at Universal Orlando. I found this cake to be good but just not in way i expected.

TODAY Café also offers a few other holiday options until January 1^st, 2023. According to the Universal Orlando mobile app, they are:

Peppermint Cheesecake Pop

Eggnog Igloo

Oreo Mousse Glacier

Hot Cocoa Macaron

Pecan Pie Cake

Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Orange Cranberry 3-Tier Mini Cake-

Earl’s Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Acorn Bomb

Though this cake failed to dazzle me, the bakery case items here usually bring good value and flavor. For example, my piece of cake cost $4.99 before annual pass discounts.

As always, eat like you mean it!