Amuse Bouchon: The Bouchon Ho Ho, Bouchon Bakery, NYC
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 
It's time to talk about the fanciest Ho Ho you'll ever meet: the Bouchon Bakery Ho Ho.
I'll admit, when I first encountered this $5.25 log of chocolate and buttercream at Bouchon Bakery's Columbus Circle location, I was, to put it mildly, conflicted.
On the one hand: Awesome! It's a Ho Ho! But Fancy!
But on the other hand: Hey! This Ho Ho costs more than $5! What are they trying to pull?
And while tasting it was delightful, it actually made me even more confused.
On the one hand: This is a well made baked good. Each bite is exquisite, obviously made with fine ingredients, redolent with rich, dark chocolate cake, rich buttercream all enrobed in a decadent dark chocolate.
But on the other hand: Somehow it seems with every bite that nostalgia is playing a game with you, because it tastes so right...but isn't all of the wrongness of the original what makes it so wonderful?
Faced with a sweet dilemma, a piece of said fancy Ho Ho was presented to Cake Gumshoe Margie (um, also my mom), whose eyes widened upon the prospect of such a fancy version of a childhood favorite. Her esteemed opinion?
"It's very good...but if anything...it tastes just a little too fancy".
So, where does this leave us?
On the one hand: When we make bad stuff good, there's an appeal that can't be denied, something deeply rooted in nostalgia that appeals to our developed tastes.
But on the other hand: Unfortunately, as it seems, as much as we might want these treats to grow up with us, sometimes we can't get past the fact that the bad is sometimes what makes these treats so good.
Of course, in conclusion, I would like to say that you wouldn't have to twist my arm too hard to buy another one of these deliciously decadent treats--because never has existential musing been so sweet.
What do you think? Is making junk food gourmet a good or a bad thing?
The Bouchon Ho Ho, available at Bouchon Bakery; for locations, visit bouchonbakery.com. Call to ensure availability.
bakeries, nyc, pastry profiles
Reader Comments (10)
I've always considered myself a fancy ho ho, but The Bouchon Bakery has me beat by a mile! YUMMMM!!!!
You can delete this after you read it but there's a spelling error on your page, thought you might want to fix it:
But on the other hand: Unfortunately, as it seems, as much as we might want these teats to grow up with us, sometimes we can't get past the fact that the bad is sometimes what makes these treats so good.
The word 'teats' I think is supposed to be treats :)
PS love your site, it's bookmarked but it could just as well be drool marked :D Thanks for having such a wonderfully delicious site!
Tee hee-thanks for catching that, SeriousCakes. As titillating as "teats" sounds, I think I will take "treats" any day!
Courteous: ha ha, you ho ho, very funny! :-)
lol-normally I wouldn't point out a spelling mistake, for crying out loud, I do it all the time! But I couldn't resist this tidbit :D
WOW!! --- Kelly Ripa (that reminds me, I need to go vote!), Paris AND a retail store! You TRULY are a big deal, Cakespy!! Congratulations!
It's a GREAT idea. YUM!
oooh it's such a good thing when gourmets do up junk food. love it!!
interesting note: "ho ho" or "ho sik" means very delicious in Cantonese. so whenever i see Ho Ho i automatically think... oh boy, that's gonna be veeeery yummy... haha...
xo
ah! I felt the same way when I tried the TKO (thomas keller's oreo). SOOO good, but better than the classic oreo?
I'm still undecided.
I keep singing the Subway theme song...
"Five...
Five Dollar...
Five Dollar Ho HOOOOO..."
I propose not to hold off until you earn enough amount of cash to order goods! You should just get the credit loans or just car loan and feel yourself free