I can’t believe it’s only a week to Christmas! Where has the time gone? There’s nothing better than decorating, jamming to music, caroling, binge-watching movies (those cheesy ones and the all-time favorite Home Alone movies are annual staples) and feasting on glorious food (and there’s more to the list!).

Annual holiday TV adverts – from the UK/Europe and the US – are especially wonderful to watch this time of the year. People around the world tend to eagerly await new adverts from different brands at Christmastime – creativity poured in some of these ads end no bounds/see no bounds. Inspiring tales depicting values of friendship, family, joy, love and kindness (plus an added dash of humor) within the span of around 2-3 short minutes fill the atmosphere with the spirit of Christmas. This year’s holiday highlights in the TV ad world include E.T. and Elliot’s reunion in the Comcast ad (US) and Edgar the little cute dragon in the John Lewis ad (UK).

My favorite ads are those with magical characters that reach out and awake your inner child, as they leave me with a smile. I was reminded of these ads when I spotted the winter fox hazelnut cake at Starbucks in Singapore. It looks like a character that could’ve stepped out of an advert!

Having tasted the peppermint mocha and toffee nut crunch frappes previously, I thought of having a slice of cake this time. The selection of Christmas foods at Starbucks look delectable, and amongst everything the cute penguin and fox cakes take, well, the cake.

When the barista placed my plate of cake on the collection area, two other fellow Starbucks enthusiasts (who were waiting to collect their orders) were gushing about the cake’s cuteness. Looks like we’re all loving the winter fox’s aesthetics!

The cake is soft – with two different types of hazelnut cream layers and white chocolate sponge cake. The good old hazelnut flavor stands out without any other elements (i.e. chocolate). The radiant brown cream layer on top is smooth hazelnut (similar to a dense cream), and the deeper brown layers between those sponge cake layers are hazelnut whipped ganache with bits of crunchy hazelnuts. I like the little bits of texture to the soft cake. It has a nicely-balanced hazelnut taste in each forkful too. The cake has a lovely white chocolate flair, but the hazelnut elements are more prominent to me.

While it isn’t the most quirkiest cake from Starbucks (watermelon mousse cake reigns as the most unique cake so far), this winter fox cake is the cutest one of the selections. The flavors are simple and they feel like home to my taste buds. It’s a winter woodland flavor twist and theme that I enjoyed with my hot mint blend tea. The hazelnut shone in its wonderful glory as it took center stage, and I certainly enjoyed the experience!