The Hyperion Lounge at Disney Ambassador Hotel serves a “limited-time cake set” that changes with the seasons and events.
From November 8 through December 25, 2024, they’re serving a Christmas-themed limited-time cake set — the “Disney Christmas Cake Set.” I tried it right away, so here’s my review.
Overview of the 2024 Christmas Limited-Time Cake Set
Contents: Matcha madeleine and salted caramel mousse
Coffee or tea ※Free refills of the same coffee or tea you originally ordered.
Price: 2,500 yen
Hours: 12:00–19:00
This year’s Lil’ Ring Ring features a pale, white-based color scheme — that’s the standout this year! Lil’ Ring Ring is popular every year, but judging by how the merchandise has been selling, this white Lil’ Ring Ring seems especially popular. The cake’s candles are colored to match the white Lil’ Ring Ring as well, which makes the presentation extra adorable!
A Closer Look at the Cake
The base of the cake is a matcha madeleine, topped with a salted caramel mousse shaped like a candle. The flames of the candles are crafted from sugar work — their translucent look gives off a really nice atmosphere. The Lil’ Ring Ring figure and the “Merry Lil RingRing” lettering are sugar plaques.
The matcha madeleine has azuki (red beans) folded into the batter, and the salted caramel mousse hides a raspberry confit and a crunchy element inside.
Here’s how it looks from the back. You can see the crunchy bits packed inside the candles. Cream sits between the two candles to hold them in place, and the bottom third or so is coated in white chocolate. The matcha madeleine itself isn’t very thick — maybe 0.8 to 1 cm. You can spot only one or two azuki beans peeking through.
Looking at the cross-section, you can see the raspberry confit sitting right in the middle — and it goes all the way down. From the side cross-section, it’s a bit off-center rather than dead-middle. As I’ll get into in a moment, this off-center placement actually does a really nice job!
The fruits arranged in front were raspberry, blueberry, red currant, and what looked like a citrus jelly.
Tasting Notes
Now for the actual tasting! Starting with the caramel mousse — caramel comes in a lot of styles, doesn’t it? Broadly, you’ve got the mouth-filling sweet kind and the slightly burnt, bittersweet kind. This salted caramel mousse leans toward the bittersweet side. The caramel flavor is bold and really delivers.
Eaten together with the raspberry confit and the crunch, it picks up a sweet-tart edge and that satisfying crunchy texture — and the combination works beautifully. As I mentioned, the off-center confit is a good thing: it means there are still bites where you can enjoy the caramel mousse on its own, then mix in the confit, swapping up the flavor whenever you like. Since the cake itself is fairly simple, having ways to change up the flavor really makes it more fun! Eating it together with the fruits arranged in front was excellent too.
The matcha madeleine is gentle and easy to eat, with just a hint of matcha aroma. There’s only a bean or two of azuki, so you barely notice them.
Here’s where I tried the matcha madeleine and caramel mousse together — and wow, they’re a fantastic match! I worried the bold caramel flavor would steamroll the matcha, but not at all: the bitter caramel and the matcha aroma drifting up through your nose are an exquisite pairing. So good!
At first I was a little puzzled by a matcha madeleine for Christmas, but it absolutely made sense in the end! Overall the sweetness is slightly restrained and it leans toward a grown-up cake, but the flavor design is still approachable enough that kids would enjoy it too.
How to Enjoy the Hyperion Lounge This Season
The defining feature of the Hyperion Lounge is enjoying tea and cake while listening to live piano. Normally it’s Disney music, but during this season they play Christmas tunes. It’s an auto-piano most of the time, but cast members occasionally perform live — if you catch one, consider yourself lucky!
Wrap-up
How was it? This time I covered the Disney Christmas Cake Set. The Hyperion Lounge sits outside the parks, so this cake set is one of the great ways to soak up Disney Christmas without actually entering the parks. The limited-time cake set requires Priority Seating (a reservation), so as long as you can book one, you’re guaranteed to be able to try it! Definitely give it a taste!