Audacious Cakery @ Everton Park

Unknowingly there was some form of high expectation from Audacious Cakery when IS Magazine listed their Monet cake as one of the 50 things to eat before you die. From the sound of it, the cakes at Audacious Cakery must be heavenly. When the bar is set so high, inevitable the expectation of their products is raised. So on one weekend I went down to the little cafe with Maureen and Sihan who was back from Sydney to check out what is the hype all about.

Strawberry Shortcake 2.8/5, Faith 3/5, Zacharie 3.5/5

We started with a trio of cakes. The Strawberry Shortcake ($6.80) was too light in taste for our likings. The Faith ($6.80) fared much better with the distinct green tea flavour. I am a sour person so for me the Zacharie ($7.80) was my favourite among the three. I liked the sourness of the passion fruit cutting through the sweetness of the mango. Only disappointment in the ginger biscuit base, we could not taste any ginger flavour at all.

Lemon Meringue 3/5, Chocolate Souffle 2.8/5

The Lemon Meringue ($5.80) was packed with luscios lemony richness but lacked down by the tart crust which suspiciously seemed factory made rather than homemade. The Chocolate Souffle ($6.80) was served warm (being heated up) which was weird to us. The souffle centre became gooey and messy for consumption. The heating also caused the tart to be chewy instead of crusty. We were served another chocolate souffle chilled and it was much better. Don't really know how to appreciate why customers like it heated up (accordingly to the cafe).

Macarons 2.5/5

Audacious Cakery also offers a selection of Macarons ($2.50 to $2.80). We had the following flavours in Chocolate Earl Grey, Salted Caramel, Intensely Chocolate, Lemon, Cream Cheese Passion Fruit and Coconut & Lemongrass. Overall this was the weakest link for me. The macarons was lacking in crispiness, sweetness and fillings.

Matcha 3/5, Lemon Raspberry 3.5/5, Sesame 3/5

The Matcha Cupcake ($3.50) is topped with macha Italian meringue buttercream and served on a full bodied matcha cake made with green tea from Japan. Green tea lover will love this with layers after layers of green tea flavour. The Lemon Raspberry Cupcake ($4) is topped with lemon Italian meringue buttercream made with a homemade raspberry jam core on a vanilla buttermilk cake sprinkled with raspberry croquelin. My personal favourite among the three as I found it more balanced in both taste and texture. The Black Sesame Cupcake ($3.50) is made with a blend of Japanese and Taiwan black sesame seeds giving it a nice aroma. One for the black sesame lover.

Foret Noir 4/5, Chocolate Obession 4/5

If I would to go back to Audacious Cakery, I would go back for the Foret Noir ($9.80) and Chocolate Obsession ($8.80). The Foret Noir or Black Forest is alcoholic with Krish soaked cherries and Kirsh cream on a dark Valrhona chocolate genoise. Rich and moist with a nice balance of bittersweet alcohol flavour. The Chocolate Obsession has a chocolate creme brulee centre on a dark Valrhona chocolate genoise. A cake definitely made for customers that are obsessed with chocolate.

I like the cafe itself, the white theme gives a very welcoming and casual ambience where one would love to laze the day away enjoying a slice of cake and a cup of coffee. Maybe there was too much hype about their cakes in the media and my expectation was raised. I felt the cakes was rather average in taste and texture but scores excellently in presentation. My comparison is rather straightforward. If I am to recommend a place of cakes, cupcakes, tarts or macarons, sorry to say audacious cakery will not be in the list.


[CLOSED]
Audacious Cakery
Blk 2 Everton Park
#01-161
Singapore 081002
Tel: +65 62233047
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AudaciousCakery
Website: http://theaudaciouscakery.com
Nearest MRT: Outram Park (EW Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 10am - 7pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Outram Park MRT station. Take Exit G. Walk down Cantonment Road towards the direction of Pinnacle. At the junction of Cantonment Road and Neil Road, cross the junction walk to towards the block of flats. Walk to destination. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]

Mean Bean & Wicked Grind @ Beach Road

Tucked in a corner of The Plaza at Parkroyal On Beach Road is this little cozy cafe, Mean Bean & Wicked Grind opened by fellow food blogger Kimberley Yeo. I got to know Kimberley for slightly more than a year at a tasting invite at the defunct Backyard @ Dempsey. I thought Kimberley was an amazing young lady for her age. While most students are still buried in their piles of books studying at NUS, the entrepreneur spirit in Kimberley saw her being the co-owner of Eusoffungry, a supper stall in NUS Eusoff Hall and the proud owner of online clothing store, Clothes Over Bros.

Am I not surprise when Kimberley told me that she has opened Mean Bean & Wicked Grind. The cafe is centered around a vintage theme with a red and white brick wall on each side. The little cafe offers a delicious selection of pastries of which Kimberley herself enjoys eating them. The cafe has an interested concept whereby the cakes and pastries are rotated on a weekly basis. Some of her suppliers are The Little Yellow Apron, The Ugly Cake Shop, Kisses Bakery and All Good Things for example. So do constantly check out the cafe's facebook and instagram to find out what is on the shelf.

Latte $4.50

Being out with Kimberley on a few cafe hopping, I know she is quite particular with her coffee and we do share a common taste. After sourcing a couple of suppliers, she decided to use the coffee beans from La Ristrettos (Cafe Agust Beans). The cup of Latte ($4.50) was what I like, a nice balance of milk and espresso while not too acidic.

One of my favourite item available at the cafe is the Salted Caramel Eclair ($3). The soft and crusty oblong pastry was rich, creamy and bursting with delish flavour.

Besides the Salted Caramel Eclairs, there are also other flavours such as Vanilla Bean ($3), Passion Fruit ($3) and Ispahan ($3.50). I have tried all of them and they are really good.

I was in luck when I visited the cafe. The best seller Sea Salt Caramel Shortbread ($5.60) and Passion Fruit Raspberry Double Layered Tart ($6) was still available. The sea salt caramel shortbread was rich in flavour with a chewy crusty texture that I could not help going for more. The double layers of passion fruit and raspberry tart hit the palate with the wonderful sweet and savoury combo of flavours and it was very addictive. My friends know that I am not a dessert person but when I go back for more than a helping, it means it is really good. The Belgian Belcolade Chocolate Tart ($6.50) and the Lemon Meringue Tart ($5.80) were also commendable with their intense flavour and crusty crust.

Be spoilt with more delights from Kisses Bakery cupcakes. On my visit I got to try Peanut Butter, Mocha Chocolate, Kaya, Red Velvet, Salted Caramel and there is even a Pineapple Tart flavour for Lunar New Year. Each cupcake is priced at $3.50. The cupcakes were nicely balanced and moist. No wonder Kisses Bakery has a big following for their cupcakes.

If you have noticed, the beautiful crockery used at the cafe is specially sourced by Kimberley who loves beautiful stuff. If you love them and want a piece in your house, they are for sales too. Actually all the items in the cafe are for sales as long as you have a good price for them. So I cheekily asked Kimberley whether the cafe is for sale and she asked me to give a good price.

Mean Bean & Wicked Grind is not just about coffee, cakes and pastries. The cafe also sells salad, toast and sandwich. For people on the go there is also a breakfast set ($5) and lunch combo ($10). There is more great news for those that like to check out the little cafe. Mean Bean & Wicked Grind will be opening on weekends from 15 February onwards with more savoury items on the menu.


Mean Bean & Wicked Grind
PARKROYAL On Beach Road
The Plaza
7500A Beach Road
#01-337
Singapore 199591
Tel: +65 92721571
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meanbeanwickedgrind
Nearest MRT: Nicoll Highway (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri: 11am - 6pm
Sat-Sun: 11am - 9pm (from 15 Feb 2014)
(Closed on Wed)

Direction:
1) Alight at Nicoll Highway MRT station. Take Exit A. Follow the overhead walkway all the way to The Concourse building. Take the exit down to Nicoll Highway and walk towards Parkroyal Serviced Residences. Cut through towards The Plaza at Parkroyal Hotel. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

The Ugly Cakes Shop - Online Bakery Shop

Met up with Lisa Tan ( @thelittlebowl ) a couple of weeks back and she brought me some Peanut Butter Cupcakes and Drizzle Cakes. I have tried her cakes several times and I really like them. She has this humble online bakery shop called The Ugly Cakes Shop.

You may wonder why the name Ugly Cakes? Well. The Ugly Cake Shop does not believe in using artificial colouring, fondant, gum paste or marzipan. While these additions make for beautiful cakes, the baker believes that the more natural ingredients (and the fewer chemicals) you put in your body the better! :)

With a kind heart and a vision to feed the poor. Lisa has pledged and donates 20% of its proceeds to support the meals of undernourished kids in Timor-Leste. Every month she donates $150 to charity and if business is poor she will top up the balance from her own pocket.

Peanut Butter Cupcake Rose (Sally)

The Peanut Butter Cupcake Rose (Sally) was really yummy. The cupcake was moist and rich in flavours. The natural richness of the flavours stood out for me in The Ugly Cakes Shop's cupcake. By the way, all the cakes at The Ugly Cake Shop are named after Lisa's loved ones and friends.

Besides the cupcakes, Lisa also baked me some Lemon Drizzle Cake (Kamski) and Lime Drizzle Cake (Maggie). They are pound cakes from British recipe. Enjoyed how the ingredients worked harmoniously together in the final product. I could not decide which I preferred as both were as good.

HOW TO ORDER
To order, please tweet @thelittlebowl, text 8228 8300 or email uglycakeshop@gmail.com before Friday each week! Please provide the following details:
Name:
Mobile No.:
Cake Flavour:
Order Quantity:
Desired Collection Date:
Desired Collection Venue:

COLLECTION
All baked goods can be collected on Saturday Evenings, Sundays, Mondays and Public Holidays at selected MRT stations in the west and along the North East Line.

FREE DELIVERY
For orders of $100 and above :)


The Ugly Cake Shop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UglyCakeShop
Website: http://www.uglycakeshop.tumblr.com/
 

Patisserie Framboise - Online Bakery Shop

Have you heard of Pastisserie Framboise? Started by 3 friends (Jacob, Chloe and Kenny) the Online Bakery Shop will be setting up their own professional kitchen at North Bridge Road expanding and taking their business to the next level.

Peanut Butter Chocolate

Together with a few fellow bloggers, I am invited to a private cupcake tasting session by Patisserie Framboise. I was fortunate to try all their seven flavours. The cupcakes came with a standard base size of 5cm at $3.50 each, minimum order of 6 pieces per flavour.

The Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake came with a nice chocolate ganache and peanut butter buttercream center. The chocolate cupcake itself was moist and I enjoyed the party of flavours in the little cupcake.

Peanut Butter

Being a peanut lover, I personally prefer the Peanut Butter Cupcake to the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake for obvious reason. It had more peanut butter buttercream!

Classic Chocolate

The Classic Chocolate Cupcake is definitely for the chocolate lovers. What made Patisserie Framboise's cupcake special is the center of the cupcake whereby you can get more of the icing! I thought double chocolate cupcake would be a more appropriate name for this cupcake.

Green Tea and Red Bean

Being the classic combination, Patisserie Framboise has created the Green Tea and Red Bean Cupcake. The green tea cupcake has green tea buttercream and red bean center with a nice balanced of flavours not overpowering each other.

Lemon Curd, Classic Vanilla and Red Velvet

The other 3 flavours available at Patisserie Framboise are Lemon Curd Cupcake, Classic Vanilla Cupcake and Red Velvet Cupcake. I don't like my cupcakes to be overly sweet and the cupcakes from Patisserie Framboise satisfied my palate.

Red Velvet

If you love the cream cheese on Red Velvet Cupcake then Patisserie Framboise will satisfy your craving with the center of the red velvet cupcake filled with them.

Here is another shot of the center of the cupcakes that is the signature creation of Patisserie Framboise's cupcakes.

Besides the standard cupcakes in this post, Patisserie Framboise does customized cupcakes, cakes (fondant cake) and macarons too. You can check out the website or facebook for more details and order.



Patisserie Framboise
778A North Bridge Road
Singapore 198786
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patisserieframboise
Website: www.patisserieframboise.com
Sales: sales@patisserieframboise.com
Contact: 96162646 / 98730546 / 97125742