tesss

I've always wanted to try Esther Grace's bakes and it is a pity that I did not get to try more of mysisterbakes' sweet treats. The opportunity arose and I managed to get one of her dessert boxes! 8 tarts for $32 and each are smaller than palm sized. Cookie butter, salted caramel, black forest and lemon.  The tart bases are so good - crunchy and buttery and they hold up the crunch even after a day in the fridge. My favourite flavours are cookie butter and salted caramel, I love the sweet and savoury combination.

I love my sweet potatoes and the one at Dddonki were laced with so much syrup, I started looking at other alternatives. Matsuzo Potato at Isetan Shaw is right next to the shop selling petit pastries and specializing in just sweet potato. Hailing from Japan, it is a no brainer why it is located at Isetan and has a steady stream of supporters. Matsuzo Set ($16) allowed me try almost everything except for the sweet potato stick that was really just a pastry rolled into a stick and caramelized.  The largest one was the Sweet Potato Cake ($3.30), and looked like an open faced baked sweet potato brushed in syrup. Turns out, the sweet potato is mixed with egg, sugar and flour before being baked into the skin - talk about being delicate! I like the texture of this, creamy, smooth and a hint of sweetness. Shaped like a pineapple ball, this was sweet potato rolled in a ball and baked with sesame seeds on top. Does not help it is cute like a button! Also similar to the one above, this comes i...

I got to know of Nana Bakes from my mommy friends and they seem to be a popular choice for children's birthday cakes mainly because of their affordable pricing and too cute to resist cake designs. With the toddler's upcoming birthday, I thought I gave their cakes a try. Strawberry Cake ($4) Rainbow Cake ($4.20) Apart from the fact it had cheese frosting, this was mostly food colouring which probably does not suit the children very well. Otherwise, I thought the colours were really vibrant and pretty. Salted Caramel ($4) All had a really light sponge and buttercream frosting which makes their cakes very easy to polish off and the flavours are kids' favourites too - think cookies and cream, chocolate and the likes! We've finalized our cake flavor...and keep a look out for the grand reveal in Jul Designed cakes start at $60. NaNa Bakes 11 Telok Kurau Road #01-02 Parc Elegance

I've long heard of Châteraisé but somehow with the availability of so many other Japanese patisserie brands, I was not compelled. So then, in a single visit I had a go at their three best sellers. The Legendary Strawberry Shortcake is ranked tops and I had my reservations when jam is used in between sponge and cream layers. I could really just be too judgemental and those strawberries were sour - ack. Turns out the strawberry jam/spread was only on half the bottom layer. It was an odd distribution for this legend, and this turned out to be an ordinarily soggy sponge cake with whipped cream. Ranked top 2, this mille crepe was more promising with those defined layers. Granted it is a tedious piece of work and this was by no means the best millecrepe cake ever eaten but to clinch just the second spot definitely does not do this dessert any justice. And with the third spot going to a chocolate cake, I thought why not try their equally famous cream puffs at just $1.90. This defin...

Henri Charpentier first opened their doors in Kobe in 1969 and has been bringing quality french sweets to the table and delighting thousands. Their first flagship opened in Dempsey and I never summoned enough resolute just for their desserts so happiness is me when I walk back and forth their glass display counter deciding what to order! Strawberry Roll ($5.40) With the amount of cream piled on top, I was expecting a soggy affair.  Lo and behold, it was far from that with a strawberry surprise hidden within too! We all agreed this was money well spent and calories well consumed. Red Velvet Roll ($4.90) I love my red velvets and while I found the best red velvet cupcake, finding THE red velvet cake or swiss roll was another cake game altogether. The red velvet flavour was on point, I loved the deep red colouring of this and it made me feel almost nationalistic eating this - hurhur, the red and white! Normally swiss rolls are too light, filled with too much cream or too sweet, Hen...

The craze over Taiwanese egg sponge cakes have also crossed the causeway and caused quite a frenzy - think 5 hour queues just for the famous light as sponge cakes and spun off several brands too. Within City Square itself, there are at least 3 outlets selling these famed cakes and Original Cake had the longest queues which lasted all of 15 minutes. Measured to precision, not an inch more or less. Good lord. Each are measured to precision and boxed. Plastic Bag (RM 0.20) are dished out accordingly too!   Original Cake (RM 15.20) Light, fluffy and it tasted more of egg than cake to be fair. Moderately sweet and the fluffiness was the key selling point of this slab of sponge heaven. Best eaten hot and within the day of purchase, have I begun an egg cake trail? TW Original Cake City Square Third Floor

Twelve Cupcakes have since branched beyond cupcakes and for a while now, been offering the highly sought after honey cake. I've not been to Australia to rave about the epic honey cake that most travellers say is a die-die must try. The Russians and English can fight tooth and nail laying claim over who owns the recipe of the honey cake but from a Singaporean's point of view, this does look quite like the kueh lapis that I grew up with, except honey glazes every layer before being topped with what looks like and tastes like cake crumbles. I won't say I am an immediate fan, the sugar levels does hit me hard somewhere after the first few bites. The density of the cake layers too does not make this a top favourite too when picking a cake. If adventure is up your palette, try adding a dash of soya sauce to it, it miraculously produces a flavour profile of salted caramel. How odd . Just once and curiosity satisfied. I'd stick to their cupcakes.

Nesuto stands out along the stretch of eateries along Tras Street for being the only patisserie. The minimalistic decor is complemented by floral artwork on the wall and plenty of pastels. Sliced cakes and individual cakes adorn the center piece and while I was tempted by their beautiful creations I thought I went the less adventurous route for the first visit. Yuzu Raspberry ($9) Yuzu Meringue Mousse, Fresh Raspberry, Japanese Cotton Sponge,  Ivoire 35% Whipped Ganache Amongst the seasonal fruit produce, yuzu ranks tops. This version was just not the best I've had for yuzu, the raspberries ended up too sour, the yuzu too sweet (which I suspect was from yuzu jam than the fruit itself), the meringue mousse was too stark a contrast in terms of texture from the strangely dense cake. Odd cake as it sounds, odd cake as it tasted. Le Goma ($9) Japanese Black Sesame Jaconde, Japanese Black Sesame Creme, Diplomat, Japanese Black and White Sesame Streusel The first thing that caught ...

I love to have my cake and eat it, and honestly if I could have things my way I would eat cake everyday. One of the things I do when I check into any hotel is to check out the bakery and oogle at their cakes. Regent, is by far my favourite hotel for Food and Beverage, cakes included so everytime a special occasion comes by, I think of them. I'd eaten all the non-chocolate flavours over the last couple of months and here's a review of them! Onto the chocolate flavours next!    Carrot and Orange Cake ($38) Carrot Sponge cake. Carrot Cream is with citrus and Orange Juice I have had enough carrot cakes to do a double take on this carrot and orange cake. I love how this had none of the fondant (eeks!) or whipped cream or fanciful sugar adornments. Just the sponge cake with a heap of fruits. The best part about the cake is how carrot and orange are infused so beautifully that there is none of the raw carrot nor overbearing citrusy flavours showing through. Just a really moist carrot ...