a little cupcake caper!

oh, i had such great plans for a huge blogoversary celebration - with dreams of tasting as many cupcakes as i could get my fingers on but alas, i did not get them on as many as i would have liked! the time flew by in singapore and with so many things to do, i missed out on testing all those cupcakes i wanted to. so, with a hint of regret, i share with you the ones that didn't get away. i visited two places and tasted two cupcakes in each. so please accept my humble mini blogoversary celebration instead...

first stop...
Paisley & Cream #01-09 The Central (above Clarke Quay MRT Station)
Tel: 6534 7962
Opening Hours :10am to 9pm (Sunday to Thursday) and 10am to midnight (Fridays and Saturdays)

first thing that struck me was the decor...very...umm, 'twee' if you get what i mean - there was a chandelier and interesting alice in wonderland-vinyl covered type furniture. most of the tables were only for two people so it would not be conducive to going with a group. there was a good array of cupcakes and flavours on offer, but for me presentation was very poor. the cupcakes did not match the 'poshness' of the decor. i mean, come on, some of the cupcakes were sprinkled with dinosaur sprinkles and what looked like conjoined pumpkins! so weird and very kid-like. i would definitely have preferred some sophisticated swirls as an adult eating a cupcake. i tried two flavours - the double chocolate (because i heard it was to die for) and the peanut butter. other flavours included oreo, toblerone, red velvet, mango and caramel - i felt the labels displaying the flavours could have been typed out, they were handwritten and looked unprofessional and messy.

the peanut butter cupcake was not a big hit with me - the cupcake itself was dry and did not taste of peanut butter at all while the icing, if you can call it that was mildly flavoured and the consistency rather than being icing-like seemed more like pastry cream. i wouldn't bother with this again.

then came double chocolate - and believe me this lived up to every single word of the favourable reviews i read about it. it was delicious - a rich chocolate flavour, a soft moist cake and a delicious chocolate cream piped on top. the decoration for this was also simple but effective and i must say that presentation was good, with the little bit of piped cream on the side and a sprinkling of cocoa. i would eat this 10 times over - if i had the appetite for it!

second stop...
Cedele Bakery Frankel Avenue 115 Frankel Avenue
Tel: (65) 6243 2056 Fax: (65) 6243 3272
Opening hours : Mon - Sun/Public Holidays:8.00am to 7.00pm

this was a very simple bakery. no flamboyant decor to detract from the food. there were some tables and chairs both inside and out. the walls were a bit dull and the floor was just concrete...a simple splash of colour wouldn't have gone astray. there was a variety of baked goods on offer ranging from scones and muffins to loaves of bread. i choose a blueberry crumble muffin and a vanilla sand cupcake.

the bluberry crumble muffin was good. it had a fantastic crumble topping that i simply have to replicate when i'm back in the kitchen. i liked the way it encompassed pecans in it and was moist. i think there was a lot of brown sugar in it. the muffin itself was loaded with blueberries and very more-ish. a great breakfast treat that would keep you going until lunch.

the vanilla sand cupcake was interesting. the cake itself was a little dry and a rather crumbly texture. it was overall quite sweet and this was enhanced by the icing. i did like the sprinkling of coconut on top and this was perhaps the saving grace. not sure where the name came from though...does the coconut look like vanilla sand?