Yummeh Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart

Thanks to a colleague, I got to try a Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart. I liked it. Smooth and creamy, a touch milky. I wished the tart shell was shorter and more crumbly but maybe that's because I had a day after it was bought.

If you bought it fresh off the shelf, it would be lusciously molten; alternatively, you could pop it in the fridge for an hour for it to be chilled and firm.

Baker's Brew Studio, Paragon

Visited the new Baker's Brew Studio over the weekend on Sunday. Their Paragon outlet boosts a new concept, housing both baking studio and a café. The café only opened last Saturday and it isn’t fully operational (i.e., no classes just yet); they are currently on a soft launch to iron out all the kinks.

In full disclaimer: I knew about the opening as we are friends with one of the owners. Along with my family, we visited without informing our friends and I paid close to $70 for 3 slices of cake and 5 beverages.

The 3 cakes that we had – Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake, Lemon Passionfruit Cake and Tiramisu – were hefty slices. If you like your cakes light and airy, this is not the place for you. My younger sister thought their cakes are too dry and I probably didn’t find them as offensive as I prefer denser cakes. That said, I can see many mother-daughter bonding sessions happening at the pretty modern luxe baking studio slash café.

A dozen sweet nothings from Baker V

Ordered a bunch of cupcakes from Baker V for a dear friend for her birthday. There were 4 different flavours - salted caramel, red velvet, lavender earl grey and rose. I surprised myself by liking the lavender and earl grey cupcake most (nothing like potpurri, thank gawwwd). A 5 year old gamely choped one red velvet, scoffed it down in minutes and asked for another (sorry, mummy said 'no'). Good stuff and they were so purrrr-dy! 

Oozy molten cookies at KOOKS Creamery

When it comes to desserts and ice cream pairing, I prefer cookies and brownies over waffles and pancakes any given day. Thus you can imagine my excitement when I discovered KOOKS Creamery and we made it a point to try it out on our regular Tuesday-ice-cream day. 

I got to say it was quite underwhelming as the cookie was pretty small (though yes, delectable) and served in a cast-iron-wannabe plate. Perhaps it would be much more satisfying to serve up skillet cookies... Mmm!

Xmas treats from Chalk Farm, Paragon

It honestly still surprises me that Chalk Farm is thriving. Rental should be pretty exorbitant and their cakes are good at best. I'll eat them if they are in front of me but I won't go out of my way to get them.

On my sister's request, we tried a trio of their festive bakes - Espresso Meringue Cake, Pumpkin Cake and Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter. There was a common thread throughout the slices - light, fluffy and made with quality ingredients. Even this got monotonous after a while, most of their cakes are just sponge mattresses with a decent layer of buttercream. Perhaps some people like the simplicity but for me, the cakes here are easily erasable from my memory.

A fab cookie from FabCafe, ArtScience Museum

Behold the half-eaten cookie

FabCafe has an interesting story:

FabCafe Singapore brings together designers, technologists, entrepreneurs, architects, scientists, and makers of all kinds with a space to connect over great coffee and a stage to collaborate at the world-famous ArtScience Museum. A one-of-a-kind strategic partnership, ArtScience Museum and FabCafe Singapore work together with a common mission - to explore the intersection of art and science, and to illuminate creative and technological innovation for everyone.

Though we visited too early to experience any of that illuminating mission, their oatmeal rasin cookie was quite spectacular. I would go as far as to say, it's on par or better than your average bakery or cookie speciality stores. Crispy around the edges and soft at the core, packed with nibbly oatmeal, raisins and chocolate chip chunks, this is one cookie worth stopping by for.

Dean & DeLuca, Far East Square

For some reason, Dean & DeLuca in Singapore just doesn't have the same allure as their international outlets. Their outlets here are quite cold and sterile, unlike the homely bustling feel felt elsewhere. Even on a weekday during lunch hour lunch, we found indoor table for 6 easily at the Far East Square branch. Anyway we made a pit-stop here for desserts to celebrate our intern's birthday. 

I love cheesecake, I love tarts so this Strawberry Cheese Tart was a hit in my book. Most strawberry tarts are filled with custard so this definitely felt denser and more decadent than others. The pistachios crumbs was a nice touch and the strawberries also helped out through the heaviness of the dessert.

For a lighter but just as lovely dessert, I would highly recommend the Lemon Meringue Pie. Perfectly sweet and tart, the meringue and lemon curd were wistfully light and refreshing.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to obsess over the dry and crumbly Dark Obsession Cake. I know have known when I saw it sitting woefully on the cake display. Oddly enough, this was the intern's favourite so our visit boded well for everyone. 

Manuka Cafe, Paragon

Chances are when you head to level 5 at Paragon for a bite, your expected destination is one of the following: 1 Michelin Star Crystal Jade, why-no-star Imperial Treasure Peking Duck or no-star-but-my-favourite Sushi Tei. Although Café Manuka is located near the escalators, it looks more like a waiting space for Imperial Treasure Peking Duck diners or for parents while their kiddies hop onto their joyride. Despite the unassuming café space, this New Zealand-inspired cafe has homely baked treats worth spending your afternoon with.

Gluten free orange almond cake is a little dry and meal-ly, probably due to the absence of gluten and presence of almond meal. A dollop of cream or ice cream would have been perfect.

Carrot cake was a commendable slice, chockful of walnuts and a lovely aroma from the caramelization of brown sugar.

Their deluxe chocolate cake was quite divine. I requested for an additional scope of vanilla ice cream because I have been (sigh) trained to eat chocolate cake this way; be warned, the icy cheapish vanilla ice cream wasn’t exactly the best in town.

Pit Stop at Tiong Bahru Bakery, Raffles City

A puckery lemon tart is pure delight. This lemon tart had a short buttery base akin to the texture of a cookie (yasss!). While I thought the curd could have more "moltenous," I loved the tanginess of level 2 and wouldn't mind trying level 3 the next time round.

I have a soft weak-in-the-knees spot for their kouign amann. It's really the only must-have for me at Tiong Bahru Bakery. I haven't had the guts to do so, but I dare sayI can finish up one on my own in one sitting. Caramelised buttery puff pastry - it's hard to beat that, my friend. I got the apple kouign amann (to prove I am capable of change); the apple bits were pleasant, a short distraction from the aching sweetness of this delightful party.

PS Cafe, please wake up

Whoa PS Cafe, you guys seriously need to up your cake game. The cakes over the past few visits have been pretty disappointing - and this coming from someone who used to LOVE coming here for desserts and even made a list of all the things she has tried. The Southern Chocolate Pecan Pie was duly indulgent but the Flourless Orange Cake was a chunk of dry blah. Don't go near it, my friends.

Dulcet Studio, Paragon

After family lunch at Tampopo, we made our way to Calamansi at Paragon. Instead of their healthy wholesome juices, we ordered a few desserts to share. 

The chocolate raspberry roll was surprisingly delightful. The tanginess of raspberries cut through the rich decadence of chocolate sufficiently, without clamouring for more attention. 

We had a couple of eclairs, the Vanilla and Venezuela. I should just admit I am not into eclairs. I can appreciate the work gone into making them but taste-wise, they were quite middling. 

The Mont Blanc is a favourite among the family. They have a full-sized version which makes me wonder if I should get it for my birthday... Hmm!

If you are a matcha fied, you should't miss out on the  Matcha Cream Puff. Available for a selected period only, the Matcha Cream Puff was simply delectable! Though hardly photogenic compared to the other fruit-crowned cakes, a thinnish choux pastry breaks open to reveal an intense rich and unapologetically oozy matcha pastry cream. We should have definitely ordered more than one. 

Chocolate lava cake from Chocolate Origin, 313@Somerset

Between this and a Sanum from Llao Llao, the Sanum is without a doubt more bang for buck. But I had a chocolate craving to scratch and no frozen yogurt (even with the bells and whistles) was going to cut it. The idea of a chocolate lava cake is pretty awesome and the lava cake itself is suitably dark and decadent; now if only they could level up that sad vanilla ice cream. 

Macarons from Matchaya, Icon Village

I don't get out much these days so I rely on my younger sister to introduce the newest and latest food trends. She got a bunch of macarons from Matchya, a tiny takeout store at Icon Village that aims to source premium ingredients from different Japanese prefectures for their teas.

We had an assortment consisting of chocolate, yuzu, matcha and hojicha. The macarons were on par with some of big names out there, and my favourite was the intense bittersweet hojicha.

Treats from Clinton Street Bakery, Purvis Street

After lunch with my in-laws at Manzoku, we popped by Clinton Street Bakery to pick up a couple of treats for afternoon tea. The pineapple upside down cake, tart and buttery, reminded me of an oversized pineapple tart in a cake form. Hope I am making some sense here. I loved the pecan square bar but its moreish crumb and crunch.

More from Chalk Farm, Paragon

Sometimes it feels like desserts are the highlight of our family Sunday lunches. Chalk Farm has amassed quite a fellowship obsessed with their tall sponge classics done right. We had a trio of cakes from Chalk Farm at Paragon at my sister's request.

The Kueh Salat, a clear tribute to my mum, would please kebaya-clad traditionalists. For me though, my threshold is the size of a Bengawan Solo slice so this definitely needs more hands on deck.

The Baileys Chocolate Cake has me conflicted. #firstworldproblems A generous load of Baileys pastry cream encased within a bittersweet dark chocolate slice. The taste I get, but the composition I did not get. Why was there such an overwhelming amount of Baileys pastry cream just stuffed within the cake?

My favourite of the lot was the Hazelnut Cake because I could eat a tub of Nutella by myself. Two sponge layers smmmmeeeared (yes, you have to pronounce it this way) with Nutella-like gianduia frosting and topped with caramelized whole hazelnuts. Sponge, frosting and crunch... This is a crowd pleaser unless you have a nut-allergy.

Bakes by Better Butter

A couple of weeks ago, Eve from Better Butter (Facebook and Instagram) reached out to me and asked if I would like to try some baked goodies. I normally turn down restaurant invites and tastings, but I have a soft spot for small time business owners slash home bakers. I also don't mind sharing the love, especially when they come in 2x2, topped with toasted marshmallows.

I was gifted threeitems - Smores, Lemon Bars and Pretzel Peanut Butter. Perfect timing as I had a potluck to attend and I thought these treats would make a great contribution. Work has been depressing crazy these days so not having to worry about preparing a dish was a lifesaver.

The Smores were a unanimous crowd favourite! Chewy brownies topped with torched marshmallows. Nuke them for 30 seconds for full effect.

Lemon bars were somewhat clumsy. I liked the lemony flavour but the layers between streusel topping, lemon curd and cookie base was indiscernible. One friend found the lemon flavour lacking, while another thought it was just right. Different strokes for different folks.

Eve mentioned Pretzel Peanut Butter were a treat for kids and she was right. Russell ate three in a go. Now, I normally don't let the kids take too much sugar but these were a rare treat. Anything homemade calls for seconds - and thirds :)

What I learnt from Eve is the end goal of Better Butter is to create a name, so that she can start supplying bakes to old folks homes and orphanages, so that those who are not as fortunate can enjoy the little treats in life too. Serious ambitious for someone who is wise beyond her years. In the midst of chasing down cheese tarts and salted egg croissants, I do hope we all find time to support the little guys such as Better Butter.

Cafe Manuka , Paragon

This unassuming cafe at Paragon looks more like a waiting place for yuppie juice-loving mums than a bona fide cafe, but hey, the cakes are pretty good!

I love how dense and nutty the carrot cake was, and the icing is absolutely to-die-for. In contrast, the apple and blueberry tart below was light, airy and spongey.

I have my eye on their orange almond cake, and their sticky date pudding looks like something I wouldn't spending some time with too.

Cedele's Berry Punch Yogurt Cup

It is kind of sad when all one blogs these days are the food she scarfs down in between client meetings. Oh well, First World problems. I picked up this Berry Punch Yogurt Cup from Cedele in a bid to cheer myself up from an early morning meeting. It was a wholesome hearty pick-me-up, filled with crunchy granola, blueberries and strawberries, chia seeds, honey and thick tangy Greek-style yogurt. 

Salted egg croissant from Da Paolo Gastronomia

As far as food trends go, this was worth the hype 😱😱😱

#deathtocronut #countsasdessert

More from Chalk Farm

We celebrated my younger sister's birthday with a medley of cakes from Chalk Farm - just the way she liked it. She chose a great selection, consisting of a salted caramel cupcake, coffee walnut cake, sugee cake and carrot cake with whiskey... Flavours right up my buttercream alley.

The cakes at Chalk Farm are pretty simple. Maybe even ordinary if you compare them to multi-tier pastries or delicately piped desserts. Yet I'm sure we can agree that there is something magical about simple things done well.

Coffee desserts makes me happy so coffee cake with coffee buttercream frosting makes me really really happy. I just love how assertive the coffee flavour is. The coffee cake might look commonplace but I have not come across anyone else who makes coffee cakes. We need to have a chat, bakers.

The good old fashioned sugee cake was chosen for my mum. The almond flavour was pretty strong so it would work for you or against you, depending on how nuts you are about almonds.

My sister really liked the whiskey carrot cake. While I thought it was an exemplary carrot cake (moist, airy and stuffed with carrots, sultanas, walnuts etc.), I could hardly taste the whiskey. Still a great carrot cake to nibble on - just don't offer it to kids to be on the safe side. Yes, this is a family-friendly blog after all. Oh, I must confess seeing grated carrot makes me feel a lot better about eating carrot cake.

When I look back at my previous visits to Chalk Farm, every visit to chalk is never complete without one of their salted caramel offering. An airy spongey treat topped off with the most delectable salted caramel buttercream. All together now, swoon!