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2013-10-30
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For complete review and pictures, please visit: http://theyummyyak.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/cakes-literally/Inadvertently noticed Cakes Literally as I walked down Dorset Road last Sunday evening, intending to head to L'etoile Cafe for a cup of tea as I do every week. Please trust me when I say I'm really not as old as I sound. Cakes Literally, located further down Owen Road, caught my eye with its immaculately white exterior and cursive typefont. I switched gears and decided to give this cafe a
Inadvertently noticed Cakes Literally as I walked down Dorset Road last Sunday evening, intending to head to L'etoile Cafe for a cup of tea as I do every week. Please trust me when I say I'm really not as old as I sound. Cakes Literally, located further down Owen Road, caught my eye with its immaculately white exterior and cursive typefont. I switched gears and decided to give this cafe a shot instead.
I was the only customer at the cafe when I arrived, but the lady boss of the cafe came out from the kitchen to greet me as soon as I'd entered. A Ms Carissa Choh, to be precise. She was very polite and helpful when I asked her for recommendations on cakes, providing a running commentary on the ingredients of each of the cakes on display.
Valrhona flourless cake, $7.50 per slice. 9-inch cake available at $72 - To be honest, this cake wasn't much of a looker. From a side view it kind of looks as if the base has collapsed. But what it lacks in the looks department it makes up for in terms of taste. This was a gluten-free cake made of premium quality Valrhona chocolate, topped with mousse. I thought the cake could be a little more moist, but the mousse was faultless. Atop each slice of cake sits a cute Belcolade shell containing little pieces of Venchi chocolate caviar. You're free to sprinkle the chocolate caviar on your cake for added texture, but I ate them together with the shell and it was pretty damn good.
Orange almond cake, $5.50 per slice. 9-inch cake available at $52 - Egged on (ooh a pun) by the success of the Valrhona cake I decided to take out a couple of cakes. My first choice was the orange almond cake because it looked so shiny and I'm a magpie. Like the chocolate cake, the orange almond cake here at Cakes Literally is also flourless and gluten-free. It's baked with slow poached oranges and contains no butter or oil. Although I did think this cake struck a balance between sweet and zesty, I couldn't get past how... wet it was. Also didn't really appreciate the coarse and grainy texture that the ground almonds lent to a soggy cake. It does seem like a relatively healthier treat though.
Avocado pound cake, $4 per slice - This non-flourless, gluten-ful avocado pound cake turned out to be my favourite of the lot. So much for clean eating eh. Rich and moist, with the flavour of blended avocadoes in every mouthful of cake. It's quite a firm pound cake, so Ms Choh suggests toasting it for a couple minutes before consumption, possibly to soften it up. I didn't follow her instructions because I took one testing bite and couldn't stop myself from finishing the entire slice. I loved, loved, loved this. Why doesn't anyone else bake avocado cakes???
Latte, $4.50 - Cakes Literally gets its supply of coffee beans from Papa Palheta (namely the Terra Firma blend), so you're assured of quality coffee. Price-wise their coffees are on the lower end of the spectrum, which is great. My latte was smooth and nutty, although a little too milky. Ya I know, that's like ordering ice-cream and complaining that it's cold.
Cakes Literally is a cafe that hasn't opened to great fanfare, but a lot of heart goes into what they do. It's evident from the smiles on the faces of those behind the counter (i.e. lady boss and her mom, who was super sweet as well) and the home-baked quality possessed by their cakes. I feel obliged to continue supporting this cafe for this reason alone, but I'm also glad that their avocado pound cake provides me with a great excuse to make a return visit this weekend.
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