SweetSpot, Singapore

SweetSpot is located at the flashy Marina Bay Sands hotel, opposite Ku De Ta, the "finest entertainment destination in South East Asia". Right.

                                     

SweetSpot has a wide array of pretty-looking treats. Their macarons, mille-feuilles and sacher tortes didn't quite appeal to me, so I opted for something more down-to-earth: a chocolate and hazelnut cookie.

At $2.80 a piece, this is considered expensive by Singapore standards. And boy, was it a waste of money after taking the first bite. The cookie was limp and lifeless. It tasted as if someone had left the lid off the cookie jar for too long. The cookie wasn't freshly baked.

 Sad cookie.

Happy salesman.

After this experience, I don't think I'll try any of SweetSpot's other offerings, no matter how pretty-looking they are.

SweetSpot
Marina Bay Sands Hotel
10 Bayfront Avenue
Lobby Level, Tower 3
Singapore
http://www.marinabaysands.com/singapore-restaurants/quick-eats/sweetspot/

Kisses Cupcakes, Hong Kong

Kisses Cucpakes, opposite Kau Kee beef noodles on Gough Street in Hong Kong.

 Smores and Red Velvet cupcakes.

Kisses Cupcakes
G/F, No. 24, Gough Street Central
Hong Kong
www.kissescupcakes.com

What I'm...

EATING:

White chocolate mud cakes.

Recipe here.

READING:

Is Google Making Us Stupid? By Nicholas Carr.

Interesting and somewhat ironic read.

WATCHING:

Top Chef: Just Desserts.

Well, not watching yet but waiting for it to premiere on TV later in the year.

Special mention: Top Chef: All Stars.

BROWSING:

Oh Joy!

I chanced upon this blog from this blog.

LISTENING TO:

"You've Got the Love" remixed by The XX.

Better than Florence and the Machine's version, dare I say it.

COVETING:

Natalie's Avanti Cookie Press/Icing Set.

.

This tool is amazing.

San Churro

Just a small post to say that San Churro is absolutely divine.

Auckland needs some cupcake shops

Serious Eats ran a review on the best cupcakes in New York City. Sex and the City has been credited as the show that ignited society's love affair with all things cupcake (cupcake shops, cupcake blogs, cupcake-printed objects, etc). Cupcakes have become so prolific that reports even claim that cupcakes are bringing the world out of the recession.

Whether that is true or not, it is evident that cupcakes are more than just a fad. Which is why I find it surprising that Auckland doesn't have any cupcake shops. You can find local bakeries selling cupcakes, but I haven't come across any shops dedicated to selling just cupcakes, like Melbourne's Little Cupcakes, New York's Magnolia and Los Angeles' Crumbs. 

The rest of this post are excerpts from the Serious Eats article. Reading it makes you wonder who will step up and bring Auckland its first cupcake shop?

12. Buttercup Bake Shop : The chocolate from this long-time New York favorite got decent marks, with tasters commenting on a "very chocolatey" flavor. But the vanilla was ill-received, with notes of "crumbly cake" and "overly-sweet frosting." The red velvet had "good cake flavor" but still, the frosting was too sweet. The cupcakes were of a decent size and cake:frosting ratio, but some of the flavors let us down.

11. Sweet Revenge: Sweet Revenge, you had class. You were a strong contender, but unfortunately the vastly unbalanced cake:frosting ratio (too much cake) on these giant cupcakes was only underlined by the dry texture of both cake and frosting. The Pure (Mexican vanilla) had "grainy frosting," "dense cake," and was "too sweet." The Dirty (chocolate) was something of a "brownie in disguise," but the cake was still dry; the Sweet Revenge (peanut butter chocolate) had a "big peanut hit," but the cake was "fell apart." And the Crimson & Cream (raspberry cake, cream cheese frosting) had an "odd spice hint in cake," prompting one taster to say, "I just don't know what this tastes like."

10. Robicelli's : This Brooklyn-based cupcakery presents its goods at several cafes across the borough. There was some delicious potential here, but the dryness of the cake and overwhelmingly buttery frosting let us down. The almond with vanilla buttercream had "great almond flavor" in the frosting, but dry cake; thepeanut butter had a "hard," "spongey" cake and the peanut butter flavor wasn't particularly discernible. Nor was the blackberry. Higher marks for flavor ideas than execution.

9. Sugar Sweet Sunshine: While we were hoping for more from one of the classic cupcakeries of NYC, the overall opinion was that these cupcakes were too darn sweet. The vanilla was "very sugary," although one taster noted that "the cake still comes through." The chocolate was "nice, a little almond-y," but some picked up on a "fake chocolate flavor." The pistachio was "mild, but yummy" for some, while others said there "wasn't much flavor." And thestrawberry cheesecake (which, we should note, melted a little in the 95 degree heat) led testers to say that though it "looked sad," it "tasted yummy."

8. Tribeca Treats : These cupcakes got pretty average marks amongst our finalists. The vanilla had "creamy frosting, but too sweet." Chocolate had a "sweet cake" that was "a little dry," but "intense." The red velvet had frosting that had a "nice cream cheesiness," a rare characteristic among the red velvets we tried. And the vanilla with strawberry frosting had "good flavor" but grainy frosting, with a base that reminded us too much of cornbread.

7. Tonnie's Minis : This Harlem bakery has a major following, especially for their red velvet cake, which we found had "delicious cake" that actually tasted like chocolate, but were saddened that "icing doesn't really taste like cream cheese." The vanilla coconut had "good textures" and "great cake," but some mentioned "overly sugary frosting." The chocolate was flavorful but a bit dry in the cake, and one taster noted that the frosting "tasted like it came out of a can." The lemon had some fans, though, with "strong lemony flavor" and a "sweet frosting that doesn't overwhelm."

6. Amy's Bread : These cupcakes remind us of our childhood. They had a classic frosting swirl presentation, and solid, unassuming flavors. The vanilla frosting was a little "too sugary and sweet," but the cake was "moist" and "good." The Devil's Food had a "super fudge-y," "intense" frosting that was a tad heavy for the "dense, chocolatey" cake. The red velvet had "fluffy," "cloudlike" frosting and a good cake. And the black and white had a "good cake," but frosting that tended towards "gritty" and "too sweet" for most tasters.

5. Kumquat Cupcakery : If you've never seen Kumquat cupcakes before, it's because this mini-cupcake business currently only sells at the Brooklyn Flea or through mail order. The vanilla prompted tasters to comments of "dry cake" and "[frosting is] a little too sweet." The dark chocolate was "very chocolatey," but still a little on the dry side. However, Kumquat won us over with banana, which was "sweet and banana-y" but not overkill. And the real winner of the bunch was thepeanut butter banana honey, which was "so flavorful" and "not too sweet." Overall, we would have liked more frosting, but these two-bite cuties are a show-stopper for presentation and adorable-ness factor.

4. Spot: Pichet Ong's St. Marks location has a variety of intriguing desserts on offer, and their cupcakes are certainly for those who are interested in more adventurous flavors. For instance, we didn't get just plain vanilla—we got vanilla yuzu lemon, which had "creamy, smooth frosting" and "complex flavor" that screamed yuzu. Theberry berry chocolate "tastes more like raspberry than a raspberry," and kept up the "moist cake" standard. The chocolate green tea was definitely polarizing, but if you are a fan of matcha you will agree that this is a "perfect balance of flavor," with "moist and chocolatey" cake. The mocha caramel was probably our least favorite, with "grainier frosting" and "little coffee flavor." 

3. Dessert Club Chickalicious: This bakery toes the line between regular and mini cupcakes, and the cake:frosting ratio tends to slant in the cake direction. But the flavors made tasters pretty happy across the board, and all the cakes had an extremely fluffy, spongey texture. Thevanilla had "good vanilla flavor in the frosting," and was refreshingly "not a sugar bomb." The chocolate had "smooooth frosting," and a chocolate hit that wasn't overwhelming. The mocha had a "slightly dry cake," and frosting whose sweet creaminess reminded one taster (that'd be me) of coffeemilk. And the banana was the favorite of the bunch, with "intense banana flavor" but a "slight aftertaste."

2. Two Little Red Hens : We were very pleased with the consistent, tasty offerings from this wonderful Upper East Side bakery. The cupcakes were all very generously sized, with a good cake:frosting ratio. The vanilla had "very buttery frosting" that was "not too sweet," and well-flavored cake. The Brooklyn Blackout chocolate cake is "for chocolate lovers," with a "very fudge-y" texture and a serious explosion of chocolate flavor. The red velvet had "delish" frosting that was appropriately "tangy and smooth," but less flavor in the cake. And the marble had a "nice presentation" with the chocolate/vanilla swirl, but underwhelmed on flavor despite a "very moist, fluffy cake".

1. Baked: If you're even remotely familiar with the baked goods scene, then the fact that Baked produces some excellent cupcakes won't come as a surprise. This Red Hook bakery makes some of the best goodies around, and their cupcakes delivered. The lemon drop was one of the overall favorites of the tasting, with bright flavors that reminded us of summer citrus and not jarred lemon curd. The vanilla was a big pick for best of its category, in that it really "tasted like vanilla" and had a light, fluffy texture. The chocolate got solid marks for "excellent flavor," despite being more cake-y than fudge-y. And the sweet and salty, a truly brilliant creation of a chocolate cupcake generously sprinkled with sea salt, made our tasters scream "wonderful"; "fluffy cake and frosting!"; and "wooooo, salty!" What more can you ask for?

Junk inside your trunk

This week's recipes are high in fat, sugar and all things bad for your body but heavenly for your taste buds.

Some days I feel like exercising restraint on my diet by feeding it with healthy foods, other times I feel like abusing it with cookies, cakes and chips.

Today feels like the latter.

Nat and I had a Gossip Girl marathon and proceeded to consume chocolates, popcorn, chocolate caramel biscuits, Tim Tams, carrot cake, chocolate fudge Pop Tarts and chips. In addition to this, I've had white chocolate Kinder Bueno, Lindt dark chili chocolate, Lindt dark roasted almond chocolate and chocolate buttercream cake in the past 2 days. 

I still feel like doing my digestive system some more damage. These recipes would be a good start.

Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips

From Sugar Cooking

Oh peanut butter chips, why won't you come to New Zealand?! I long for you so. Nat and I were having a debate over whether sweet and salty was a good combination. She said no, I said yes.

Mini Turtle Brownie Bites

From The Other Side of 50

Another topic Nat and I debated about over episodes of Gossip Girl was caramel. Turns out Nat doesn't like caramel. I've only recently began to form a liking for it. Either way, chocolate brownies with caramel sauce sounds damn good.

Snickers Caramel Cheesecake Cookies

From Picky Palate

The words in this recipe sound good on their own but better when strung together in a sentence. 

Peanut Butter Honey Brownies

From Spoonful of Sugar

You can't have junk food without peanut butter of some kind. In this recipe it's in the form of brownies with a honey filled centre. I like to think the healthiness of the honey offsets the calorific nature of everything else in the brownies.

Baked Doughnuts

From How to Eat a Cupcake

 

Funny how this is the only recipe of the ones listed that I'm actually excited to make. The reason being is that I can finally make doughnuts without using a fryer! I've come to believe that baking is a healthier method than frying, so these baked doughnuts sit on top of my list of things to bake in the near future.  

I feel like I've gained ten pounds just blogging about junk food. I've got to feed the fat kid inside of me!

Recipes of the week

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

From Joy the Baker

My first taste of cookie dough was in Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream, and ever since then, I've been hooked. Most of the time they taste delicious, albeit artificial, (like Kit Kat Cookie Dough) and sometimes I can't get over the rawness of it. When I tried Baskin Robbins' chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in Sydney, it had a really eggy taste to it that put me off. Still, I like the sound of cookie dough and any recipe with it always catches my eye.

Nutty White Chocolate Blondies

From Chow

In five words: big chunks of white chocolate.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

From Jamie Cooks It Up

What attracted me to this recipe was the use of mayonnaise to make these sweet muffins. I've heard of zucchini, chili and bacon used in chocolate recipes, but not mayonnaise. Apparently the mayonnaise gives the muffins a moist texture. The recipe even says you can substitute mayonnaise for salad dressing if you don't have a tub of mayo handy. 

Banana Caramel Cupcakes

From Bakers Royale

Continuing with bananas, these cupcakes look and sound absolutely delicious. There are a number of ingredients involved but these are readily available in your pantry (with the exception of heavy cream for the filling). This recipe seems similar to the banana cupcakes Natalie and I baked that were meant to be accompanied with a toffee icing. But this one is a lot harder to assemble, but I would presume to be a lot tastier. 

David Leibovitz's Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Serious Eats

Chocolate chip cookies so famous it needs an equally famous chef's name in front of it. But I don't know who David Leibovitz is (although his name sounds familiar). I may have heard of him from watching Top Chef or this recipe has been circling around the food blogosphere. I think it's the latter. Everyday a recipe for chocolate chip cookies would feature on FoodGawker or TasteSpotting, with posters claiming theirs is the chunkiest, richest, sweetest, chewiest chocolate chip cookie. On the same site, there is a taste test to see which are the best chocolate chips to use for chocolate chip cookies. To me, chocolate chip cookies are plain and boring, and are not something I would bake. But if it's David Leibovitz's Chocolate Chip Cookies, I just might.