Nothing beats a pretty, delicate and tasty cupcake that easily makes grey skies blue. Plain Vanilla is one of my favourite bakeries in Singapore where I’d keep going back for its cuppies that never fail to deliver that warm and fuzzy feeling every time I sink my teeth into one. So when I was at Holland V earlier for lunch, I just had to swing by Plain Vanilla for a much needed sweet treat perk-me-up.

Plain Vanilla @ Holland Village is located on the second level above El Patio Mexican Restaurant & Wine Bar. The first time I came looking for the shop, I had trouble locating it as I never seemed to notice the door next to the restaurant.

The sign is just so tiny and so easily missed! Through this door, just head up the steps…

…and you’d see this. Unlike their other outlet in Tiong Bahru where you can sit down and chill out like in a cafe, this is pretty much a take-away outlet though there is a bench at the left corner that can fit 2-3 people.

And that’s exactly what the husband and I did. Just sitting back, relaxing and basking in the atmosphere of this quaint and charming shop while enjoying our little treats.

Plain Vanilla’s mainstay offerings include Carrot, Cinnamon Brown Sugar, Cookies and Cream, Dark Chocolate Ganache, Milk Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet, Chocolate Hazelnut, Milk Chocolate Banana, Strawberry White Chocolate and Salted Caramel. Sometimes, they’d introduce other interesting new flavours for a limited time too. Check out their Facebook page for updates.

I particularly like their recyclable corrugated paper box packaging and biodegradable wooden fork that are so environmentally-friendly. And if you return your used 6-cupcake or 12-cupcake box to them, you can have one cupcake for free! What a lovely gesture to help save the earth.

Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate Ganache ($3.50 each or $19 for six)

My top flavour would be their Salted Caramel cupcake which is made of caramel-swirled butter cake with salted caramel frosting, topped with a dollop of their homemade caramel and a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt flakes on top. The combination of sweet and salty was a match made in heaven with the perfect balance of both flavours. The icing tasted full-bodied and rich but didn’t leave any greasy feeling in the mouth. The cupcake itself was soft, light and moist without being overly sweetened. Nothing looked over the top but the taste spoke for itself.

I love dark chocolate so I’d definitely go for anything dark chocolate if I have a choice. The Dark Chocolate Ganache cupcake is made of Valrhona dark chocolate cake smothered in bittersweet chocolate ganache and dipped in Valrhona cocoa nibs. The unique part about this cupcake had got to be the crunchy cocoa nibs on top that gave the cupcake another dimension with added texture. The ganache was thick and creamy but it wasn’t sweet at all.

Overall, I think Plain Vanilla makes some of the best cupcakes in Singapore and the main reason why I truly enjoy its creations is because the cupcakes are very down-to-earth, exactly like what we’d bake at home. Normally, I’d avoid cupcakes with very sweet frosting or icing but the ones here are not cloying at all. Just simple decadence.

Plain Vanilla Bakery
34A Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Tel: 8363 7615
Website
Facebook page
Opening hours:
12.00pm to 8.00pm (Tue-Sat)
12.00pm to 6.00pm (Sun)
Closed on Mondays

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