Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog

A lovely bakery stands in a quaint corner by the Singapore River off Robertson Quay. Hidden behind Toby’s Estate and Bar Bar Black Sheep cafe is a bake shop specializing in American gourmet cupcakes just opened 5 months ago. Ever since then, they have been featured in the media on several occasions.

I was warmly welcomed by the bakers in action. The shop has an open kitchen concept with friendly staff greeting each and every customer. Danish and his wife, Alia, shared with me their story.

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They started off with a road trip in America to search for the best cupcakes, savoring and taking in everything they have tasted. Danish would opt for the red velvet in every cupcakery they visited while Alia would try out different flavors of cupcakes. Then they brought all of their inspirations to Singapore and perfected 101 cupcake flavors that will be brought out as daily specials every month. Alia who was a fashion stylist had incorporated fashion itself into Swirls which I find amazing.

I love the American concept of the bake shop together with its kaleidoscope of colors. Wondering about the special shape of the cream frosting of the cupcakes, I later found out that the frosting is crafted by use of a palette knife instead of the norm. Other than that, the cupcakes are made 3 to 4 times daily to ensure freshness that is kept.

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Red Velvet

Red Velvet is one of their most, if not the most popular item. It stands out the most too. It was the right degree of fluffiness of a cupcake and a pleasant one to sink your teeth into. Other flavors I tried included the Oh So Cocoa, Strawberry Burst, Nutella, and the Sunday special for this month, Tiramisu. The cupcakes come in two sizes, tiny and regular – which I thought is a great idea especially for those with small appetites who want to try as many flavors as possible. The tiny ones are priced $2.50 to $2.95 while the regular ones are $3.95 to $4.10.

Foreground: Strawberry Burst; Middleground: Red Velvet; Background: Oh So Cocoa

The strawberry flavored cupcake is another one of my favorite as it takes sweetness to a whole new level. Grinning I was to find even more chocolate hidden in the nutella cupcake. A day before my visit, a new cake was put on sale at Swirls. I was lucky enough to have the last slice nicely savaged by them. It was a slice of chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting and I must say it was a good attempt with whole cakes.

My glutton-in-crime, Amanda, would like to give a shout out for their refreshing iced lavender tea which was a great break from the sweetness before attacking another cupcake.

Right: Tiramisu

When asked on future plans for Swirls, the reply was: not for the moment, since they are fresh in the F&B. Yet they still receive words from others to open another outlet and that is my sentiment as well. Cupcakeries are sprouting in Singapore but this is one place to head to for unique beings with a sweet tooth. Swirls’ cupcakes get sold out pretty fast so you wouldn’t want to hesitate. They do make island-wide deliveries too.

A huge thank you to Danish & Alia for inviting me to taste their cupcakes!

Visit their colorful website at www.swirls.com.sg/ to “meet” more of the cupcakes and place orders.

8 Rodyk Street

#01-08 (off Robertson Quay)

Singapore 238216

Operates 11am – 7pm daily