Grin Affair

I was informed that the backdoor that they used to have opened is no longer accessible. So, there’s that unconventional old-​looking door that remains as the entrance. I just find it cool how in this time and era, such a door will lead to a place which sells cakes in sweet, little, petite jars.
The space is like a typical 1-​room HBD flat and… dare I say, ‘scarcely’ renovated. But that’s the beauty of it. It gave you the feeling of being in a small old apartment adorned with vintage decos. I guess being into scrapbooking, I’m inclined to appreciate the interior of this café.
Cake-​wise, they claimed to be the first people who came up with the idea of cheesecakes in jars.)I can’t vouch for that since I have no idea.) They had about 10 flavours.
I had their hazelnut one. Not bad. Might go back to try more.

I had doubts about the taste as it has about 12+3 new types of selection but each follows the formula of sponge cake+mousse+crumbs/nuts and the sponge cake revolves around mocha, chocolate and vanilla. However, 2 out of the 4 I’ve tried was GOOD.
this new product CARAMEL ($ 6.50) was VERY GOOD. With the crunchy almond nibs crust, vanilla cake, caramel mousse, topped with brown sugar meringue and that luscious sea salt dulce de leche, how could one find fault in this golden formula?
however, The Matcha ($ 5.50), so to speak, had decent matcha mousse, not too sweet but stiffened red bean, a repeated component of vanilla cake. But the walnut topping tarnished everything as it had turned rancid and was extremely bitter.

Hmmm, it is not like it is bad. It is not like it is awesome. It is more a 2.5 stars for me.
While the presentation is cute, the cake is moist, the flavor interesting, it is not enticing enough for me to crave it.
It is also strange that despite there being a table in the café, they only allow takeaways. We were there on a quiet weekday afternoon and they didn’t allow us to sit to eat.
Guess I may only come back if I am looking to buy something interesting for a house/​office party.

It’s a tough call, this one. It’s cake in a jar. There’s about ten or so varieties, of which I’ve tried almost all (I used to be in the area quite a bit), and they’re pretty good, but it’s cake in a jar.
It’s not expensive, considering you’re paying for the jar too. They want you to return it for credit (10 jars gets you a reward), but when will you bring jars back?
Stuff runs out. Fast. I have friends who came by when the store had just started up and bought a dozen (some took two dozen, the shameless, greedy buggers), so that is testament to how quickly these desserts can go. I’m also blaming them for times when the shop sells out before lunchtime is over.
Limited stock is the hallmark of artisans — it’s a lot of work, this fitting-​cake-​and-​component-​creams-​and-​mousses-​into-​a-​jar business, and I do appreciate the effort that goes into their desserts.
To their merit, I see they’ve got more people behind the counter now. Business must still be good, and I hear you can reserve stuff too. That’s a good idea to give more people a chance to try cake in a jar.
I haven’t been back in a while though… I guess I’ve had my fill.

After hearing much rave about this little shop and its cake is serve in a jar. I conclude that I have to try it myself. Furthermore, the place is very near to my work place. No reason for me not to try it.
I make my way down one day after work. When I reached the little shop, its menu was display outside, the door was closed. I had to open the light wooden door to enter the quite empty shop. I was greeted by the lady at the counter. There was no cake found in display. And apparently I was the only customer there. She informed me that she is left with only 3 flavors. I took the two flavors and left the durian flavor out.
After sharing it with dear cousin, we conclude that the mousse was more than the cake, which wasn’t to our liking. The dark chocolate flavor was good though. If it has been more accessible for me. I will think of going back again.
A reminder: You have to make a reservation before going down so as to enjoy the flavors you want. Don’t end up like me.

The jars of these desserts are SO CUTE! It’s the best reason to buy them. They will look good for garden-​style weddings too — each of your guests can leave with one cute jar in hand.
Such jars are actually quite a big part of the cost — worthy investment I think, it sets them apart from the thousands of cake stores out there; but anyways point is, the shop found a way to reuse the jars. They encourage customers to return the empty jars to the shop in exchange for points. At a certain accumulation you get to redeem a free dessert. If you’re too lazy to go back to the shop, don’t throw the jar away, maybe can keep it to store… rings? Your cactus plant?
I tried the dark chocolate and the honey lavender and blueberry. The dark chocolate was thick, it reminded me of the insides of a Ferrero Rocher. The honey lavender was too moussey for me.

I’m enjoying how F&B experience is shaping up in SG. A Grin Affair is another new, one of a kind cake store that sells their desserts in a jar. But wait, that’s not to the interesting part.
The fact that the store has no display and only a few high chairs lined along the wall makes for something different, considering how people are used to sitting down on coffee tables.
I liked the dessert I tried — matcha azuki bean. The matcha was beat into the cream to give a smooth texture bursting with the flavours of the powder and it layered nicely with the cake which was fluffy and non-​soggy. The sweetness of the azuki beans balanced everything out. I also quite liked what I thought was an interesting addition of walnuts to the dessert. Well-​thought out and well-​executed.
I will be back to try more flavours. Do note to go early, or they’ll run out very quickly!

I have been wanting to try out grin affair after seeing many of my friends posted beautiful photo online. The main concept of this shop is that all the cakes are beautifully kept in a jar.
I have read many bakery books. This is something which I have been wanting to make. Therefore, before attempting it myself, I decided to head down to grin affair to try their lovely jar cakes first.
Oh! One very important point to note is that, kindly reserve whatever cake you want to try as their cakes tend to sold out pretty fast.
I went down and try their Kiwi Cheesecake as it is one of the best sellers! $ 5.50 for layers of cream cheese with fresh green kiwi slices and moist vanilla cake, topped with a later of crunchy nut praline. Loved how the bright green colour of the kiwi fruit contrasted against the yellow vanilla cake. Definitely will be going down again to try many of their other flavours.

Tucked away in the estate of Everton Park, this little cake shop creates a world of its own. A pretty, rustic little world. It is quite inaccessible without a car, being a 10 – 15 minute walk from Outram MRT station, but I do suggest giving it a go if you are around that area as they are no ordinary cake shop. Their cakes are served in pretty little jars and they offer a range of unique flavours. I went there with the intention of trying out their lychee pistachio with sea salt cake, as well as their honey lavender with blueberry but they were both sold out. In fact, all the flavours were sold out when I got there and I could only choose from chocolate, strawberry, banoffee and kiwi cheesecake. I got the chocolate and kiwi cheesecake in the end.
The chocolate cake was pretty impressive and the sea salt dulce de leche was paired brilliantly with the rich chocolate mousse and cake. The kiwi cheesecake was pretty good too, but it was more cake than cheese.
The shop doesn’t really have a sitting area, except for a few chairs left around, so don’t expect to be able to sit down with a group of friends to hang out over cake or anything like that. They do not sell drinks of any sort too, just purely cakes.
Overall, having cakes served in jars is a pretty unique experience and the cakes I’ve had there were quite enjoyable.