Have your cake and eat it... literally

I love cake. But in recent times, I feel that it's getting more and more difficult to find cakes that really wow me. Most of the cafes persist in serving gargantuous hunks of ultra rich and cloyingly sweet cakes that score high on the jelak scale. On the other end of the spectrum, there are cakes that are so dry and unsophisticated that I feel it's a waste to allocate calories to them. On top of the unpalatable experience, you're often left with a bill that matches the size of the cake.

It's no wonder that I started making my own cupcakes.

So it was a pleasant surprise when we stumbled upon Pine Garden bakery in Ang Mo Kio while we were visiting my aunt. This is not my kampong so I didn't know that this little heartland bakery had been winning the hearts of food critics from major print and tv media, as well as foodies.

What caught my eye most was the unusual selection of cakes. When was the last time you came across a HDB bakery with tantalising concoctions like Orange Apricot Blossom Cake, Brandy Cherry Cake, Creme Caramel Crunch Cake and Bird's Nest Cake? At 8.30pm, the little nondescript shop was doing a bustling business, dishing out slices and taking orders for whole cakes.

I picked out four and mind you, it was no easy task deciding what to get! They all looked so delectable.

Citrus Drop Cake - lemon sponge cake with lemon curd layers. I bought this with Lesley-Anne in mind, as she loves anything sour or tangy. She lapped it up although she says she still prefers Temptations' cheesecake. Andre took a taste and wanted more!

Cocotero - vanilla sponge cake with coconut custard pudding layers, topped with coconut strips. I'm not a fan of coconut but I used to be crazy over Seah Street Deli's Coconut Cream Cake and haven't been able to find even a remotely close replacement since they stopped making it. This one is still not like Seah Street Deli's but it's pleasant. The coconut custard tastes exactly like coconut agar agar which I'm sure would sit well with locals.

Lychee Martini Cake - lychee cake with martini-soaked lychee filling. This is (as we found out later), one of Pine Garden's signature cakes. The sponge is light yet moist and the lychee filling is very strong and creamy. Kenneth was quite impressed.

Pulut Hitam Cake - sponge cake with pulut hitam mousse layers, topped with pulut hitam. I left this to last because this is hands down my favourite. I love pulut hitam and having it cold on a cake in mousse form is just heavenly. The pulut hitam on top complements the taste perfectly and what I like best is that it isn't overly sweet. Believe it when I tell you that after I'd finished the slice, I craved for another! Best cake I've tasted in a long time.

Apart from the fancier creations, Pine Garden also offers the usual favourites like black forest, strawberry cream cake, tiramisu and kaya cake. According to reviews, their Cat Mountain King Durian Cake is to die for, but they weren't selling it by the slice the night we were there.

Forgive the pun but the icing on the cake was the price. Each of these slices only costs about $2.50 - high end cafe quality at HDB bakery prices! Maybe it's lucky I don't live in the Ang Mo Kio vicinity, otherwise I'll be getting real fat on cake.