Cupcake Central

Address: Level 2 Dining Hall, Melbourne Central, Melbourne 3000
Phone: (03) 9077 4542
Website: www.cupcakecentral.com.au
Facebook: Cupcake Central

Winter has done bad things to me...I haven't been able to get up early enough for brunch dates and I've been craving cupcakes. So I've decided to write about Cupcake Central as I've made two visits on my way home from work recently. Cupcake Central has an original store in Hawthorn and since the re-vamp of Melbourne Central, they've also occupied a large corner of the Level 2 Dining Hall. 

The thing I like most about the store is that they also have quirky cupcake flavours. For my first visit in a looong time, I decided not to go with something too outrageous and ended up with a Banoffee Pie cupcake. Who doesn't love Banoffee Pie? It was a nice banana cake dotted with melted toffee chips and served with cream cheese frosting. I liked it alot, though I couldn't finish it as I realised Cupcake Central has cakes that are dense and rich (I don't do too well with richness, unfortunately). But I liked the delicious flavour combination. It went perfectly with a chocolate-flaked cappuccino.

There's something really beautiful about the store itself. Lots of lights and whites and flowers with a bit of a retro feel, given that it has a milkshake and soda bar...

The second time I visited, I got tempted by an unusual cupcake...The Potato Head. I don't usually like chocolate desserts that look like they might be too rich, but I was fascinated with the idea of a potato cupcake that I decided I'd give it a go. 

I wasn't sure if it was a cake made with potato, or a cake with potato chips in it (judging from the chip on top), but both seemed like interesting ideas. It turned out to be the latter - chocolate cake with white-chocolate coated potato chips embedded in the mixture. Again I underestimated my judgement for rich cakes and couldn't finish it, but for chocolate-dessert lovers, you would definately find this very chocolate-y. For me, I loved the potato chip idea. It was salty and sweet and added a funny crunch to the dessert. Overall, I enjoyed the quirky menu at Cupcake Central, but have to add that I felt that the cupcakes were a bit dry compared to some other places that I'd visited before. They were also quite dense and rich, as mentioned before. While I prefer my cupcakes soft, some of my friends really like the cupcakes from here...so I leave the final verdict in your hands after you try it!

The first time I visited was a Sunday, hence the morning lull. But the second time I came around, it was quite busy, so I suggest a morning visit if you want to enjoy the pretty settings. The service was relatively friendly and fast, though it does seem to depend on the number of people that are there and the person doing the serving...But there are definately some friendly faces...see one waving in my picture? 

Ratings 

Service: 6.5/10
Ambience: 9/10
Food: 14/20

Is it worth visiting? It's in a convienent location and offers a range of quirky flavours
Price range: $ (You're looking at less than $5 per cupcake depending on size) 

Magnum Pleasure Store

Sorry for the looong hiatus! It's been a hectic year so far - I've been studying, interning, working and volunteering, which has taken up all my time. But I'm going to make time for food, brunch and blogging again! I'm working out a system to fit everything in and looking for foodie friends to hang with me (I'm in an odd situation where most of my friends are either not foodies or not in Melbourne. It's v. sad :( If you'd like to make friends with a lonely foodie, please contact me!)

Despite my lack of food adventures of late, I've been hanging around the Magnum Pleasure Store at the Myer Emporium. It's a pop-up shop that makes customised magnum ice-creams. You choose your ice-cream flavour, what chocolate you want to dip it in and then top it up with 3-4 toppings and decide what chocolate you want to drizzle over it. It's already been to many cities across the world including Rome, Paris, Shanghai and Sydney...but we finally have it in Melbourne until the 10th of August, 2014!

Have you guys been yet? I'm going to admit sheepishly that I've been a few times already because my sister wanted to go after I'd already been. Here's what we created...

This pretty dark chocolate one was my sister's. She loves pistachios and dark chocolate, but her design was inspired by a design made by some guy before us in the queue who had many admiring gazes due to the nice colour palette of his Magnum. I opted for white chocolate and went crazy with toppings cause I couldn't make a decision and wanted to try everything! But here's what I ended up with:

It was an explosion of tangy blueberry chips, crunchy pistachio pieces and fragrant roses. Rich and chocolately, sweet and tangy, crunchy with lots of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate and cool vanilla ice-cream. So Delicious. So. Much. Joy. No wonder they call it a Pleasure store.

Anyway, as I mentioned before, I'd been to the Magnum pop-up shop once before I went with my sister. It was the second time that I'd visited the Emporium and I'd just taken the lift up when I found the store. So of course I had to try it! This was my first pick - a mass of milk chocolate, honeycomb chips, coconut, rose petals and vanilla crumble. I liked this combination - sweet and super crunchy with honeycomb and vanilla everywhere! The large coconut flakes and chocolate also reminded me of a Bounty bar (which is one of my favourites).

Each ice-cream costs $8 to design and the staff take you through the options. There's all sorts of cool toppings  - including dried pineapple, salted pretzels and roasted almonds.

The store is pretty easy to find if you enter into the Emporium from Lonsdale Street - just take the esculator up and you'll find it there waiting for you... But be prepared to queue if you visit after work or on the weekends. The line seems to be getting longer these days. But maybe it's because the clock is ticking...as mentioned before, it's only on until the 10th of August!

The Brûlée Cart

Address: N/A
Phone: 0402 381 939
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBruleeCart

I love the recent food truck craze going on in Melbourne - it means that your favourite foods travel to you. No more laborious searching. It also means that your favourite foods acquire creative, quirky flavour transformations as food truck owners experiment with the items they specialise in. This applies particularly to crémé brûlée...

The Brûlée Cart travels around Melbourne bringing crémé brûlée to the people. But not just the traditional kind...these guys have whipped up delicious flavour combinations to make you drool: Lavender & Honey, Dark chocolate & Peppermint, Cherry Ripe... I always feel like trying everything offered on the menu and it takes me a loooong time to come to a decision...but I've been lucky enough to visit The Brûlée Cart with friends and we usually try a few different brûlées between us. 

I've only ever caught the Brulee Cart at Federation Square (a convienent place for me as I'm around that way a lot). They're often there for The Flavour exchange, a quarterly wine-tasting/ food event held in The Atrium of Federation Sqaure. In our excitement, my friend and I tried both the combinations on offer which were French vanilla with strawberries and Ginger dark chocolate.

French vanilla was lovely. It was rich, but not over-powering; sweet, but not sickening and it went well with the strawberries which were a bit tart.

Next was the Ginger dark chocolate. I was surprised by this flavour- it was spicey in a gingerbready way; aromatic, pleasant and it gave the dark chocolate flavour a kick. I had expected this to be an 'acquired taste' for those prefered their desserts tasting different (i.e. bitter or hot) - but that wasn't the case at all! It was a chocolate concoction that reminded me of nutella, ginger biscuits and chocolate pudding combined into one.

On another visit, my friend and I shared a Salted caramel and popcorn brûlée. It's been my favourite flavour so far...though I'm probably biased as I pretty much always opt for salted caramel when given a choice. The saltiness in the dessert was subtle, but it brought out a lovely sweetness in the custard. When topped with caramel-coated popcorn, what was not to love?

If you're looking to satisfy your sweeth tooth, I would recommend The Brûlée Cart. Finding this little food truck is quite easy. Just follow The Brûlée Cart on Facebook :) They generally post their schedules via status updates. You'll spot their distinctive blue trailer easily enough...or just follow the scent of caramelised sugar wafting in the air...

Ratings

Service: 9/10
Ambience: N/A
Food: 19/20

Is it worth visiting? Of course it is!
Price range: $ (You're looking at $8 per cup)