So you think you’re daring? Think you can handle bacon or even satay (complete with peanut sauce) in your cake? Some of these creations are bold, some are strange, and some are outright outrageous. The best part of it all is that if it all goes wrong, you’re only two bites away from the next one.

Bandung

Where: Cupcake Engineer (#01-03A, 501 Bukit Timah Rd., Cluny Court, 9647-4372)

Price: $4

Yes, bandung does have a bad reputation for being excessively sweet and overtly fragranced, but the folks at Cupcake Engineer get this flavour pitch perfect. This cupcake is simple, well-balanced, and good. The base is a rose-fragrances cake topped with their signature buttercream which is, again, infused with rose. The frosting, they claim, “is the lightest, airiest, heavenliest, frosting you’ll ever want on a cupcake”. And by God, we can’t disagree.

Bounty

Where: Swirls (#01-08, 8 Rodyk St., 6634-4765)

Price: $4.25

Junk food-loving, sweet-toothed chef, Nigella Lawson, would love this one. It’s a candy bar and a cupcake all in one. This dessert pays homage to the classic chocolate bar, Bounty, and how we love it! It all starts with a gorgeous chocolate cake which it topped with coconut buttercream. It’s then sprinkled with coconut flakes and topped with a real, healthy chunk of Bounty. This is a Swirls special, so check if it’s available before you pop into the shop. If not, place an order for a dozen, and it’s yours.

Kaya Pandan Cheese

Where: Fluff Bakery (12 Jalan Pisang)

Price: $4

If you’re not yet a die-hard fan of cult cupcake company, Fluff Bakery, after a taste of one of their best-sellers, the Kaya Pandan Cheese cupcake, we’re sure you will be. Fluff is known for their moist, light, and yes, fluffy, cakes with spot-on flavours that are exciting and delicious. In the nicely-coloured pandan cake, there’s a piped-in core of kaya spread. The cake is then finished off with airy whipped cream and gratings of cheddar cheese. Although it’s an unusual taste combination, it actually works!

Gula Melaka

Where: Twelve Cupcakes (#B4-33 ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn)

Price: $3

Twleve Cupcakes usually stick to classic flavour combinations, but this one is a little different. Their Gula Melaka cupcake is a blatant tribute to local flavours and perhaps an ode to the country that gave them much success (they’re now in Manila, Jakarta, Taipei, Hong Kong, and KL). It’s a lovely, subtle creation – there’s the dense cake fragranced with pandan, the coconut filling, toasted coconut flakes, and of course, the gula melaka frosting.

Photo: Jennifer Yeo

Maple and Bacon (top pic)

Where: Maple & Market (#01-82, 34 Cassia Crescent, 6348-8068)

Price: $4.50

The marriage between maple syrup and bacon has long been celebrated over the the United States, but it’s a relatively new combo over here. Pinterest-worthy neighborhood bakery, Maple & Market have done this love affair justice with their Maple and Bacon cupcake. The good-sized cake is slightly spiced and topped with a tinge of sweet frosting, pecans, and browned segments of maple-glazed bacon. This treat really toes the line between sweet and savoury.

Popped

Where: My Dessert Cup (#B1-73, Raffles City Shopping Centre, 6468-2838)

Price: $4.50

We hope this one isn’t too corny for you! My Dessert Cup makes one a-maize-ing cupcake, Popped. It’s a heartfelt ode to the golden crop. The foundation of this creation is built upon a moist and fluffy corn cake which is topped with a bright yellow savoury corn-flavoured cream and finished off with whole pieces of freshly-popped popcorn.

Satay Club

Where: One Cupcake A Day

Price: $3.50 each with a minimum order of six

The guys behind One Cupcake a Day are the masters of savoury (and halal) cupcakes. This online bakery offers some of the strangest yet temptingly delicious flavour combinations. We admit that it’s not for every palate, but we love them because they’re probably the only ones out there at the moment with enough cheek to do what they do. The seven stomach-churning flavours available include Gado-Gado/Satay Club (a vanilla cake with beef satay, peanut sauce, fish crackers, and clove buttercream), Rainy Day (a tomato “soup” cake with cinnamon apple, butter waffle, and mocha frosting), and Maharani (spicy chocolate cake with beef curry, fried shallots, and mashed potato frosting). Taste with caution!

Speculoos and Nutella

Where: Oni Cupcakes (#01-02, 26 China St., Far East Square, 6557-0108)

Price: $5.50

Now, there are two things are every self-respecting dessert-lover has in their pantry: a jar of Nutella and a jar of Speculoos Cookie Butter. Oni Cupcakes have combined these two items of perfection for one epic dessert. This cupcake is built upon a classic vanilla cake which encases a generous amount of Speculoos Cookie Butter. This decadence is then finished off with dollops of Nutella buttercream. It’s ready for your oozing pleasure.

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