The best cafés in Singapore for dessert

The Scandinavian-themed, wood-toned interior makes for an inviting and homey space. Tuck into Dainty cookies ($2.80), called småkager, as they are clearly the star of the show. Other eight different bites are also are available, including orange and chocolate, cinnamon-scented hazelnut, meringue-topped passionfruit, and chocolate brightened with calamansi. These small sweets are perfect with a pot of warm brew ($6.50), or the iced Garden of Eden ($7) bursting with an elegant floral aroma. Don't wait, pull up a rattan-backed chair, and settle down in a sun-drenched corner under the skylight.

Best known for their handcrafted pastries that offer as much visual appeal as palate pleasures, definitely try the new intricate Caramelia Banana Cake. Consisting of three contrasting layers of a lemon caramel crumble base, chocolate cake with confit banana, and a lashing for sweet caramel chocolate mousse that hugs a sea salt caramel core. But if you've been a long-time fan of Tuxedo, be sure to pick up their evergreen signatures of the iconic Hazelnut Chocolate Éclair, freshly baked buttery French croissants and Pain au Chocolat while you're there.

There’s nothing plain about this humble café tucked away in the quiet Serangoon neighbourhood. Drop by for its swiss rolls, which promises fluffy egg rolls rolled together with creamy fillings. Those hankering for the good ol’ classic will enjoy the Original Crème ($4.90), but flavours (from $5.90) that include matcha, early grey, Thai milk tea, and yuzu are just as enjoyable. A small selection of coffee and tea are also available for you to enjoy a leisure afternoon treat.

Freshly churned gelato are hidden from sight at Dopa Dopa Creamery. Instead, the various flavours are stored in the shop’s special ponzetti – just like how the Italian gelato shops do. With each order, the frozen treat is whipped by hand to make it more ‘springy’ and elastic. Sample it as it is, in waffle cones, or sandwiched between flaky croissants. Our favourite: the home-roasted pistachio that’s toasty in colour and flavour. 

Led by the Les Amis group’s head baker, Tarte by Cheryl Koh creates awe-inducing tarts that are a delight to consume. Prices might be a little steep ($10 for an individual tart), but each circle comes well-composed with colourful toppings and buttery crusts. Fruity inspirations take the lead, with favourites such as candied kumquat on citrus curd, Tasmanian cherry compote with cinnamon crumble, and clementines paired with yuzu cream. For the chocolate-lovers, there’s also the macadamia tart with 41% milk chocolate ganache, and another made from 66% dark chocolate.

You might already know that this famous homegrown bakery serves up stellar bakes of croissants ($3.50) and pastries. But you might not know about its off-the-menu secret kaya ($0.50), available only upon request. Fresh pandan juice, coconut milk, caster sugar, and egg is emulsified with virgin coconut oil to create a soufflé-like consistency. But if you’re looking for something more hearty, order the sweet stack of waffles ($21). The base of 100% sourdough waffles, made from an ancient 158-year-old starter, comes crowned with fresh mangoes and lemongrass chantilly cream. But if your tastebuds are craving something salty, the airy waffles can also be made savoury ($23) with the addition of bacon and honey ricotta ($23). 

If popular Toa Payoh ice cream café Creamier is too inaccessible for your dessert fix, find an alternative in Sunday Folks, the brand’s breezier dessert bar at Chip Bee Garden (sorry, Easties). Bestsellers include earl grey lavender and sea salt gula melaka ($7.90 each in cone/cup), which you can finish with toppings such as sea salt chocolate honeycomb, honey-toasted granola and handmade gula melaka mochi alongside sauces like miso caramel and chocolate hazelnut. Waffles start from $10 with one topping – or just go all out with the $17 option, complete with three toppings, a generous swirl of ice cream and two slices of waffles. To coerce you to stay a little longer, the café also brews coffee ($4-$8) out of a La Marzocco machine and offers Franklin & Sons sodas ($6.50), Gryphon tea ($6) and Hitachino Nest beers ($13). 

You'll find this joint packed to the gills with the well-dressed set on weekends. They're probably there for the desserts. The prudently sweetened waffles, drizzled in salted caramel and vanilla ice cream ($12.50), are the perfect counterpoint to the silky, well-built cuppas (from $3.50). Other sweet brunch plates are also worth sharing, like the Summer French Toast ($21) with tea-poached pears and hotcakes with lemon curd ($14.50). 

This Halal cake brand has grown to two takeaway outlets in the city, but you’ll want to retreat into its cottage-like Jalan Besar flagship for a sweet treat. The cakes here look bang on trend, but use recipes inspired by owner Shannon Lua’s grandmother.

As-seen-on-Pinterest tiered cakes (from $280), frosted minimally between layers and dressed with foliage and fruits, are the hot order for weddings and birthdays. Butter Studio’s also a whiz at matching trendy ingredients. Milo and Speculoos? Check. Salted caramel and red velvet? Hell yeah. A slice goes for $7.90, with the option to add ice cream at $4 a scoop, and cupcakes start at $3.50 a pop.
 
And if you must pad your stomach with savouries before the sweet, pick from the menu of standards like eggs Benny ($15), turkey bacon melt French toast ($13), and sausage lover’s platter ($16), available at lunch and late into dinnertime. Butter Studio’s open ’til midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, so definitely count this as an alternative to a Swee Choon supper pig out.

Cake Spade has moved to a bigger space down the row of shophouses in Tanjong Pagar, decked with retro, quirky interiors and a pink neon sign that screams, ‘I want it all’. And it’s hard not to when faced with a phalanx of cake slices from strawberry tofu cheesecakes to Speculoos cookie butter cheesecakes ($6.90/slice). The giant cake shakes ($16.90) will make you weak at the knees, too: think milkshakes stacked with wafers, cake bits, sprinkles and so much treacly stuff it’s amazing these mason jars don’t topple over. Order the unicorn cake shake, with a towering swirl of cotton candy on a rainbow-sprinkled cone, and you’ll understand.

There are also sugar rush-inducing desserts like an Oreo cookie brownie ($3.80), apple cinnamon crumble ($5.50) and passion fruit meringue tart ($7.50). And if a special occasion calls for it, order a customised cake (from $60) and make it every bit as decadent and voluptuous as Cake Spade’s flamingo decor.

Creamier has made a name for itself whipping up some of the best ice cream on the island. But we’re not only talking about its strangely comforting flavours like sea salt gula Melaka, Thai milk tea and roasted pistachio ($3.30/single scoop, $5.60/double scoop). The dessert itself is flawless: not too dense and not too light, its texture delicately coats the tongue without leaving behind a cloying finish. That the ice cream isn’t too sweet is yet another plus point. The Belgian waffles ($6) are worth a return trip, too. They’re served in stacked pairs, and while you can easily crush them alone, do yourself a favour by adding a scoop ($8.80). 

The French pâtisserie carries a spread of sweets for your picking, but its made-to-order soufflés are reason enough to return. The Guanaja Chocolate option ($18.50) does no wrong – it’s decadent but retains the texture of a good soufflé, with gently bitter notes to cut through any cloyingness. Crack the top of your soufflé, drizzle a little sauce into its aerated centre, then tuck into mouthfuls of the warm chocolatey stuff. 

Pretty cakes paired with exquisite teas, all housed in a beautifully decorated space adorned with handpainted floral murals – that's what you can expect from Nesuto Patisserie. Helmed by Alicia Wong, the head pastry chef who's spent five years in Capella's kitchen, Nesuto serves cakes, entremets and plated desserts alongside tea pairings by Antea Social. Our favourites include the Noisette Rocher, Wong's take on a Ferrero Rocher made from hazelnut praline mousse, Guanaja 70% ganache and a caramalised hazelnut feuilletine for an added crunch. For something lighter, opt for the yuzu raspberry. The light yuzu meringue and delicate Japanese cotton sponge feel like a cloud on the tongue, with a slight tartness from the raspberries coming through.

Run by Cordon Bleu trained Gwen Lim, PatisserieG might possibly offer some of the best cakes in Singapore. Ingredients directly imported from France ensure desserts of the highest quality – featuring the G Spot Cake ($9), its signature dessert piece. They also offer artisan coffees and a wide range of pastries and macarons ($3 a piece).

Platters of pastries and cakes tempt your taste buds as you enter Plain Vanilla Bakery, but resist that because you’re here for one purpose: to capture those cupcakes, squash them between your teeth, reduce them to a sticky, gooey clump.

Choose from a dozen flavours ($3.90 each): chocolate hazelnut’s a bold, Nutella-fuelled prize crowned with more nuts; red velvet’s made with Valrhona chocolate and capped with a thick cream cheese frosting; and cookies and cream’s a chocolatey affair with smashed Oreos weaved into its frosting. You’ll want to collect ’em all, we promise.