Far beyond the vanilla veil at the Velvet Cake Co

All images © Velvet Cake Co.

All images © Velvet Cake Co.

When you think of cake flavours, ‘vanilla’ is probably one of the first words to pop into your mind. But the Velvet Cake Co – with branches on trendy Long Street and in the more business-buzzy Tygerberg side of Durbanville, is making ‘velvet’ the top cake-associated v-word.

Not only is each cake a complete work of art on its own, but seen on display altogether in the cosy store can be a little overwhelming. There’s also a coffee pod station, offering clever coffee-cupcake pairings at just R40. Which Cape-based cupcake-lover’s interest didn’t perk up at that?

I created the following slideshow of some of the prettier cakes on display when we attended the sneak preview media launch at the Durbanville branch last week ago and our eyes got wider the more we slowly turned around to take in all the tones, textures and tangs...

Speaking of flavours, goodness me but customers are spoilt for choice! Among the bites of offer there’s metallic toasted meringue, classic red velvet, the richest chocolate, nutty carrot and amazing Billionaire’s Cheesecake slices and milktart cupcakes. Dry, crumbly and boring baked goods are a no-no here, with everything as moist and velvety as can be. We persisted in finding out their secret – while normal sponge cakes are made of milk and flour that specific smooth creaminess is all about the buttermilk, the core ingredient of a velvet cake.

From cupcakes to cakes in cups

Their website promises cakes for every occasion and boy, do they mean it! The latest freshly baked cake creations include Heritage Day-themed ‘cakes in cups’. We were presented with pretty Typo pens and voting forms to rate these according to our favourites.

All images © Velvet Cake Co.

Mine was the ystervarkie with luscious bits of lamington. No wait, it was the traffic light-bright rainbow nation. That’s not right, I distinctly remember closing my eyes and savouring the koeksister-and-custard cup. Or was it the caramelly peppermint crisp chocolate that left my tastebuds begging for more?

All images © Velvet Cake Co.

click to enlarge

All images © Velvet Cake Co.

click to enlarge

I honestly can’t say. Pop in and decide for yourself throughout the month of September. Perfect for a bridal shower, afternoon tea or just a quick pick-me-up on the way to work, they’re also offer a limited edition six-layered ‘BOO!’ cake for Halloween that you can purchase whole online or buy a slice in-store.

The Velvet Cake Co is also listed on the Advance app ecosystem, which lets fans order their favourite artisanal and handcrafted goods from local producers like the Velvet Cake Co either online or using the app, and then collect them in-store.

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15 May 2017

Also follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Your mouth will be watering within seconds, sugar-rush-through-the-screen guaranteed. I'm sure they'll make you a plain-vanilla cake if you ask really nicely and they try very hard not to add any extra flourishes and surprises...