The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

The Nola Truck and the featured image are courtesy of Nola – Facebook. Article images: Nelly Ezz

NOLA Cupcakes took Cairo by storm when it first opened some years back; it was a cupcake pioneer by all definitions. The NOLA philosophy is simple: They aim to please, and with a lot of innovative efforts, their cupcakes have been an on-going food trend for a good few years. These days, NOLA are all over Egypt; from branches spread throughout the capital and Alexandria, to shops open in Assiut, Mansoura, Sohag, Tanta, Portsaid, and more.

We recently spotted a NOLA Cupcakes truck parked in front of Total gas station and McDonald’s inside Sheikh Zayed. The cute, colourful vehicle is quite eye-catching to everyone who is passing through this area; after a few days, we finally decided to give it a try.

One evening as we were passing, we parked right in front of the truck and started to look at their fridge for our late-night sweet treat. We first decided to get two classic cupcake flavours; the Seyami Blueberry cupcake (20LE) and the Salted Caramel cupcake (22LE). The cakes part was tasty and fluffy; however, the toppings were a bit debatable. The blueberry jam and cream on the Seyami cupcake were heavy and too sugary, and the Salted Caramel cupcake’s toppings were also lacking flavour. The salty taste didn’t come through while the caramel bits were hardly edible. 

Then we began to shift our attention to the mini cakes. We opted for a Mini Oreo Snickers (75LE) – chocolate cake, peanut butter, chocolate cream cheese, and Oreo biscuits. This cake’s sugar levels were much better; the chocolate cake was fluffy and fresh, while the peanut butter complemented the cream perfectly. If we had one comment, it would be that the Snickers bits on top felt tough to bite into. Our sweet tooth was beyond satisfied, but we wanted to give their macaroons a try before leaving. We got one Pistachio (8LE) and one Raspberry (8LE). Macaroons are a deceptively hard treat to make; the slightest of matters can affect their quality and so, for us, the macaroons did not make a big impression. They were too sugary and didn’t taste fresh (possibly because they had been in the fridge all day); however, aesthetically, they looked good and were quite Instagramable.

Overall, our late-night run to the NOLA truck was enjoyable. The cake and cupcakes were fresh, and as for the sugar levels, we think it’s very subjective – it differs from one person to another. However, what we understood was that some items stay fresh in the fridge while others really don’t, but all in all, we had fun trying Egypt’s beloved cupcake franchise on wheels.