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

No matter how long you think it’s been, cafe and food trends in Cairo never seem to die out – specifically that simple little thing called a cupcake. In a completely unsurprising development, another dessert place in the Ard El Golf district of Heliopolis – CupCaker Baker – has joined the the incessant cupcake craze.

Occupying a fuchsia and glass booth inside Sweet Corner, the venue is large and spacious, but a little uncomfortable and sparse as a result. All the walls are adorned with their signature garish, clashing bright pink and yellow colour scheme, making the shop space more appealing to a younger crowd.

Specialising in cupcakes (10LE-15LE/each), CupCaker Baker also offers coffee and a range of flavoured milkshakes (15LE), while customised cakes and large orders can be prepared at two days notice. Despite promising a diverse selection online, the cupcake range available at the time of our visit appeared to be the more predictable offerings. We opted for a box of six cupcakes, including strawberry, red velvet, Nutella Ferrero Rocher, cinnamon, banana with nutella and an applecious.

We also went for a mango milkshake, which, despite being made with mango ice-cream, was disappointing; incredibly smooth and milky, but lacking a distinct mango taste.

The cupcakes were also somewhat disappointing; although each topping was generous and fluffy, the cupcake bases were far from the best we’ve had. Both the strawberry and banana cupcakes tasted – and looked – sickeningly artificial. Recommended for the very sweet toothed, the generous spread and fillings of Nutella in both the Ferrero Rocher and the banana options were almost enough to induce diabetes. Despite the slightly dry sponge, the red velvet tasted the best as it sported a flavourful, buttery icing. Our least favourite was the cinnamon; although there was a strong tang of cinnamon and a fluffy cream topping, the sponge was both dry and oddly grainy. Lastly, the applecious was an interesting combination of vanilla sponge, bitter chocolate chips, apple icing and sticky caramel sauce.

Unfortunately, with an overload of artificial flavourings, CupCaker Baker appears out of its depth amongst the overabundance of renowned cupcake places in the city.