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

Since the start of the cupcake craze in Cairo, there seems to be a running competition of who can create the most colourful, eye catching shop in which to display their sweet creations. Vanilla Beans at Downtown Mall in Katameya is no exception, with a jolly, playful colour-scheme adorning their little shop. Although there’s nothing wrong with their plight to be the best, we can’t help feeling a little exasperated about yet another cake shop opening up in the city.

The well-organised window display shows off an array of custom-made cakes for every occasion, making it a difficult to ignore. As the shop itself is long rather than wide, seating is limited to a couple of tables stretched across the sides, with high stools for seating. Sliding glass wall cabinets are used as well as the main display cabinet to show off an impressive range of cupcakes, brownies (15LE), cookies (12LE), cake lollipops (12LE) and larger, shareable tarts (100LE+). Unfortunately, one of the wall cabinets was smashed at one end, leading us to question the freshness of some the products. 

The cupcakes come in both regular (15LE) and mini sizes (4.50LE) and the prices of the bigger cakes are determined by their size. Custom cakes should be ordered at least two days in advance, as should the fondue. Their attractive cupcake boxes can hold five mini, or six and twelve regular sized cupcakes. 

Along with the typical sweet flavours, Vanilla Beans distinguishes itself with more unusual fruity types; both blueberry and raspberry mini cupcakes took our fancy. Both were indeed flavourful and fruity; though the soft sponge base is small, each is topped with a generous amount of creamy cheese frosting. A refreshing carrot cupcake with cream frosting hit the spot, along with their tasty red velvet creation. Of course, we had to try the usual Oreo and Twix cupcakes (15LE each) and although they were every bit the soft, gooey chocolate creations we had envisaged, they transpired to be nothing out of the ordinary. 

We couldn’t resist a vanilla cake pop (12LE) either, which was possibly even more delicious than all the cupcakes combined. It was covered with a solid, crisp icing which encased the perfectly fluffy vanilla filling; be warned though, only the very sweet-toothed can handle it.

Vanilla Beans is steadily competing in the world of cupcakes by adding some interesting flavours to their menu and helps bring the sought-after dessert a little closer to New Cairo.