L.E. Cafe Confectionery & Pastry: Nostalgic old-school bakery’s original Beancurd Tarts are a must-try
Ever since I was a little girl, my mother had been bringing home little desserts— egg tarts, kueh lapis, cakes and more. On one fateful day, she brought home Beancurd Tarts from L.E. Cafe Confectionery & Pastry. The box of Beancurd Tarts was definitely life changing.
Till this day, I can still remember that memorable experience, and every single time my mum brought home desserts, I would always ask if they were the beancurd tarts, to which she would say no, and I would be a little disappointed.
These tarts hold a special place in my heart and I can safely say that I grew up eating them. I am not a dao hui lover as I dislike beancurd drinks or beancurd pudding. However, these beancurd tarts are out-of-this-world, and everyone should know about them.
The unsuspecting store is located along a road near Little India, and the outside is decked with pictures of all the goodies they sell within, including the one item I came here for— the beancurd tarts. The interior was pretty cosy, with just a counter where people could order from.
What I tried at L.E. Cafe Confectionery & Pastry
I got the Mixed Beancurd Tarts 8 Pcs (S$13), which came with seven different flavours: two Original, one Longan, one Peanuts, one Grass Jelly, one Red Bean, one Gingko Nut & White Fungus, and one Egg White. This gives one a variety of flavours to try from, with different textures in each tart.
The Original Beancurd Tart was my favourite.
The beancurd itself was fragrant and slightly sweet, and its texture was soft and silky and it went down my throat smoothly. As for the crust, it was light and buttery. The Original Beancurd Tart is a no-fail recipe, and from back then until now, it has tasted relatively the same.
The other flavours had basically the same beancurd filling, just with cubes of grass jelly or pieces of longan inside them. They did not really add much to the flavour of each tart, thus I preferred the Original Beancurd Tart.
The Durian Beancurd Tarts 8 Pcs (S$14) at L.E. Cafe Confectionery & Pastry came with eight durian beancurd tarts.
Upon opening the box, the subtle aroma of durian wafted from the tarts. Truly, this was what I’ve been missing— durian. My family does not eat durian apart from the annual durian season, where they would aptly buy multiple durians at once and finish them all in a day.
There was Mao Shan Wang durian puree drizzled over the top of the tarts, which was pungent and delicious. The inner beancurd was silky smooth and infused with Mao Shan Wang durian puree too, which resulted in a lighter, more milky durian taste which paired well with the topped durian puree. It is definitely a rare combination— beancurd and durian, but they go well with each other and were delightful to taste.
Overall, the Durian Beancurd Tart is definitely polarising due to Singaporean’s love-hate relationship with durian, but as I do enjoy durian, I will be going back to order more.
It was my first time ordering Rumball 10 pcs (S$12.90) at L.E. Cafe Confectionery & Pastry and it was definitely a good idea. One box contained 10 rum balls, and they looked like chocolate eggs.
When I first tried it, it was soft to bite into, so I thought that it had melted due to the long journey home and decided to put it in the fridge for it to “harden” up.
After two hours, I tried it again, and it was as easy to bite into as before. It was so interesting to see that the chocolate outer covering was not hard at all! This meant that one would not be struggling to bite as with some hard chocolate balls, where the outer chocolate is tough to break through.
My teeth sank into the rumball easily as the inside was fudge-like, and had an almost cookie dough-esque texture that was decadent. The chocolate was sweet and the fudge was balanced out with the alcohol. The rum was mixed within the chocolate fudge and the alcohol taste was light and not overbearing at all.
The rumballs were addictive. Once I finished the first piece, I found myself naturally reaching for the second one. However, you do need water to go with this, as after finishing two pieces, my throat started to feel a little dry. Therefore, these little chocolate balls should be eaten in moderation.
Final thoughts
L.E. Cafe Confectionery & Pastry has won me over with its nostalgia, and also with their delicious desserts. I grew up with the beancurd tarts, and I have to say that even after all these years, it’s one of the best tarts I have ever eaten.
Expected damage: S$12.90 – S$14 per pax
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