Cupcake Central make, hands down, my favourite cupcakes in Melbourne. And believe me, I’ve put in a lot of groundwork (read: eaten a lot of cupcakes) in supplement of this statement. I first visited a few months after the initial Hawthorn store opened in 2010, whereupon a friend and I proceeded to try every single cupcake flavour on offer that day. Yes, we were full to near bursting – but in the most gloriously happy way.
Cupcake Central’s cupcakes are fresh, light and fluffy. Kind of like cloudy little pieces of heaven. You’ll find favourites like Salted Caramel, Vanilla Vanilla and Red Velvet on offer every day, plus a batch of exciting seasonal flavours – the current summer menu boasting the likes of Golden Gaytime, Pavlova and Baklava – baked on alternate days throughout the week. The autumn menu will be appearing next week, so you can bet I’ll be keeping a keen eye on Cupcake Central’s Facebook page and Instagram feed for a first look at the new flavours! The weekly baking schedule features on their website, making for easy scheming for cupcake conquering.
It’s Friday, however, when I most anticipate an update from the holy cupcake deity. Fridays are Surprise Flavour Fridays, and feature a one-day-only flavour that’s usually experimental and fantastically decadent. Pictured above is the cupcake that, just this past Friday, quite literally made me leave my house and venture to Melbourne Central for the sole purpose of consuming such a baked beauty. Inspired by the French pastry ‘Paris Brest’, this is a classic vanilla bean cake filled with handmade chocolate custard and topped with a crown of choux pastry, custard and a drizzle of melted chocolate. Um. Yum. Other past creations have included a layered Oreo and Peanut Butter Brownie cupcake, Strawberry Pop-Tart, Caramel Meringue Choc-Top, and Strawberry-Lime Rekorderlig Cider.
It’s been amazing and endearing seeing Cupcake Central grow from that first Hawthorn store. There are now stores in Melbourne Central and Highpoint (wonderfully located for me!) and owners Sheryl and Tin have maintained a really genuine, fun and actually quite inspiring level of integrity in the brand. I had the pleasure of meeting Sheryl way back in 2011 during another all-you-can-eat cupcake adventure, captured most lovingly in the heyday of my video blogging career – take a peek here for some retro Cupcake Central (and some retro Terri!)!
The high quality of product and service across all three stores is also wonderfully consistent. I’ve been particularly impressed with the Melbourne Central and Highpoint stores, which still manage to create a really unique and welcoming space midst the craziness of a busy shopping centre. I can wholeheartedly confirm that the solace of sitting down with a cupcake and coffee during a Highpoint run is a comforting one indeed! These stores also run a variety of cupcake baking and decorating classes – details can be found here.
Cupcake Central is fuelled by passion and innovation, and has flourished well beyond the ‘cupcake craze’. It’s come a long way over the past few years, which makes me very excited to see what’s in store next!
Cupcake Central Hawthorn | Shop 7, 672 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, VIC 3122
Open | Mon – Fri : 7.30am – 6.3opm (full range of cupcakes avail. from 9.00am), Sat – Sun: 10.00am – 5.30pm
Cupcake Central Melbourne Central | Level 2 Dining Hall, Melbourne Central, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Open | Mon – Thu : 10.00am – 7.00pm, Fri : 10.00am – 9.00pm, Sat – Sun: 10.00am – 6.00pm
Cupcake Central Highpoint | Shop 2561, Level 2 Fresh Food Hall, Highpoint Shopping Centre, 100/200 Rosamond Road, Maribyrnong, VIC 3032
Open | Mon – Wed : 9.00am – 5.30pm, Thu : 9.00am – 8.00pm, Fri : 9.00am – 9.00pm, Sat : 9.00am – 6.00pm, Sun: 10.00am – 6.00pm
