In all of its cream-frosted and gold-leafed glory, Love, Quinch is run by 23-year-old Quincherville Villaneuva, a pastry chef who bakes delicious treats from her home in Quezon City. With its edible decorations and aesthetic branding, it definitely succeeds in standing out from the other cupcakes you can find in Metro Manila. Look, I’m no cupcake connoisseur, but the treats are delicious as they are beautiful.
Love, Quinch’s assorted cupcakes came to me in a baby pink box with a pearlescent ribbon on top. If you follow its Instagram page, you’ll see photo after photo of the same pretty-in-pink packaging. Scroll down a little bit more, and you’d find photos of spreads of baked goods surrounded by tea cups and silverware enough to run the tea party of your dreams. It’s cute and feminine without having to be so in-your-face about it.
But for every beautiful cupcake and pastry we’ve ever seen, many have fallen into the trap of looking great but tasting, well, okay. So while it was fun taking pictures of the box and its contents like I’m some food blogger, the real test went down when I took my first bite.
Love, Quinch’s cupcakes did not disappoint. Each one of them were in the right zone of density, every topping had its purpose for taste beyond visual appeal, and it had a very, very, very, generous amount of filling inside each cupcake.
Back to Basics, But Better: The Vanilla Creme Cupcakes
The Vanilla Creme flavor was the “plain jane” of the bunch in the best way possible. It was a vanilla-base with vanilla creme filling and a smoothly swirled helping of vanilla frosting, topped with gold edible accents and a tiny macaroon. It took a while for me to get used to the vanilla flavor because vanilla was never exactly my favorite, but this one gave the cake enough moisture to not be dry, which ultimately just melted in my mouth when paired with the frosting.
Elevated Nostalgia in a Bite: The Oreo White Chocolate Cupcakes
Oreo is my favorite supermarket-level cookie sandwich, so I was pretty excited to try this one. Basically, the cake part tastes like the sandwich part of an Oreo, the frosting is white chocolate-flavored but liberally topped with Oreo cookies, and it has a white chocolate and Oreo mixture in the center for when you bite into it. It was really fun to bite into because it wasn’t too dry nor was it too mushy. As a matter of fact, it gave that distinctly satisfying feeling you get when you dip your Oreos in a pool of milk.
Sweet Surprises: Dairy-Free Chocolate Strawberries and Cream
This whole time I’ve been talking about how Love, Quinch is absolutely spot on with the textures and flavor of the first two cupcakes. This one, however, was dairy-free. In the world of disappointment after the rise of keto and vegan desserts, I struggled to grasp how this flavor still was at the same level with the others from texture to taste. Its strawberry-filled center was surrounded by a chocolate base, all topped with strawberry frosting, edible flowers, gold accents, and a strawberry. It was a new combination to me, but a great one at that.
While I shared these cupcakes with my mom and uncle, Love, Quinch’s cupcakes are perfect for your next self-care day or even to send to the bestie you miss so much. When you remember that this is all made by a small business in Quezon City, the brand’s name really shines through. From what it looks like to how it tastes like, seeing the detail that goes into every cupcake really makes the them feel like a love letter from the owner herself.
If you’d like to check out Love, Quinch’s products, you can view their Facebook and Instagram. To find Love, Quinch and other amazing local food and beverage businesses, view our SHE-EATS page.
