There’s been much initial buzz surrounding hyper realistic cakes with the opening of Cédric Grolet’s patisserie in Singapore two months ago. That hype has since died down with nary a queue seen at his Orchard Road outlet lately after complaints of a recent price hike of his already steep pastry prices. The French chef’s artful confections resembling real fruits are famous on social media. Some hyper realistic creations you can find at his Singapore outlet include the Mango Trompe L'oeil ($26), mirroring the actual tropical fruit and Vanilla Bean ($26), a sweet replica of the fragrant pod. Too expensive for your taste? Here’s a more wallet-friendly version — sorta — you can try.

Local bakery Aimer La Patisserie, which opened its first outlet at Aperia mall in July, is offering a selection of apple-themed French desserts for Christmas. Of these, the highlight is the Christmas Apple ($9), a fruity entremet (a petite, multi-layered French confection) that looks a lot like Cédric Grolet’s signature Red Apple (€17, about S$24.79) sold at his Leu Meurice outlet in Paris. 

Cédric Grolet’s Red Apple (left) vs Aimer La Patisserie’s Christmas Apple (right)

Apple-themed desserts “not inspired by Cédric's”

Despite the obvious resemblance, the patisserie’s PR rep tells 8days.sg that the apple confection was “not inspired by Cédric's”. Instead, she explains that Kristina took inspiration for her apple-shaped desserts from her own festive customs, as “during Christmas in China, she celebrates with apple-themed desserts 'cos apples are emblematic of peace”. 

8days.sg sampled the pastry shop’s apple-themed Christmas collection.

Christmas Apple, $9 each

Aimer La Patisserie’s highly glossed, smooth apple cake is like a Candyland version of Cédric's, which appears more realistic with its duller, textured skin. Aimer’s version is also a lot creamier. It’s about two-thirds the size of a regular apple. We cut through its thin white chocolate shell, past a super thick layer of apple-infused cream and zesty Granny Smith apple and peach core. While the cream was a bit too much, it was light and moreish and paired quite well with the juicy, slightly crunchy fruit filling stewed with dill. Is It anything like Cédric Grolet’s? We can’t say as his apple confection isn’t available in Singapore yet. But while this looks less refined than the Frenchman’s version, it still is rather fun to eat or gift this festive season, even if it’s slightly gimmicky.  

Pistachio Pomme Log Cake, $108; feeds around 10 pax

The only pistachio element in this log cake is in the thin layers of green sponge cake underscoring it. While there are some nutty hints, the tangy apple filling is more prominent. It's frosted with a very generous layer of vanilla cream and has a lightly crisp sable biscuit base. The cake is decorated with three apple pom poms, adorable mini versions of the Christmas Apple (these look more like cherries, actually). If we had to choose which confection to indulge in, it’ll be this one as it tastes more balanced and looks cute for a party dessert.

Aimer La Patisserie is located at #01-42 Aperia Mall, 12 Kallang Ave, S339511. Open daily 8.30am - 8.30pm. Tel: 9734 1513. More info via website. Apple dessert and log cakes available till 31 Dec 2023, pre-order two days in advance.

Photos: Aimer La Patisserie, Cédric Grolet Le Meurice, Gwyn Lim

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