Ex-Teacher Who Disliked Banana Bread Accidentally Creates Best Version We’ve Ever Had After ‘Burning’ A Batch

Her creation soon spawned an in-demand home-based biz, with launches that sold out in seconds. We knew it was likely to be good stuff when even our serious foodie pals raved about it. But we just never managed to buy some because we found it a hassle pre-ordering it online. But lucky us, Banelé opened its first brick-and-mortar shop at Chancery Court on 8 March, where you no longer need to ‘camp’ online to pre-order the cakes. 

Inspired by daughter’s love for the Ladybug Girl book series

Priscilla explains: “The older one used to love everything ladybug, so she loved the Ladybug Girl [children’s book] series. In the book, the characters make banana bread, so we were like ‘Hey, why don’t we make banana bread together?’”. 

“Really disliked banana bread” before creation of banelé

Interestingly, Priscilla says she “really disliked banana bread” at the time, but her husband, Rui Xiang Toh, 35, an orthopaedic surgeon at Singapore General Hospital, loved it. “Everywhere we went, he would keep making me try banana bread, but I find it very floury and cakey, which I don’t like, so I wanted to make a version that I would eat,” she explains.

Accidental creation of banelé after near-burning incident

Thus, she began trying out different banana bread recipes with her daughter at home, till one day, she accidentally created her first ‘banelé’ prototype. “Once, I was making banana bread and forgot about it in the oven”, Priscilla recounts. “I was like, ‘oh my god, it’s burnt!’, but when I checked, it was actually crusty on the outside, which I thought made it taste even better,” she shares. 

Mum unwittingly came up with the name ‘banelé’

At the same time, Priscilla had been baking lots of brownies too, and decided to use some of the extra chocolate in her banana bread. Thus a new star was born: a canelé-inspired thick-crusted brownie-banana bread hybrid, which we now know as a banelé. 

Priscilla admits that she doesn’t know how to bake canelés, though she often ate those made by her friend. That’s actually how the term banelé was coined - she sent her mum a batch of banelés she baked together with canelés made by her friend, and her mum, accidentally mixing the two confections up, “gave feedback that she really enjoyed the ‘banelé’, because she thought [they] gave her banana canelés”. How cute. 

Besides the charred crust, Priscilla says her banelés don’t employ the use of any typical canelé ingredients, like rum.

Invested $100K into shop

Following Banelé’s online success, Priscilla decided to open a physical stall to cope with the increasing number of orders. “With more corporate orders, we needed a central kitchen, so we wanted to do it here”, she explains, adding that “with Covid ending, a lot of people also start wanting to walk into places, and can’t be bothered to pre-order things online anymore”. 

Priscilla and Rui Xiang invested around $100K to open the shop - a price point she feels is slightly high, but the couple chose this area near Newton because they live opposite Chancery Court. 

Furthermore, she and her family plan to relocate to Canada for a year in 2025 for her hubby to do a fellowship there, so they want the biz to be able to continue operating through a central kitchen. Priscilla bakes at Banelé daily now, but she’s training two staff to handle most of the baking independently in future.

Though they mainly operate as a takeaway shop, Banelé has two tiny flower-shaped tables that can accommodate around four people, if you’re inclined to nibble some perfectly-warmed cakes on the spot.

Decor inspired by kid’s storybook

The interior is cheery, hip and cosy, with splashes of yellow brightening the space. Priscilla says the decor is inspired by the Ladybug Girl books. The central kitchen and counter area echo the book’s storyline where “the mum and daughter take a walk along the woods and chance upon a kiosk” - hence the ‘footpath’ (pictured above) circling round the Banelé kiosk. 

The menu

Banelé’s menu remains mostly the same as before, with the exception of a new Pistachio Hazelnut flavour for their Petite Bundt, plus a range of drinks (starting at $4.90 for a black coffee) with beans sourced from Parallel Coffee Roasters. Prices have also remained the same. For now, Priscilla says they “focus on corporate and online orders”, though they bake extra for walk-in customers daily. Call ahead to check on stocks. 

There are three flavours of Banelés to choose from - Classic (with Valrhona Guanaja 70% dark chocolate, from $6.50), Almond (from $7), and Peanut Butter and Jelly (from $8.50). Petite Bundts - basically miniature versions of the Banelé start from $3.  Financiers are also sold, from $3.40 per piece. Meanwhile, a larger six-inch Bundt Cake is also available in the Original flavour for $50. 

Classic Banelé, $6.50 (8 DAYS Pick!) 

Almond Banelé, $7 

A flavour “created for the chocolate-haters”, the Almond Banelé comes with a nutty Valrhona ground almond couverture filling, which we find makes the sponge slightly sweeter. Still pretty good, but give us the classic chocolate version anyday.

PBJ Banelé, $8.50

House-made, slightly gritty peanut butter and tangy Valrhona raspberry jam filling make this a yummy treat for PBJ lovers. But that’s mostly what you taste, as the flavours of the banana bread are overshadowed here. 

Petite Bundts, from $3

Each of these adorbs munchkins are basically bite-sized versions of the banelés, with piped filling in the middle. Our favourite is the new savoury, umami Pistachio Hazelnut ($3.20) flavour. Skip the Yuzu Lavender ($3.20), which reminds us a little of potpourri. The grooves of these fluted bundts, though pretty to look at, resulted in too much crust, too little sponge. Why mess with perfection (that is the classic banelé)?

Financier, $3.40 (8 DAYS Pick!) 

Picture-perfect, golden-brown bars whipped up with a blend of French and Danish butter. The French almond cakes took Priscilla “over 100 tries” to get right. We love her obsessive drive for perfection, ’cos these financiers are absolutely on point (warm them up first if eating at home). Delicately crisp-edged, tender in the middle, positively buttery, rich and toasty. It’s right up there with the gorgeous classic banelé.  

What’s great about this small but charming brick-and-mortar shop is the fact that you can also enjoy coffee with your banelé. Black, white and oat cold brews go for $6.50 here, while a classic black or white hot coffee costs $4.90 and $5.90 respectively. We sampled a Flat White, and were pleasantly surprised by how fragrant and fruity it was for a bakery that doesn’t have proper baristas. Priscilla says they use 100% Arabica beans from Panama and Brazil from Parallel Coffee Roasters.

The details

Banelé is at #02-44 Chancery Court, 36H Dunearn Rd, S309433. Open Mon - Sat 9am - 5pm. Closed on Sun. Tel: 8011 0489. More info via their website. 

Photos: Kelvin Chia

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