Burnt Ends Bakery sits at 7 Dempsey Road, #01-01, in the greenery of Dempsey Hill, and is the bakery expression of the Burnt Ends name. It pairs a physical counter in the Dempsey enclave with a full online shop, so regulars can just as easily pick up a box in person or order doughnuts, cakes and tarts ahead through the website. The format is casual — a bright shopfront, a rotating line-up of bakes and coffee — but the finish on the pastries reflects the standards the broader Burnt Ends kitchen is known for.
The counter's calling card is its slow-proved brioche doughnuts, filled generously in flavours that range from Italian pistachio and smoked Japanese yuzu to pandan, Milo Dinosaur and Nutella. Around them sits a full bakery range: whole cakes like the New York Cheesecake and Dark Chocolate Hazelnut, tarts such as the Old Fashion Crumble Apple Tart, small-batch cookies, Earl Grey and Gruyère scones, and coffee including cold brew.
Beyond the standing range, a rotation of monthly specials and seasonal collections keeps things fresh, with limited-time bakes appearing as pre-orders. The bakery also runs a catering and corporate orders service and offers wholesale coffee, making it as much a stop for offices and events as for an afternoon box of five.
Off the main Dempsey strip, at 7 Dempsey Road, Burnt Ends Bakery does what good bakery offshoots do: it takes a celebrated kitchen's standards and translates them into things you can carry home in a box. Part of the Burnt Ends family, the bakery pairs a bright counter in Dempsey Hill with an online shop that has become a big part of how regulars buy. The restaurant works over open fire; here the tools are more domestic — butter, brioche dough, frangipane, dark chocolate — handled with the same care.
If one thing has put the bakery on people's radar, it is the brioche doughnuts. The base is slow-proved until light and airy, then filled generously. The Italian Pistachio version, packed with roasted pistachio cream, is the house's own homage to Sicily; the Smoked Japanese Yuzu comes with yuzu curd and candied peel; and the Pandan pairs pandan cream with a coconut glaze and desiccated coconut — a regional nod that sits comfortably beside a Nutella or a Tahitian vanilla cream. There is even a Milo Dinosaur, filled with Milo ganache and topped with Milo biscuit.
The easiest way in is the Slayer's Pick, a fixed assortment of five spanning the classic flavours. Those with a favourite can buy most varieties by the half dozen, the baker's dozen or a full 24 pieces, and the Pick Your Own box lets you call your own five. For purists there is always the Plain — the original brioche doughnut, no filling, no fuss.
The whole-cake line-up reads like a short list of proven crowd-pleasers. The New York Cheesecake is built on a graham cracker base with a vanilla cheesecake mix; the Dark Chocolate Hazelnut stacks mousse, ganache and sponge under a layer of crunchy hazelnut praliné; and the Strawberry, Raspberry, Vanilla White Chocolate Mousse Cake combines that mousse with a strawberry-and-raspberry 'jello', crunchy raspberry pearls and fresh fruit.
Tarts get equal attention. The Old Fashion Crumble Apple Tart — made in 8-inch and 12-inch sizes — layers Granny Smith apple filling and vanilla bean under an almond crumble on sweet pastry dough. The Seasonal Blackforest Tart, offered only for a limited time, gathers fresh cherries, almond frangipane, sour cherry jam and vanilla and white chocolate cream into an 8-inch tart. Through the year, a Seasonal Collection box assembles the bakery's newest handcrafted pastries in one set.
Cookies are sold by the half dozen or baker's dozen: a seasalt dark chocolate version; salted caramelised white chocolate with macadamia; and a brown butter chocolate chip made with 70% chocolate and brown butter. A Slayer's Pick assorted cookie box mirrors the doughnut concept for the indecisive. On the savoury side, jumbo Gruyère cheese and scallion scones are baked with buttermilk and sour cream, while the classic Earl Grey scone keeps things simple. Specials appear too — a curry chicken pie, encasing tender chicken and potatoes in buttery flaky pastry, has featured as a limited-time pre-order.
Coffee has its own corner of the shop, with cold brew among the offerings and monthly promotions that have included discounts on it. There is wholesale coffee for the trade, a pantry category for store-cupboard extras, and a dedicated catering and corporate orders service for offices and events.
Dempsey Hill makes an easy destination, and the counter at #01-01 works for a quick pickup. A few things help before you go. Limited-time bakes such as the curry chicken pie and the seasonal tarts are pre-order or while-they-last items, so check the monthly specials page first. If you are ordering doughnuts for a group, remember the Slayer's Pick flavours are fixed — build your own box if choice matters. And keep an eye out for the pickup deals the bakery promotes periodically on its site; they make a box of five an even easier decision.