Gongdeok dessert shop: melon financier vs Japanese melon bread, Fluffy

One of my hobbies is hunting down good bakeries, and I found out that there's a financier shop near Gongdeok Station called Fluffy Bake Shop that was featured on the Korean variety show Amazing Saturday. I got curious and went to check it out myself :) Once I got there, they had way more variety of madeleines and financiers than I expected! Let me give you an honest review focused on the flavors I actually tried 😊

Where is Fluffy Bake Shop and when is it open?

• Address: 8 Baekbeom-ro 31-gil, 2-dong Sangga 1F #106, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Weekdays 08:00–18:30 / Weekends 11:00–16:30
• Free parking available

The shopfront near Gongdeok Station

Fluffy Bake Shop is a small storefront on the ground floor of a commercial building, and what caught my eye most was the sign out front: "When life feels rough, just eat some soft bread!" It's been a tough week again, so I'm rationalizing that I've earned the right(?) to eat bread haha,,

Inside Fluffy Bake Shop and where to sit

Stepping inside, cute little figurines caught my eye :) The shop looked small enough that I assumed it was takeout-only, but there was actually a neat little space set up inside where you could sit and rest for a bit.

A sign said the desserts are made with AOP-grade Lescure butter!

What's left on the shelves just after weekend lunch?

Even though I visited right after weekend lunch, clearly this place is popular — a lot of the desserts were already sold out and only a few were left (weekend opening is 11am,,,). Still, there was enough variety that I carefully thought over what would be the best choices.

The seven pastries we picked and what they cost

Here's what I ended up choosing:

• Melon financier ₩3,600
• Nunetine financier ₩3,600
• Egg tart ₩3,800
• Yellow cheese madeleine ₩3,300
• Chestnut madeleine ₩3,500
• Hallabong madeleine ₩3,400
• Corn madeleine ₩3,600

For the café drink menu, check the photo above — and if you need a box to take things home, it's an extra ₩3,500 for a 15-piece box or ₩2,500 for a 6-piece box :)

They packed up my order, and the figurine out front was so cute I took a photo with it.

Tasting the melon financier and chestnut madeleine at home

The desserts looked so gorgeous it felt almost violent,, so I unwrapped them the moment I got home.

Melon financier, 3,600 won

I started with the melon financier, the one I was most curious about. Having traveled to Japan a number of times, I got it because I was haunted by memories of melon bread (melon-flavored bun with a crisp cookie crust) I'd tasted there — and honestly, it recreated the feel of melon bread better than any melon bread I've had in Korea. It's like eating melon bread and a financier at once, two birds with one stone, so I thought "this was such a well-chosen pick." If you're a melon bread fan, you absolutely have to try this.

Chestnut madeleine, 3,500 won

The second thing I tried was the chestnut madeleine. Honestly, from the looks of it, I figured it would just be a sugar-coated madeleine with a chestnut piece on top. But there was chestnut filling packed inside the madeleine too, so you could taste that distinctive nutty chestnut flavor throughout. The cozy, autumn-like sweetness and texture stood out — kind of like babambar (a Korean chestnut ice cream bar)? If you like babambar, definitely pick this one :)

Hallabong citrus madeleine, 3,400 won

Next up was the hallabong madeleine (made with a Jeju citrus fruit), and I thought the shape itself was made to look impressively like a hallabong. The jam inside also captured the sweet hallabong aroma nicely, with a refreshing citrus scent that spread through the mouth — great for cleansing the palate.

Nunettine financier and yellow cheese madeleine

I know some people make nunetine (a layered puff pastry with sugar glaze) financiers at home, but I figured getting that pattern right would be tough, so I gave up on baking it myself. That's why I bought it instead of making it. It had that signature nunetine sweetness, and it felt like a really close match to the real thing.

And the dessert that stuck with me most after the melon financier was actually the yellow cheese madeleine. The weather was hot on my way home so the cheese had melted and the look was ruined, so I didn't get a photo — but there was a slight salty tang of cheese running through it, and the sweet-and-salty balance was excellent. If you like cheese like I do, this one will satisfy you.

Tips for visiting Fluffy Bake Shop

Every single financier and madeleine at Fluffy Bake Shop had its own distinct character with no overlapping flavors, so it was genuinely fun picking through them :) I enjoyed every single item, but one downside was that popular flavors can sell out depending on when you visit. If you're planning to go, keep this in mind and try to time your visit around opening hours. Next time I'll have to go back for the salt bread too!