Jamface

Thanks to everyone for reading along this year, I can’t believe how quickly it has gone! I’ll still be blogging, but will drop down to 3 posts a week over the summer. Wishing you all the best (and excellent food adventures) for 2016!

I was pretty darn excited to see that Poh Ling Yeow, of Masterchef fame, has opened a stall at the Adelaide Central Market, one of my favourite places in the world. We stopped in for afternoon tea and I was in love from the get go – the stall fits perfectly into the Market vibe, but has so much character you can’t help but be charmed. We ordered three cakes – a raspberry and almond tea cake ($4.50), a chocolate custard, salted caramel and peanut tart ($5.50), and a ‘Milly Filly’ (mille-feuille) vanilla slice ($7), which Poh herself made up especially since they’d run out (awesome service!). The tea cake was the least rich of the three, with a lovely marzipan-almond flavour, great density, and a slightly tart kick from the raspberry. My favourite was the chocolate tart, which was super luxurious and had a perfect balance of sweet and salty. The vanilla slice looked like something from a French patisserie, it was so delicate and beautifully layered. The vanilla flavour was equally delicate and the pastry layers were crisp perfection. I snapped up a jar of strawberry jam to try at home too. Oh yes, I will be back.

Jamface, Stall 28-29, Adelaide Central Markets, Adelaide SA, http://www.jamface.com.au

The Flute

Given Flute is only open from 8am-3pm on weekdays, I only manage to get there when I have the day off work. Yay, rejoice, day off work! Off I went to Flute, excited to try a new pastry or cake. I couldn’t go past the caramel and pecan cake ($7.50), which turned out to be the most magical, delicious piece of baking I’ve had in a very long time. The top of the pyramid is full of gooey caramel, which isn’t too runny, and is full of little balls of chocolate that add some crunch, and a couple of mini pecans, to whet your appetite. Next is the hazelnut mousse layer, which is utterly heavenly. I mean, give-me-a-big-bowl-full-and-leave-me-alone-for-my-life-will-be-complete heavenly. YUM. But it gets better. In the bottom layer, which is cake guarded by a pastry wall, there are hidden pecans inside!!! They’re incredibly sweet and are probably at the ultimate potential that any self-respecting pecan would aspire to achieve. The whole thing was very filling, so I ended up saving the second half for later (future me is going to be very happy). Basically, my advice is to drop everything and get one of these.

The Flute, 8 Barrier Street, Fyshwick ACT, http://www.theflutebakery.com.au/

Paul

I’m not generally one to shy away from a good sweet, and seeing Paul on Kagurazaka-dori, it’s pretty hard to just walk past. Their window display is just a sample of the baked goods heaven inside, and I was drawn in by the promise of a good canelle. I had my first canelle in Paris at a street stall on the Champ-Elysees and have been smitten ever since, so was keen to see how this French patisserie in Tokyo compared to the real deal. The outside was lovely and crisp, with a slight burnt flavour, but not overpoweringly so. The inside has the good stuff – a custardy cake that is spongy and soft but thick, with a distinctive milky flavour. It was small, but it passed the test. Next up was the apple danish – this was a real winner, with crisp, flaky pastry and glazed, soft apple pieces inside. The lady initially got the order wrong, but happily swapped for the apple turnover she’d given me for the danish. Both of the sweets had great flavour and texture, and I was disappointed not to have stomach space for more.

Paul, Kagurazaka Terrace 1F, 5-1-4 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku Tokyo Japan  http://paul-inter-release.fo-02.naxeo.net/

Nutrition Republic

I’ve been following Nutrition Republic on Instagram for a while now and have been impressed by how fresh and amazing everything they make looks! On a recent trip to Adelaide we stopped in to try their raw cakes for afternoon tea. It was close to their closing time (4pm), so we go our cakes in takeaway trays rather than on plates. The staff were really friendly and happy to answer my questions about the food – everything here is designed to be considerate of dietary requirements, and the raw cakes ($8 per slice) are all dairy and gluten free, as well as being vegan to boot! I picked the vanilla bean and berry cake with its pretty layers of colour. All of the cakes do contain nuts of some kind, and these (cashews and almond) help make the base of the cake. I love the texture of raw cakes – they remind me of cheesecake – thick (but light), rich and smooth. The vanilla flavour was nicely combined with the berry flavour, so it wasn’t a strong artificial vanilla taste, but a blended, more complex flavour. The slice looks small but was really filling – a lovely treat!

Nutrition Republic, Shop 2, 92-94 King William Road, Goodwood SA, http://www.nutritionrepublic.com.au

Autolyse

When the gentleman behind the counter at Autolyse told me the cake I was pointing at was a “parry breast”, I probably gave him a very odd expression. After futher explanation, I realised he’d said “Paris-Brest”, referring to two cities in France, which developed this cake to celebrate a bicycle race between the cities. Points to the Autolyse guy for knowing his pastry history! The pastry in question is a choux piped into two rings, sandwiched together with hazelnut cream. Obviously I had to order it, despite it being large enough for at least two, maybe even three. My friend grabbed an eclair so no luck trying to share. We managed to get a table inside and I got straight into it. The choux pastry was lovely and light – it broke nicely without crumbling too much and had a light dusting of icing sugar on top. The flecks in the pastry made me wonder if there was hazelnut in it as well? Mmm. The cream inside was just the right consistency, and the hazelnut flavour was subtle, so that it didn’t overpower the flavour of the choux. I would happily order this again, but definitely to share!

Autolyse, Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT  http://autolyse.com.au/

Spats Coffee Lounge

I’d never heard of Spats when my friend suggested we stop in, but was happy to roll with it given how similar our tastes are in dining venues. Spats announces itself as ‘Adelaide’s first and finest dessert lounge’, and not having a point of comparison, I’m inclined to agree. The store is wonderfully cozy, with dim lighting (chandeliers, candles!), red walls and velvet drapes creating a sense of quiet buzz that is rare in this world of wood and tile-floored restaurants. We were seated on couches under the stairs – despite being a small place, there’s plenty of space between tables for privacy. We ordered a sticky date pudding to share and couldn’t have picked a better dish on a chilly night. The slice of cake was just the right size to share, served with a large scoop of vanilla icecream and a jug of butterscotch sauce. The cake itself was so fluffy and was served warm, as was the rich butterscotch sauce which was quickly absorbed into the cake. I was delighted that the cake was light rather than dense and the chopped dates inside were divine. Great service, atmosphere and cake? Definitely a winning combination.

Spats Coffee Lounge, 108 King William Road, Goodwood SA, no website

The Grounds

It wasn’t really possible for me to walk past the pastry display at the Grounds and not buy something. If I could have, I would have bought all the things – it all looked so delicious! I was very restrained and picked two – the salted caramel tart and the raspberry chocolate torte. Luckily they were to share, because they were both very rich. I only tried a bit of the salted caramel, but oh my it was good. The caramel was so oozy and there was just a perfect amount of salt. The chocolate layer on top added even more goodness, and the pastry around the edge was nice and crisp. I could have happily devoured a whole piece (and will be back to do just that as soon as I can). I had more of the raspberry and chocolate torte, which was sinfully rich. The raspberry glaze on top was lovely and tart, in contrast to the perfectly smooth, silky chocolate cake beneath. The fresh berries on top were a nice break from the decadent chocolate and added some textural contrast. More please!

The Grounds of Alexandria, Shop 7A, 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria, NSW    http://groundsroasters.com/