Petal Met Sugar

Petal Met Sugar isn’t the kind of place you can just order one thing from. I mean, look at their delicate, elegant sweets! So we ordered two cakes to share – the Vanilla and Rhubarb Eclair ($7) and the Salted Caramel ($6). The Eclair had a strip of dried rhubarb laid on top of a thin layer of sweet icing, but when you bit into the the soft, springy choux pastry, there was the lovely discovery of vanilla creme patissere. This paired delightfully with the sweet rhubarb jam also hidden inside – the flavours were subtle and sophisticated together. Next was the Salted Caramel, which was visually stunning – encased in a tart shell and topped with edible flowers, caramelised popcorn and gold sea salt (seriously, wow!). True caramel fans rejoice! This dessert takes your caramel just to the point of toasted bitterness that requires real skill – surely a moment longer and it would have been burnt. The result is a really rich flavour that has far more complexity than something less-cooked, and I found the balance of the salt just right for my taste. The popcorn added a fun textural contrast too. My conclusion? Everything here is pretty much perfect.

Petal Met Sugar, 68 Sir John Young Crescent, Woolloomooloo, NSW, http://www.petalmetsugar.com.au/

 

Movenpick

So when I imagine mango icecream, sorbet, or anything really, I somehow come back to the utterly divine flavour of the mango pudding served at yum cha restaurants. I have no idea whether that’s an authentic dessert or not, but for me, it’s the benchmark of mango flavour – second only to fresh, ripe mango in authenticity. Movenpick’s mango sorbet just knocked mango pudding out of the ballpark. I have enjoyed Movenpick’s flavours in a couple of cities now, but the mango I tried at the Melbourne Central kiosk is probably up there with my beloved Strawberry flavour. The serve is smaller than other stores, but when the flavour is this great, I don’t really mind. There are strands of mango woven into the sorbet, showing how genuine the flavour is – this is the kind of sorbet that would be a perfect palate cleanser, it’s so fresh and refreshing. Each mouthful coats your tastebuds in mango-y goodness, with a beautifully creamy texture that made me question its status as a sorbet. Movenpick, you’ve done it again. I will be back for sure.

Movenpick, Melbourne Central (Level 2), Corner of Swanston and La Trobe Streets, Melbourne VIC, http://www.moevenpick-icecream.com/au

RivaReno Gelato

RivaReno Gelato was recommended to me by a friend – they make their gelato fresh daily from scratch, and have a great range of flavours. I was very excited to see a sorbet section on the menu, which included two of my favourite flavours – raspberry and peach. I decided to go for the peach, as it’s the rarer flavour, and was surprised by the creamy texture of the sorbet. Definitely no icy nonsense here, this is the real deal. I was struck by how buttery the flavour tasted, with an almost nutty undertone, meaning that there was clearly no artifical peach flavouring going on. The flavour seemed to develop and become more peachy the more I ate, although it certainly wasn’t a particularly sweet sorbet. I really haven’t had any icecream/sorbet like this before – it was complex and authentic, with flecks of peach skin throughout. I also tasted my friend’s lemon sorbet, which got my saliva going – incredibly tart and acidic, it would be the perfect palate cleanser after a nice meal. The quality here is excellent and I would also be keen to try their chocolate-coated gelato on a stick, which looked amazing in the display cabinet.

RivaReno Gelato, 280 Crown Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, http://rivareno.com.au/

Gelatiamo

Gelatiamo is a lovely little cafe, offering a great range of gelato with about half of the flavours being sorbets (yay!). There’s plenty of seating inside, so we decided to dine in, and were served our choices in cute sundae glasses with long spoons. Listed as one of the top 10 gelaterias in Sydney, this was my first visit, so I picked a flavour that can be hard to find – mandarin sorbet ($4.90 for a single scoop). I was surprised by how huge the serving was (dine in is highly recommended) – I would have easily thought of this as a double serve, but Dad’s double was piled up even higher! I had a quick taste of his hazelnut and pistachio choices – both were creamy and nutty, with perfectly smooth textures that didn’t have ‘bits’ in them. I then got stuck into my sorbet. Don’t order this flavour if you like sweet sorbets – the citrus flavour in this sorbet is really intense, but also quite bitter. I found this really refreshing, and the flavor screamed MANDARIN! I could imagine this being a great palate cleanser after a heavy meal – fresh, sharp and delicious.

Gelatiamo, 362 Pacific Highway, Lindfield, NSW, http://www.gelatiamo.com.au/

Adriano Zumbo Patisserie

All good things must come to an end – here’s the last post in what has been a fun #sweetweek. Sadly, Zumbo has closed his Rozelle store, but luckily the tiny outlet at Balmain remains open. We stopped by and tried one of the newer additions to the dessert selection – the Hazelnut Forest, with a hazelnut dacquoise, hazelnut crunch, cherry jam, milk curd, hazelnut mousse and hazelnut spray. Phew. That’s a lot of hazelnut. Firstly, I loved the presentation of this one – something about the sprigs on top reminded me of coral. The fresh hazelnuts and dollops of cherry on top were delightful, as the entree into the perfectly soft hazelnut mousse that surrounds the cake within. For me, this dessert was just like a lighter version of a black forest cake, without the chocolate but with the delicious cherry flavour inside. There’s a lot of mousse surrounding the smaller dacquoise, crunch and jam inside, which was definitely the best bit. I enjoyed the textural contrast here, from the soft mousse to the thick jam to the crunchy base. Mmm. I was surprised at how the lovely tartness of the cherry matched the nutty hazelnut, but also how light the whole dessert was. Highly recommended.

Adriano Zumbo Patisserie, 296 Darling Street, Balmain, NSW, https://adrianozumbo.com/

The Flute

#sweetweek continues with this grand adventure! When my best friend decided she was going to surprise her husband with goldfish for his birthday, she and I set out at lunchtime to pick up the fish, so they could be waiting for him when he got home from work. Yes, she’s a mastermind (that’s why she’s my best friend). Anyway, this plot took us very close to the elusive Flute (only open on weekdays), so we couldn’t resist the chance to pop in. I picked a cake I haven’t seen there before – Apple Strudel cake. Um, yes. The ‘apple’ was a dome of vanilla mousse/cream, glazed in apple-flavoured sweetness, sitting atop a cake that had all of the beautiful apple strudel flavours I feel in love with in Austria. The top was decorated with a spiced crumble, which was lovely and rich, with pieces of (poached?) apple layered inside. I was actually surprised by the subtlety of the whole cake, which probably could have had slightly bolder flavours for my taste, but everything was perfectly executed, as usual (and, incidently, like my friend’s birthday gift plan. I told you, mastermind).

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

Scroll

#icecreamthurs AND #sweetweek – oh yeah! Oh Scroll. You lovely thing. From the fun menu, we tried the ‘Nutter Butter’ ($9 or $8 with Facebook check-in), with peanut butter, Nutella, Tim Tams, served with wafers and crushed peanuts. I love watching the Scroll ninjas spreading the liquid icecream ingredients on the chilled teppan, then delicately scraping them into long rolls, that are then stood up in the cup. You have to be careful when walking with your toppings, which are precariously balanced on top of the huge serve of icecream – we shared two between three people and to be honest, it was still a lot to eat! With fresh ingredients, Scroll’s icecream is one of the creamiest I’ve tried, and with such a lovely peanut butter flavour this icecream is really up there with the best. I like the textural contrasts brought by the nuts, the wafer, the Tim Tam segments and – oh my – the adorably cute Minion biscuit! The whole combination is incredibly moreish and the flavours stay strong throughout. The Nutella isn’t overdone, so it complements, rather than overpowers, the other flavours. Oh yes, I’ll be ordering this one, again and again and again…

Scroll, 35 York Street, Adelaide SA, http://www.scrollicecream.com.au/