Butterbing

I love Canberra’s food community – we’re a friendly bunch, and no more so than when queuing for exciting delicious things. Butterbing, the purveyor of fine cookie sandwiches stuffed full of buttercream, stopped by with a one-day-only pop up stall in front of Barrio yesterday, and while in the line I had a lovely chat to another food afficionado who had been working out to earn her cookie sandwiches. I had no such excuse, but proceeded to order 4 flavours – almond crunch, orange, peanut butter and the flavour developed especially for Canberra, golden gaytime. I then invited my best friend over for a tasting. First thing to note – the cookies themselves are like eating the best brownie you’ve ever had, slightly crispy on top and soft and rich within. I started with the almond crunch – the buttercream had a lovely salty kick to counteract the sweetness and there were plenty of almonds within – this was my friend’s favourite. Next up was the orange, with a true citrus flavour – sweet, but not sickly sweet. The peanut butter was delightful – chocolate and salty peanut butter belong together, especially when they are both of this quality. Finally the golden gaytime, which had to be my favourite, tasted exactly like the icecream, just without the biscuit crunch. Heaven. Butterbing, please #cometocanberra to stay!

Butterbing, sadly not yet stocked in Canberra, https://www.butterbing.com.au

Ricardo’s Cafe

After seeing the cake display cabinet at sister venture Space Kitchen, I knew I had to stop in at Ricardo’s Cafe to try something from their extensive selection. Friends had raved about the cannoli there, but I was sucked in by the incredibly beautiful (and large) cakes in the display cabinet, and after much deliberation (the Cookie Monster? Snickers Gaytime?), I ordered the Raspberry Dome ($9.90) to dine in. The serving is massive – I would recommend sharing, otherwise the staff are happy to provide takeaway containers, so none of the deliciousness goes to waste. This cake is at its best when you can get a mouthful with all of the elements – the raspberry mousse, blood orange curd, chocolate tart shell and pistachio crumb all work together into a light but tasty combination. The raspberry mousse is beautifully light and fluffy, while the blood orange curd adds weight in the flavour department. The chocolate tart shell was a good choice, adding textural contrast, but the pistachios really brought the whole thing together. I would happily order this again – especially when there are plenty of leftovers for future me to enjoy!

Ricardo’s Cafe, Jamison Plaza, Bowman Street, Macquarie ACT, ricardoscafe.com/

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/

The Annex Cafe

I’ve walked past The Annex Cafe a few times now, but only recently got the chance to stop in and treat myself to one of their beautiful sweets! The small space is made welcoming by wooden furniture and succulents in planters on each table – otherwise there are lovely outdoor seats around the corner. The cake display cabinet is full of dietary-requirement-friendly treats, and it was hard to only pick one. Finally, I chose the lemon and raspberry cake ($7), which is gluten and dairy-free (yay!). Whilst much smaller than a slice from, say Nutrition Republic, given the density of raw cakes I probably wouldn’t have wanted it too much bigger anyway. The cake was in three layers – the coconut base, a white lemon layer and the red swirly raspberry layer, with extra coconut dusted over the top. I could clearly taste each flavour when trying the layers separately, and when combined the dominant flavour was coconut, closely followed by lemon. The raspberry seemed to fade just to add a bit of tartness to the overall taste. The whole thing was so moreish, with that fabulous texture that raw cakes have. Yum!

The Annex Cafe, 3 Waterloo Street, Glenelg SA

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/

National Press Club

I was lucky enough to attend a function at the National Press Club which included lunch (my favourite kind of function!). Often catered menus can be uninspiring – meals made ready to serve in large quantities sometimes favour simplicity over flavour. Not here. The savoury course was a roast chicken breast with fois gras, mushrooms, puy lentils, Mount Majura truffles and a cognac vinagrette, served with a rocket and parmesan salad. Yeah. That’s right. The chicken portion was still on the bone and was quite large, resting on top of the bed of lentils. Cutting in to the chicken, the meat was really juicy and tender, but the real highlight of the dish was the lentils – I’m assuming that they absorbed most of the cognac and truffle flavour, because they were to die for (believe me, this is not something I commonly say about lentils). The rocket paired with parmesan added a nice amount of bite. Dessert was banoffee pie with peanut brittle scattered over the top and a whole heap of cream. The serving was really decadent and I couldn’t finish it all, but the caramel and banana inside were gooey perfection. Definitely not your typical catered lunch.

National Press Club of Australia, 16 National Circuit, Barton ACT, http://www.npc.org.au/