7 Apples Gelato

Ok, if you’ve seen it, you know that the 7 Apples Gelato store in Emporium isn’t just cute, it’s the most freaking adorable icecreamery ever. A little icecream cart with a bicycle attached, this tiny stall sucked me in with free samples and sorbet options. Who could resist? Offering a limited range (around 8 flavours – their main store is in St Kilda) on their cute menu board, I opted for a single scoop of the mango sorbet ($5.50), which was served in a reasonably sized up and had a creamy, pale colour. The mango flavour was nice – authentic, but not as strong as other mango sorbets I’ve tried in Melbourne – and there was a good amount of sweetness to it. The texture was again around the mid-range of quality – not the creamiest I’ve ever tried, but not overly icy either, so definitely in the solidly ‘good’ category. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to order this flavour again (nice was it was), given the range of flavours they offer, but I would recommend stopping by, if only to marvel at the set up, uniform and, of course, to enjoy the free samples!

7 Apples Gelato, Emporium Melbourne (Level 3), 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC, http://www.7applesgelato.com/

Ricardo’s Cafe

One of my 2016 goals is to work my way through the cake menu at Ricardo’s – I feel like I started this quest with a bang! I am a huge fan of Snickers bars, and the Ricardo’s interpretation on this classic chocolate bar is utterly divine. Firstly, the size of this cake is just right (I’d say it’s even slightly bigger than your average icecream) for an afternoon tea snack, but be prepared for rich decandence! The peanuts scattered over the outer shell are dusted in edible gold sparkly dust (yep, that’s the technical term), making it not only tasty (peanuts) but also very pretty (sparkly!). Inside is a magical mix of chocolate mousse and liquid salted caramel, which oozes out from the centre of the cake. I love chocolate mousse and this one, coated in a layer of chocolate, was divine. The entire flavour effect realy does taste like a Snickers, but much fresher. Texturally, the crunch of the peanuts and the soft mousse plus the thick caramel is delightful. Yep, this is a very sweet (but not heavy) interpretation of a classic chocolate bar. Yum.

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

White Rabbit

This was a mostly icecream dessert, so here it goes for #icecreamthurs this week! Let me say straight up, White Rabbit has beautiful cocktails and delicious desserts. This is a great place for a special treat, and I started by ordering The Dodo ($20), with gin, orange bitters, lemon and blueberry syrup hiding under a thick layer of passionfruit foam. Yum, yum, yum. This was utterly delightful – a nice balance between sweet and tart, I will be back for this drink. For dessert, I ordered the fried brioche sandwich ($16), with peanut butter gelato and raspberry swirl sorbet. When the dish came out, it was clear that the brioche was more soldiers than sandwich, topped with a nut crumble (be warned those with allergies, this is not noted on the menu) and edible flowers. The brioche was very rich, but somehow dipping it into the raspberry jam and melting icecream helped. The peanut butter flavour was great in the super creamy icecream, and although it took a while to find the raspberry swirl, when I did it added a great tartness to the otherwise very sweet dish. This is one for the sweet-tooths, to be sure.

White Rabbit Cocktail Room, 65 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra ACT,

Gelateria Primavera

It has been a while since I was last at Gelateria Primavera (seriously, where does the time go?) but on a recent visit to Melbourne, I made a point of stopping by to try some of their excellent flavours. I usually go for the more unusual options, and this time that meant trying the peach and basil sorbet. Peach and basil? I hear you ask. Yep – these are definitely two things I would not have considered throwing together, yet there they were, in a cup of sorbet. The first thing I love about Gelateria Primavera (apart from their extended opening hours) is the great texture of their gelato/sorbets. In the case of this sorbet, it was so lovely and creamy I wouldn’t have known it was dairy free if the sign hadn’t said so. Down to the flavour – I must admit, these guys know how to balance flavours. I was expecting a much sweeter taste with jarring notes of basil, but neither the peach nor the basil dominates, both blended into a harmonious whole. The peach is subtle and rich, while the basil adds an unusual spritz without stealing the show. Definitely unusual, definitely delicious.

Gelateria Primavera, 157 Spring Street, Melbourne VIC, http://www.springstreetgrocer.com.au/

Doughnut Time

Doughnuts have definitely become the trendy dessert of 2016, and I’m not complaining one bit. Mum and I stopped by the Doughnut Time pop up in Topshop Emporium to see what all the fuss was about. Their doughnuts have fun, creative names, and after much consideration, we tried the Vegan Fox ($6), topped with vegan chocolate, freeze-dried strawberry and pistachios. I was pleasantly surprised to see the doughnuts served in a paper box, rather than a bag, which preserved the topping and was easy to carry in a shopping bag. Both of us were impressed by the quality of the actual doughnut – it was surprisingly light, spongy and, most notably, not oily at all. We both really enjoyed the flavour and texture of the doughnut, before saying anything at all about the topping. The vegan chocolate is actually one of the best doughnut toppings I’ve ever had. It wasn’t sickly sweet, but definitely brought through a great chocolate flavour that was only enhanced by the pops of berry (could have used a bit more) and crunches of pistachio. But the doughnut itself was the real hero. Well done guys, definitely on point.

Doughnut Time, Emporium Shopping Centre, 287 Lonsdale Street, CBD, Melbourne, http://www.doughnuttime.com.au/#doughnut-time

Miss Cakeish

Ishara from Miss Cakeish is a genius. When I saw her drop-dead gorgeous creations on Instagram, I was completely sold – they’re just so beautiful! I ordered a small ‘Monet’ ($90), which serves up to 16 people, and asked for sunset colours for my belated birthday lunch. The result was stunning – topped with fresh roses, gold leaf and streaked in perfect buttercream smudges of orange, ochre, yellow and pink, it was exactly what I’d imagined. Luckily, the cake didn’t just look pretty – it tasted fabulous. With a range of cake and ganache or buttercream flavor options, I ordered the orange and almond cake, with a dark chocolate ganache. Ishara kindly allowed me to adapt the dark chocolate to add an orange flavour, which was balanced the rich bitterness perfectly. Cutting into this beauty, there were four layers of cake, each sandwiched with ganache. The cake itself reminded me of one of my favourites from childhood – madeira cake. Delicate, spongy and light, it was no hardship to eat a giant, tall slice. The cake, ganache and buttercream added up to a cake that wasn’t sickly sweet and wasn’t too heavy – in other words, utterly delightful. Highly recommended for celebrations of all sorts.

Miss Cakeish, https://www.facebook.com/miss.cakeish/

Ben & Jerry’s

Tuesday was a very special, magical day. Ben & Jerry’s, those purveyors of fun-named icecreams, held a Free Cone Day. That’s right. Not only was the icecream free, it was also free in unlimited quantities to all – as in, you could queue up as many times as you liked to try their flavours. I’m told a father and his young son held the record for 11 rounds. I was only brave enough for two – first up was the newest flavour on the block, The Tonight Dough. This was an utterly indulgent serve, with chocolate and caramel icecream, chocolate cookie swirls, and chunks of chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie doughs. Seriously – huge chunks of dough. The chocolate icecream was particularly good – luscious and creamy, and very, very chocolatey. The cone was also quite tasty too. Round two was the Hazed and Confused – chocolate and hazelnut icecream with fudge chips and a hazelnut swirl (basically like Nutella). I really liked the hazelnut flavour, although I found the swirls a bit rich (perhaps inevitable after eating two icecreams in the space of 30 mins). The Tonight Dough is definitely my pick of the menu. Thanks for the freebies Ben & Jerry’s!

Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop, Hoyts Westfield Woden, Bradley Street, Phillip ACT  http://www.benandjerry.com.au/scoop-shops