Black Star Pastry

In celebration of the Night Noodle Markets, I’m interrupting normal broadcast services and bringing you a special week of NNM food reviews, to help you plan your visit. I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz about the famous Strawberry Watermelon cake from Sydney’s Black Star Pastry. Well, my Canberran friends, they’ve come to town, teaming up with N2 Extreme Gelato for the Good Food Month Night Noodle Markets in Reconciliation Place. At opening night my friend and I braved the queues (actually not as bad as last year) and before we knew it, it was cake time! The portion size ($8) is actually bigger than I had expected, served in a bamboo boat with a slightly inadequate mini-spoon. This cake is perfect for summer – the top layer was my favourite, with sweet-glazed strawberries topped with crunchy pistachio and delicate rose petals, most of the sweetness was here. Next was the almond dacquoise, deliate and light. Further down was a layer of rose cream, which had a light flavour reminiscent of Turkish delight, but not overly fragrant, followed by the layer of fresh watermelon and more cream. The flavours all worked together and impressively, and whilst I think the overall effect would have been more impressive if it was served slightly colder, this is a cake I will happily come back for!

Black Star Pastry, at the Night Noodle Markets, Reconciliation Place, until 13 March 2016, http://www.blackstarpastry.com.au/

Patissez

The Lawns at Manuka are a lovely place to relax on a warm afternoon, which is exactly what my friend and I did – plus cake, of course! We had a 15min wait for a table at Patissez, and then ordered two cakes from the display cabinet – a pistachio cake and an open lemon meringue tart, both gluten free. Both were beautifully presented, and we went halves to be able to try both! The pistachio cake was topped with a lime-flavoured meringue in fluro green – this somewhat artificial-tasting flavour seemed to dominate, dulling the pistachio flavour, but complimenting the perfect texture of the cake layers. With oozy icing and luscious creamy layers in between the pistachio cake, those less excited by the lime can still enjoy the delicious flavours beneath. Next up was the open lemon meringue – this is a creative take on a classic, with beautiful, crisp honeycomb perched on top of a huge meringue cloud. Hiding beneath are dollops of a tart lemon curd, but the real surprise was the spice-infused tart base – we thought it might be cardamom or nutmeg, which cuts through the sweetness of the rest of the cake perfectly. Be warned – these cakes are huge, so we got the leftovers to takeaway. Yum.

Patissez, 21 Bougainville Street, Griffith ACT, http://patissez.com.au/

Robyn Rowe Chocolates

As part of the Weekend Bliss package for the Summerside Festival, we had lunch at Four Winds Vineyard before heading on to Robyn Rowe chocolates for dessert. The $36 package included a hot chocolate (your choice between milk or dark) and one of six desserts, all with a chocolate theme. I picked the ‘chocolate cup’, with a chocolate cup filled with chocolate and vanilla icecream, plus a chocolate spoon and a choice of any two truffles. I was delighted by the chocolate butterfly perched on top of the icecream; both icecream flavours were luscious and creamy and perfect for a hot day. I particularly enjoyed the chocolate flavour, which had great depth and was very moreish. I chose the milk hot chocolate and dissolved my chocolate spoon inside – mmm, so much chocolately goodness! The truffles were a real highlight – I picked the Clonakilla muscat and the orange cream truffles. Both were beautifully tasty, the muscat sweet and rich, the orange light and fluffy. Although I still had order envy over the cassata my friend chose (next time). Robyn was very welcoming, talking us through everything and explaining that the store hosts local art exhibitions (how lovely!) – we left in happy food comas all.

Robyn Rowe Chocolates, 1153 Nanima Road, Murrumbateman NSW, http://www.robynrowechocolates.com.au/

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/