Divine dessert goes south - to Banksmeadow!

It has been a long time since us DDDs graced Sydney South - the last time we went beyond inner city area was to Hurstville, and that was held in our inaugural year of 2008! So it was about time we revisited Southern Sydney, and Mascot/Banksmeadow area it was.

Our absent CEO found Brasserie Bakery and Croquembouche Patisserie in Banksmeadow. This is not the first time our CEO was absent, but this time it is highly unusual for two reasons: firstly she would be away for the rest of the year, secondly ALL of the DDDs (apart from yours truly) are first timers, and they don't know the CEO nor secretary directly ... in fact I am still trying to figure out the connection. But who cares really - a great time was had by all (I presume) and new friendships made (at least on my part!!)

Brasserie Bakery was created by people who are passionate about making artisan breads. For their history go to their website. Since then they have earned awards at the Sydney Easter Show, and have won over a steady stream of customers ... and now they can add DDT to their long list of devotees!

We started at the bakery as it closes at 2pm, and that it has a more breakfast fare which would be more easily stomached by our first timer DDDs. However, despite the generous concession that the first timers will be allowed to order savouries, none of them broke our sacred DDT rule (except a sauteed mushroom and ricotta on toast, but that was ordered AFTER consumption of sweet breakfast!) [KT: these bloody mushrooms should never have made the album!! :P]

Coffee: good coffee, the large latte wasn't just a $3.80 cup of milk!!

Mango eclaire - I had my reservations for the filling but it was simply divine. The choux pastry was light and fluffy - beautiful.

Almond croissant - I was a little disappointed. The pastry was dense, filling dry and very sweet, nothing like the croissant aux amandes I had in Paris. Then again, I had been told off by some Frenchmen that there are different versions of almond croissant ... in which case, I prefer the other styles.

Orange and hazelnut cake (nice and moist, reminds me of Paddington!), apple crumble and chocolate brownie cheese cake. This was one beautiful cheesecake! Light, tasty, like cookies and cream cheese cake but lighter. Voted our favourite dessert at Brasserie Bakery!

Verdict: I loved this place. Fantabulous selection of breads and sourdoughs, and generous pieces of bread for tasting (excellent marketing ploy - if you like the bread you tasted, you're more likely to take a loaf home). They also have an extensive breakfast menu - if you happened to be in the area for breakfast, go for it. Very tempted by their poached egg and smoked Tasmanian trout ... and the egg and soldiers ... and the pancake...... 

Moving on to our next stop (and making sure we took some goodies home) to Croquembouche. While there were a steady stream of customers, many of them ordered take aways, as well as their namesake, croquembouche. I LOVE sharing DDT with a large group of DDDs - we ended up having one of each of their desserts to share! Again starting with coffee - good acidic expresso, not bitter, very aromatic. 

Amazing cutting skill by Hoe Yin, 8 little portions of a standard macaron! However I was not so pleased with the mac, it was dense (gasp!!! One of the mac cardinal sins). Then again I DID have something similar to this texture in France (Olonzac market) - is it possible that macs can also have different styles??

An extremely rich chocolate fondant (KT where are you... I want your fondant!), brioche filled with custard cream (light and fluffy, good breakfast food actually), a smooth Concorde (almond meringue, chocolate mousse and dacquoise base)

Creoles (passionfruit and mango cream on dacquoise) - beautifully tangy, fragrant and light dessert favoured by DDDs today; and a strawberry custard tart.

Verdict: As nice as it was, do I consider this divine? Croquembouche reminds me a little of Christophers,  or Laurent Boulangerie, beautiful presentation but I really think it could be better ... also disappointed that tiramisu was on the menu. Was this supposed to be a French patisserie or what?

After the sweet attack, DDDs moved on to a third and unscheduled stop at Bandung Rasa, Mascot, where I wanted to have their 'es campur' - an Indonesian ice dessert - while the others were more than happy at the prospect of a savoury meal. According to Isabella, the food was authentic (but she did recommend Kingsford for a tasty Indonesian meal). I did have my es campur - the most colourful, refreshing and interesting ice dessert, with different textures (of jelly, jackfruit, red beans and shaved ice) completely different from our French indulgence earlier. While I was unable to have a proper meal, I vowed to come back to Bandung Rasa for a proper meal (mental note: and when will I finally visit Mamak?????) 

With that, I bid our new friends farewell - and look forward to their company again, at our next DDT! 

CS

PS: Thank you Vicky for inviting your friends to our humble event! Welcome Vicky, Olie, Hoe Yin, Phil, Isabella, Els, Charisma, Jackson!