Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Zumbo Classics with a Twist

In my opinion, the main point of differentiation with Adriano Zumbo Patissier's cakes is the incredible variety and combination of flavours.  The pairing of savoury tastes (of herbs, spices and salt) with the traditional sweetness of cakes keeps us on our toes and constantly surprised.

So it is an obvious step for Zumbo to present 'Classics with a Twist' - old favourites that are given the 'ooh, what's that?' treatment.  Here are some tastes from the 2-week range that graced the patisserie.


Tart Tatin [sic]- apples in sage, brioche pudding, celery jelly, brown sugar crumble.
I really don't know about this one, the sage lends a strange flavour to the apple tartin, and the celery jelly is unusual (you can tell it's celery), but overall, it doesn't work for me.



Belle Helene Millefeuille - Chocolate, mascarpone creme, poached pears, caramelised puff pastry.
The puff pastry in the one I had was slightly burnt, and the chocolate was very rich, so probably not the best of the batch.  Not sure where the 'twist' is, maybe it's the chocolate or pear?



Fraisier - Maple pecan creme mousseline, sponge and fresh strawberries.
The maple creme is smooth and honey/maple flavoured. Delightful.
My only criticism is its size - for it's an incredibly small cake for the price ($7.90).



Opera - Coffee-soaked jaconde, coffee buttercream, liquorice ganache, passionfruit ganache.
The liquorice is the twist in this cake (it's the greyish layer), and it contrasts beautifully with the coffee cream. The passionfruit square on top is sour-tangy and perfect.  Again, it's a bit small, but worth every bite.


There are several more from this range that I haven't tried yet. I'll try to get them *fingers crossed*, but the range does finish this weekend.

9 comments:

  1. Hmmm I have to say that none of these really appeal to me! I'm normally dribbling all over my desk at your Zumbo photos so perhaps the twist to these particular classics is that I don't like them? ;)

    The bottom layer of the tart tatin looks like a burger patty, hehe.

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  2. The coffee and liquorice combo is interesting. I'd like to try it.

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  3. I haven't tasted any of them. It's really time for me to make a trip to Balmain.

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  4. The Fraisier looks delightful. Can I move in with you for the next few weeks? Just to be close to Zumbos ;) I promise I'll do my own dishes!

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  5. oh baby the fraisier looks fantastic! i love maple anything mmm

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  6. the Belle Helene Millefeuille is the pick of the bunch for me, must eat ...

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  7. The fraisier looks great. I will go back to Sydney just for Zumbo.

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  8. hi Conor - haha, maybe the tartin would have tasted better if it *was* a burger patty. Most of Zumbo's cakes are a hit, but this one more of a miss for me.

    hi Arwen - the licorice was surprising but really brought out the flavour of the other layers in the Opera. Definitely worth trying.

    hi Lorraine - I was going to get more, but was disappointed at the really small size. The Charlotte was miniscule!

    hi Ellie - oh, you must try them. I'd love to hear what you think.

    hi Chris - hehe, you are most welcome. I could do with a decent dish washer :o)

    hi chocolatesuze - hear, hear, maple is such a wonderfully rich flavour

    hi Howard - I normally love millefeuille, but only if it's not burnt! Maybe next time.

    hi Penny - if you come to Sydney for Zumbo, then I'll go to Melbourne for everything else that's related to food!

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