Adriano Zumbo Patisserie

The most awesomeness cakes on earth! Ever!

I have only heard about this place this year through many of the Sydney food bloggers. I drool at the keyboard every time I read a blog about Adriano Zumbo's and/or looked at the photos of the most amazing and inventive cakes. I had to make a trip to Balmain!

The shop is located on Darling Street, a few shops up from Woolworths, 1-2 blocks up from Balmain markets. It is a very small shop, single file only, and you will have to wait as I did for a few minutes out the door. The cafe is located a few doors from the shop, don't worry it's easily spotted by good signage and the crowd. The famous macaroons are $4 (I think) and cakes are $6-$8 but boy are they worth every cent.

I got there around 12.30pm on a Sunday and half of the cakes were already gone. So my suggestion is get there early (they open at 8am). There is not much time for decision making as you can't see what's there until the line reaches the counter. There's no description of the macaroon flavours, so you'll have to ask. The description of the cakes are a bit long so I just pointed. It is probably best to do some research on the food blogs to see which cake you want to get (if there are any left). I missed out on the 'lollipop' cake and the biscuit 'legs in the air' one. The cakes are very rich, so a little goes a long way.

Macaroons

I really wanted to try the popcorn one and the sticky rice one but half the macaroons were sold out when I got there. Clockwise from top L-R:
Liquorice - the aniseed flavour not over powering and if you look close enough there were specks of liquorice in the filling.
Chocolate - I am sure there were something to it other than chocolate but I couldn't remember what the guy said and I bought it because it was colourful. Nonetheless, it was as awesome as the others.

Lemon and chilli - This was fantastic! It tasted like lemon cheesecake with a hint of chilli.

Quince - The flavour was subtle and the colour was pretty.

Cakes

I can't remember the actual names of the cakes so I'm going to invent my own. Clockwise from top L-R:

Passionfruit mushroom (because it looks like one)

The dome is made of passionfruit mousse with a surprise sprinkling of nuts and vanilla inside. There is a layer of, I think, milk chocolatey hazelnut 'something' and biscuits 'cobble stones' on the bottom.

Passionfruit and coconut deliciousness

I bought this cake because looked so light, like the marshmellow on top, and it was just really cool. It reminded me of winter and snow. The two pieces were the same inside but just coated differently. Top layer was a chocolate mousse, then I think a white chocolate mousse, passionfruit curd, chocolate coconut biscuit and a very thin layer of chocolate at the bottom. I am not sure if I'm reading too much into it but the lightness of the cake reflects on the presentation. Light as snow and marshmellow.

Coke can (sorry about the side view. Silly blogger flipped it and I can't flip it back)

This cake contains dark chocolate mousse (really good dark chocolate) layered between crisp dark chocolate with a cocoa-berry liquid center. No, this is not just another self saucing 'ra ra ra'. I am most amazed by the concept of this cake.

When you put your knife/fork into the cake, the chocolate gave a beautiful 'crack' sound - similar to when you open a can of soft drink. The chocolaty-red center immediately oozes out (I advise a plate). The chocolate mousse and the crisp layers are wonderfully chocolaty. I started to eat the outside and discovered the red coating/dusting had a tang, almost like a fizz to it - like soft drink. The concept of a can of soft drink is captured in a cake!

My (hopefully correct) descriptions doesn't give it justice. You have to go eat it to understand what I'm talking about. Good thing is I have an excuse to go there again next week! Stay tuned for more.