Lately, it seems that nearly every weekend I find an excuse to go the Essential Ingredient - my bank account has suffered greatly since they moved back over the bridge and onto my turf. And since I'm going to Rozelle, I thought, I may as well continue on to Balmain for some pastry perfection.
A long overdue trip to Adriano Zumbo and Victoire - the perfect way to spend a gorgeous Sydney spring day.
I was prepared for half of Sydney to be doing exactly the same and for the line to be halfway up the street, but I walked straight in and hadn't even finished looking at everything before one of the staff asked if they could help me.
The Zumbo front window is full of Viennoiserie items, quiches, cookies and bread - my kind of window. The shop is long and narrow, with a glass case counter running all the way along that houses 'the collection'. Right up the back of the shop are the macarons and a large number of people wedged into the small space in front of them.
Macaron flavours for the day were mango/tonka bean, strawberry/mint, coffee, chocolate/early grey, rice pudding, salted caramel, passionfruit/yogurt, fennel/pear/pistachio - naturally, I ordered one of each. I also got a 'Quasimodo' (can't remember all the elements exactly but I was sold at pistachio and cherry) and 'Escape from a Colombian Rainforest' (chocolate mousse, dark chocolate fizzy discs, cherry cola jelly).
My next stop is Victoire - it used to be directly opposite Zumbo (and the man himself worked there for a number of years), but it has recently moved up to the Rozelle end of Darling Street - I wonder how much of this had to do with the competition that popped up directly opposite.
I want to buy one of every type of bread in Victoire, but I settle for a small levain and a rustic olive. I've eaten a third of the rustic olive before I even make it back to car. It's delicious with a thin crust and a chewy, moist crumb and just a little salty from the olives.
The demolition of the goodies from Zumbo happens later in the afternoon at my brother and sister-in-laws house.
Anything containing fennel makes me so very happy, so I went for the pear, fennel and pistachio macaron first. The macaron shell is light and crisp on the outside and a little chewy in the inside and the ganache is super smooth. I must admit, I couldn't really taste either pear or pistachio here, only fennel - not a bad thing given my love for it.
Probably the flavour winner for the macarons is the passionfruit/yogurt. It's tangy, fresh and very passionfruity!
The 'Quasimodo' isn't particular pretty, but is very tasty. The top is quite squidgy, almost like rice pudding with a creamy/nutty flavour. Underneath is a layer of cherries and a cakey base.
The 'Escape from a Colombian Rainforest' looks great. It is super smooth and light chocolate mousse, flourless chocolate sponge, cherry coke jelly covered with a red fizzy powder and topped with a silver painted disc of chocolate that looks like the top of a coke can.
And lastly - the aftermath:
Very happy belly.
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