The Zumbo Post

Ever since reading Belle's Zumbo conquests on her blog Ooh look, I've been totally consumed with wanted to try some pastries from that wacky guy Adriano Zumbo. His appearances on MasterChef last year did nothing but make my obsession grow. So last month when Miss Coco LV went to Sydney for a much needed break I asked for one thing and one thing only......an unhealthy amount of Zumbo cakes to be brought back for my consumption only. I was bitterly disappointed when she informed me that I must share my stash with Daz, this whole partnership thing doesn't sit well with me sometimes.

When Miss Coco LV came over to visit and drop of the much anticipated pastries I barely said hello before I dove in and opened the pretty little white box. I instantly squealed when I saw the passionfruit tart, of all the things I wanted to try, this was at the top of my list. I did mention to Miss Coco LV to go along to the Balmain store early, as most of the more interesting cakes sell out fast, she didn't get the chance to go in the morning so only made it along in the afternoon. No matter, she could only bring back stuff that didn't need refrigeration and I got my tart anyway, so what do I care? Just a word of warning - I probably don't have the names correct or any of the info for them, so apologies in advance!

Enough chit chat, onto the sugar madness!

I decided to start with the smallest items first, I figured that way my tummy wouldn't notice anything was injected into it and I could happily plod along without the risk of feeling full. Good ploy hey? So we have the macarons, Lavender (blue) and hazelnut wafer (orange). The lavender macaron was heavenly, the flavour was a big old slap in the face, really packed a punch. The hazelnut on the other hand was a mere whimper, not overly impressive. They are so pretty, I could just stare at them for hours.

Next I decided to go for something a little heavier. The chocolate fondant. It had cherry's throughout it, a pistachio crumb on top and was drenched in a sweet syrup. I really enjoyed this one. It was extremely dense and the chocolate flavour was very adult, slightly bitter which went really well with the tartness of the cherry's packed within.

Next we have the nutty professor. The nutty professor is one of my favourite movies, and to tell you the truth I couldn't stop thinking about the movie when eating this, but I'm sure that's Zumbo's whole intention. Seriously this tart was one of my favourites. There are so many types of nuts in this, pistachios, almonds, walnuts....I could go on and on, all perfectly toasted. The nuts have been tossed in a butterscotch caramel and then stuffed into a (i think) sable biscuit base. The nut to caramel ratio was just perfect. I wish I had a nutty professor as big as my face!!

Next we have a custard prune tart. Yum, the pastry was lovely and flaky, the custard nice and soft. What I liked about this one was that it wasn't too sweet. Would be lovely to eat with a nice cup of tea.

Last and by far my favourite was the Tarte aux fruits de la passion (Passionfruit tart). I had a taste orgasm when I ate this. I was expecting something good, and it sure did deliever. The custard is so soft and creamy, its as if the custard has been whipped rather than set, it was so airy. The golden sable biscuit base is just perfect to keep the whole thing together, helping with the fork to mouth journey. The passionfruit flavour sure does comes through and without a hint of tartness. And what can I say about the presentation, you can't help but smile when you see it, it reminds me of tropical holidays. I'm in love.

The bad thing about this whole experience? I ate it all too quickly and there's no telling when my next Zumbo fix will be. The Essential Ingredient is hosting Adrino Zumbo on the 28th-29th of August for a couple of cooking classes, but I'm too scared to call - just in case they are already booked out and my hopes will be dashed. But I thought I would post it here just in case anyone else would like to man up and give them a call and go along for themselves.