I was in Sydney for the weekend a few weeks ago and I finally got to go to my happy place.I've been DYING to visit Adriano Zumbo's pattiserie in Balmain for YEARS - well before he became famous as a result of Masterchef. I have been lusting after his macarons and impossibly perfect cakes since I first read about him on a fellow foodie's blog about 4 years ago, and my beautiful friend Ange made sure I got to Balmain to taste Zumbo's baked delights for myself.
I stayed with Ange and her husband Cam for part of the weekend, and as a thank you I bought them (and myself of course) a sampler of Zumbo macarons.
We tasted strawberry, salted caramel and toasted marshmallow.
I asked Ange and Cam to give me their thoughts about the three flavours, and the clear winner was the toasted marshmallow. All three of us were incredulous that a humble pink and white macaron could taste exactly like a toasted marshmallow. Originally I thought that the buttercream had flecks of vanilla bean in it, but upon closer inspection the flecks were far too big to be vanilla bean. My guess is that Mr Genius Zumbo had toasted something (marshmallows? Who knows!), ground it up and mixed it through the buttercream. The result was incredible.
Unanimously in second place was the salted caramel. Deliciously buttery, almost like a toffee, this macaron melted in the mouth. Amazing.
The raspberry was a little disappointing in that it didn't taste like fresh raspberries like I'd hoped it would. The buttercream had a flavour that almost resembled aniseed, so this was surprising. I don't particularly like aniseed, but the flavour wasn't overwhelming. Though it was still enjoyable I couldn't help being just a little disappointed in the raspberry macaron.
On the whole I was amazed by these little tasty morsels. They are soft and pillowy on the inside with a crisp shell. The buttercream sandwiched inside was velvety and smooth...and absolutely divine.
You can find Adriano Zumbo's cafes and pattiseries in Rozelle, Manly & Balmain. Do yourself a favour and check out his amazing creations @ http://www.adrianozumbo.com/
2 comments on "I went to my happy place."
If you can find it, check out the series that was done based on him... I think it was called Zumbo or something like that..
The first episode is all about Macaron day.. Shows how he comes up with flavours and some of the crazy stuff he does.
Like a cheeseburger Macaron :P
I wonder... I was at a black tie cocktail party at the Sydney Opera House two weeks ago (I know! I'm not quite sure how I ended up there!!), and sampled pistachio macaroons.
They looked a lot like yours. They were light, crispy, chewy and fluffy at the same time. I couldn't eat more than three, my girlfriend stopped at four.
Then we ate mini creme brulees the size of 20 cent pieces. YUM!
Wouldn't it be obscure if it was his macaroons I was eating???
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