on my plate - chocolate cream tart @ le petite gateau

"Urgh. Chocolate."

It's not what you'd normally expect to hear from someone who thinks about food 24/7, but I've found that recently, I'm not as pro-chocolate as I used to be. I don't hate it, but I usually find myself choosing fruit-based desserts over cocoa ones. I don't know why - maybe because my taste buds are maturing. Or maybe it was the excessive chocolate binging that would happen on a weekly basis for about a year. I guess we'll never know.

But add coffee to the equation, and all my aversions to chocolate will soon be forgotten. This coffee chocolate cream tart found that happy medium between cloyingly-sweet and overly bitter. The vanilla bean-infused cream balanced out the bitterness of the dark chocolate and coffee filling. And true to the shop's name, the cake was quite petite. It's probably a good thing. I'd hate for me to lose my taste for mocha-flavoured things too.

Le Petite Gateau
458 Little Collins St
Melbourne

on my plate - mirage @ laurent patisserie

Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting older, but my sweet tooth just isn't what it used to be. Decadent chocolate cakes and rich crème brulées have now been demoted to 'sometimes' foods, as opposed to something I could have eaten every other day of the week.

But seeing this Mirage cake from Laurent Patisserie - Lime, raspberry mousse with a coconut dacquoise (No, I didn't know what a dacquoise was either) - I knew my sweet tooth wouldn't be happy with me if I didn't order it . The tart, tangy coupled with the sweet, refreshingly light raspberry mousse and crunchy base was the perfect after lunch treat. I could definitely see myself eating this on a regular basis.

Laurent Patisserie
703 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn