By WENDY HARGREAVES
Melbourne’s sweet gurus have outdone themselves for Easter 2021.
Here are five of the city’s tastiest Easter treats to try as we into the four-day weekend.
Cheesy hot cross buns: Maker & Monger
Prahran Market, Commercial Rd, South Yarra
Hot cross buns with cheese? You betcha. On Easter Saturday, cheese guru Anthony Femia will be slathering Baker Bleu dark choc/sour cherry Easter buns with a whipped Roquefort and Cognac cream, sprinkled with freshly harvested honeycomb from Woodend. Only 50 will be available on the day, so get in early.
Hot Cross Buns from Falco
288 Smith St, Collingwood. Order here.
Falco’s baker Christine Tran hand rolls her exceptional hot cross buns every day,. The light brioche buns have that just-right amount of spice, sweetened with local fruit (including old-school candied peel). Enjoy fresh or toasted, with a cold chunk of cultured butter.
Gelato-filled Easter eggs: Piccolina
Stores in Collingwood, Hawthorn, St Kilda, Richmond and Melbourne CBD. Order here.
Chocolate Easter eggs filled with gelato… that’s gotta be on your holiday wish list. The dark chocolate-coated Ferrerolina is filled with Nutella gelato, puffed rice and gianduja ganache, while the milk chocolate-coated Tiramisu has mascarpone gelato, Kahlua-soaked savoiardi sponge fingers and a coffee-cream inside. Or you might prefer the white chocolate-coated Colomba, filled with pistachio gelato, toasted colombo di Pasqua cake and soft caramel. Choose your favourite flavour and you’ll get three eggs in a cute limited-edition tin ($25).
Bottomless cocktails @ Pontoon
St Kilda Beach. Bookings here or call9525 5445
Right across the Easter long weekend, Pontoon is offering bottomless cocktails with a signature Pontoon lunches for just $65pp. That’s 90 minutes of free-flowing cocktails with a dish like Pontoon’s excellent Fisherman’s Basket. But it’s only for lunch bookings from Good Friday to Easter Monday.
Reverie’s Hot Cross bao buns
Reverie Cafes trading Easter weekend in Prahran, Doncaster + Eastland.
Pastry guru Pierrick Boyer has a knack for melding flavours from different cultures. This time the French patissier has merged the sweet indulgence of raisins and chocolate with the steamed Asian bao to create a light, choc-filled bun that ticks all the Easter boxes.
