Flour and Stone, Woolloomooloo – Rating: 17.5/25

This non-descript building used to be the location of Sweet Infinity Bakery but is now home to Flour and Stone, the shopfront of Cookie Couture and the product of baker Nadine Ingram.  There is neither outdoor seating nor much signage to help you find it so keep your eyes peeled!  The interior is snug with metal stools for seating.  Most of the patrons you’ll find are just passing through, collecting baked goods or (fantastic) coffee.

The menu comprises of a few of their ‘standard’ cakes such as hazelnut torte, family chocolate, wholesome carrot cake with spelt or old fashioned vanilla cake.

Whole cakes are $45, tortes are $50 and slices are $5.  Sandwiches and pies are made fresh daily (just ask for the daily specials).

Ordering is done at the counter but because of the interior size, the staff often venture out to take your order (or they are within talking distance anyway).  We found the staff to be extremely attentive, quick and friendly.

Our coffee was exquisite and at the bargain price of $3 (or $3.50 for large) we had very little to complain about.

Rabbit Hole loose leaf tea is also available (tea for 1 is $4.50, 2 $6, 3 $7.50).

Next to hot chocolate ($3.50) on the menu is scrawled “with real chocolate”.  Sounds good… and it was!  Thick and rich, perfect for an autumn morning, it was like drinking a bar of creamy chocolate.  Not only that but once you finish the cup, there is also a small jug with more hot chocolate to top it up!

 The zucchini, chilli and gruyere combination is available as a tart ($6.50) or on ciabatta ($3.50).  Despite the relatively thin layers of cheese, the flavours are strong and abundant.  The ciabatta is also soft and light.  The chilli is quite faint so you needn’t be worried.

We normally don’t touch our plates before photos but it’s a bit hard to get the idea of a pie simply from the outside.  The pastry of our lamb, potato and rosemary pie ($6) was flaky and light.  The lamb melted in our mouths while we found the potato slightly too soft.  The flavour in the gravy was not heavy, allowing the lamb to do all the talking.  We devoured this quickly before moving onto sweeter things…

For a sugar hit on the run, a jam tart ($2.50) would be perfect.  Crumbly and delicate with a concentrated raspberry hit in the centre.

Now this is a chocolate cake ($5)!  It boasts the tang of buttermilk and more raspberries than you can shake a stick at.  Moist and indulgent it almost has a mousse consistency.  We recommend this as a must-try – it is simply one of the best sweet things we have tried in recent months.

 This week was an enjoyable departure from our usual bacon and egg exploits.  Unfotunately Flour and Stone is closed on Sundays but if you’re in the area from Monday to Saturday, we recommend you duck in for a sweet treat.

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