La Renaissance Cafe Patisserie, The Rocks

Sorry about the lack of recipes here lately, but the Croquembouche was literally the last thing we cooked in our kitchen - things have been hectic with Stephen's visitors from America!

La Renaissance is a place that Stephen (and Roxy!) and I have been wanting to go for a long time. When Stephen and I happened to find ourselves in the vicinity of the rocks, and craving some caffeine, we decided to venture into the little french cafe.

Upon entry, we were confronted with rows of delicious-looking cakes and macarons, and a very friendly and knowledgeable lady with a wonderful French accent, who helped us pronounce our selections and told us what was in them. It was very hard to choose, but eventually we decided on one cake and beverage each to eat in the courtyard, and one of each macaron to to take home.

After our cakes were served on plates, we take them outside with us while we wait for our drinks to come. The courtyard is surrounded by brick buildings and trees on all sides, encapsulating the diners in a world away from the hustle and bustle of Argyle St.

Larme De Gaugin - $7.00 (eat-in)

The first cake we tried, the tear drop-shaped Larme De Gaugin, was a light-as-air berry mousse encased in soft almond sponge, with a berry compote in the middle, and topped with glazed berries. A berry lover's delight, and I am a berry lover ;). It was fresh, it was light, and best of all it actually tasted of real berry, and not that sickly, over-sweet imitation one sometimes finds.

Tranche au Chocolat - $6.50 (eat-in)

A delicious concoction of rich chocolate ganache, chocolate sponge and pistachio nuts, the Tranche au Chocolat was Stephen's favourite. It was thick in the mouth, and the smoothness of the ganache and sponge was balanced with the unexpected crunch of pistachio, which also lent the cake a more complex flavour.

Iced Coffee - $6.00 and Iced Mocha - $5.50

The iced coffee and iced mocha were cool, refreshing and delicious, but not anything different to other cafes. Good quality coffee was used, and they were both perfectly sweet, not overly so.

Macarons - $2.50 each

When we got home, we decimated those macarons! The flavours they had that day were (clockwise from top left) Raspberry, Blackcurrent, Milk Chocolate Passionfruit, Rose, Violet, Jasmine Tea, Chocolate Coconut and Pistachio. They were all fantastic, crisp shells encasing delicious, flavoured ganaches or compotes, and I have to say, they could quite possibly be in the running for the best macarons I've had so far.

La Renaissance Patisserie is a great little place in the heart of the city, with really good quality cakes, pastries, macarons and coffee. If you happen to be in The Rocks, be sure to visit!