Bacco Italian Pasticceria

Strawberry Tart from Bacco – $6

After having lunch at Bécasse, what other choice is there but to keep the greediness alive by having dessert! My friend and I decided to trek up to Chifley Plaza and try out the italian pasticceria there.

My mum used to work around the corner from Chifley Plaza – and apparently Bacco became her team’s number one choice for office birthday cakes. So much so that even after the team was relocated down to the Liverpool end of Hyde Park (with many other tasty cake options nearby I’m sure), her colleagues still insist on walking to Bacco to bring back cake. Sounds like a good sign to me!!

Bacco is located in the foyer of Chifley Plaza. Even though it was just past lunch time, they were still doing a brisk trade in yummy looking panini, ciabatta and salads. Augh! No! Must not get distracted by delicious looking bread. Must remind self that I’d just had a lovely lunch, and was really quite full. Make a mental note to come back and try the panini.

OK. MUST FOCUS ON PASTRIES. (What an arduous life I lead.)

After a long and much discussed decision, we selected two cakes from the long glass cabinet. A strawberry tart, and a lemon meringue.

We sat ourselves down on the long wooden communal table with our treats, and found ourselves unable to do anything but stare at them, bug eyed. So beautiful! The strawberry tart was dabbed with gold leaf, and each tart was decorated with a piece of toffee lace.

Lemon Meringue Tart – $6

Ok! Put away the camera! It’s time for bites. YUM. The meringue on the lemon tart is soft like clouds. It’s Italian Meringue, rather than crunchy, fragile French Meringue. Italian meringue is made in a process that uses boiling sugar syrup, rather than caster sugar – it’s very stable and does not need to be fully baked. The meringue on this tart is only lightly torched, leaving it sweet and fluffy. The lemon curd is rich and tangy, and balances the extreme sweetness of the meringue.

As much as I love lemon tart, I think my favourite was the strawberry, for sheer beauty! The strawberries are ripe and sweet, and sit nicely in a bed of custard in a crunchy crust.

I’ll definitely be making the walk again!

Bacco Italian Pasticceria
Chifley Plaza
2 Chifley Square
Sydney 2000

Ph: (02) 9223 9552
Cafe/Pasticceria open Monday – Friday: 7am – 5pm
(however, select cakes and desserts are available to order from the Wine Bar, which is open until 10:30pm)