The range of desserts on offer in Australia just keeps getting better and better. With new cuisines and innovative food creations forming an addition to the traditional Australian desserts already well known across the country, there is no lack of choice. 2015 saw the retail gain of around $175.57 million from cake sales in Australia throughout the year, while chocolate bars contributed roughly $301.07 million in the sweets industry. So the question is, which desserts - both new and traditional - are currently the most popular in Australia?
Traditional Desserts
One of the desserts that Australia is perhaps most renowned for around the globe is the Lamington. This sponge cake covered in a layer of chocolate and coconut shavings was created at the beginning of the 1900s, and has remained a key cake of Australia ever since. Another local dessert which has made its way across the globe is the pavlova, called such in honour of the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova (1881 - 1931), Deliveroo explains that "This delicate meringue pudding should be crispy on the outside and beautifully soft inside". It is this lightness of the dessert that is reminiscent of the dancer for which it was named. By adorning it with fruit and cream, the textures and colours of the pavlova are enhanced, making it not only delicious but also aesthetically appealing.
Gelato
While gelato has been popular for years, recently is has been brought into the spotlight by the awarding of the World's Best Gelato accolade to an Australian company. As a component of the Gelato World Tour in 2014, the award was presented to the family-run Cow and Moon gelateria in Enmore, who had previously proved themselves victors at the Sydney Easter Show. The Mandorla affogato flavour gelato was the one that gained them the prize, impressing the judges with the carefully selected coffee flavour.
Although globally it is reported that the more established flavours, such as cream and chocolate, are the most popular, the growing trend in Australia for gelato marks the potential for many more flavours to be introduced into the global gelato market.
Chinese Egg Tarts
Although not traditionally Australian, Chinese egg tarts have caught on massively here, particularly among those who enjoy home cooking, as these treats are relatively easy to bake. Soft crumbly pastry and a light custard filling mean that almost anyone can enjoy them.
Hybrid Creations
We present to you 'cronuts': the newest craze on the pastry scene. These croissant-doughnut hybrids were initially the brain child of Dominique Ansel, a New York City-based pastry chef running her own bakery. Cronuts are produced by forming dough similar in consistency to that of a croissant into a doughnut shape and frying it in oil, before filling with cream.
Masterchef Mastermind
The delectable desserts of 2015 Masterchef contestant Reynold Poernomo (often referred to as the Dessert King) opened his own dessert bar in Chippendale, Sydney, on the 10th of January 2017. The Koi Dessert Bar features a ground floor cafe and upstairs bar area. Although there is a savoury aspect to the bar, it is the desserts that everyone is excited about. While Poernomo's famous Masterchef apple dessert has been reinvented using raspberry gel, chocolate mousse and strawberries under the title Something Similar, the chef claims his favourite dessert on his menu to be his Summer Pearl, which is comprised of passion fruit curd, caramelised saffron-pineapple and white chocolate. Summer Pearl also experiments with "hot and cold coconut", in the form of coconut in hot broth arrangement and exposed to liquid nitrogen. The cohesiveness of the creations goes further by offering drinks and cocktails chosen to be compatible with specific desserts, for a full gastronomic experience. Poernomo's aim is to incorporate more Indonesian food into Australia's popular culinary sphere.
The best part is that these desserts only represent a fraction of what is on offer right now in Australia's dessert market. They do, however, promise times ahead of even more development in the dessert sector of the food industry, giving dessert lovers a bright future to look ahead to while basking in current baking bliss.