After a few trips to the more recently opened Threefold Pastry in Parramatta, N sufficiently piqued my interest with her comparisons to Buttercrumbs Croissant in Five Dock that we made the trek out to the inner west.
Five Dock is their second location after originally popping up inside the cafe, Bare Witness, in Rhodes in 2019.
This is the Pretzel ($4.50). This combination was new to me and a delectable first bite into the pastries on offer. The croissant had the signature deep golden brown colour and smell of lye that came through on tasting, while the layers of the pastry were flaky, yet denser than a normal croissant and the sesame seeds added a moreish nuttiness. This is the perfect savoury croissant.
The Spinach and Ricotta ($6.50) is a firm favourite for N and T. The very generous innards were smooth and fluffy, giving a perfect contrast to the crisp, flaky pastry.
Moving on to the sweet pastries, this is the Pistachio Butter Cube ($6.50). Essentially, it was a cube of croissant pastry filled with a pistachio vanilla cream. Following the lightness of the other pastries, this was a surprising let down. The pastry was very dry, dense and not at all buttery, while it was an awkward height to bite down on and eating the pastry sideways felt wrong texturally. The pistachio cream was the right colour but the pistachio flavour was very subtle and lacked its signature savoury notes, while the sweet vanilla dominated.
Thankfully, the more standard sweet offerings satisfied our dessert stomach. This is the Apple Turnover ($6.00), which consisted of flaky croissant pastry folded over apple filling with a crunchy turbinado sugar topping. Here, the pastry was crisp and golden, with its buttery honeycomb flavour pairing delightfully with the sweet apple filling, which was generally smooth with a few chunks for a gentle tartness. The crunch of the sugar top was added yet another (welcome) element of texture.
And finally, this was the Almond Croissant. This one was warm, buttery and moist on the inside, while the top gave a delectable chew from the frangipane and a crunch from the flaked almonds. This version of the almond croissant was worlds apart from the one we’d had just a few weeks earlier at Threefold Pastry.
This is the Raspberry & Coconut ($6.50), which has a filling of frangipane and raspberry jam and is topped with more frangipane and coconut flakes.
The croissant, as ever, is flaky, buttery and crisp. The raspberry jam and the frangipane add a bright sweetness, while the flakes of coconut add crunch. Overall, this is a satisfying dessert croissant, though its overwhelming sweetness means it’s not quite something we’d return pick over others.
This is the Blueberry Croissant ($6.00).
The pastry is crisp and buttery without being dry, while the blueberries retain enough of their firmness to give a good punchy contrast to the softer and sweeter custard beneath.
This is the Strawberry & Nutella ($6.00).
I’m not usually one for Nutella in desserts, but here it works surprisingly well, adding a deeper nutty sweetness that contrasts the custard, while the strawberries cut through with their fresh acidity.
This is the Palmier ($4.00).
This was D’s choice and an absolutely delicious one at that, with its numerous buttery layers and sugar making it supremely crispy and crunchy. It gave us fond memories of the Tsujisei Seika Kabosu Pie.
The effect of COVID-19, though, meant the variety in their offering was halved even on a weekend post-lockdown. We weren’t able to satisfy our cravings for their garlic squares or pretzel croissants but took the opportunity to try other items on their menu we’d previously overlooked.
Buttercrumbs Croissant is located at Shop1/189 Great N Rd, Five Dock NSW 2046.