Sweet Belem Cake Boutique is a well-established bakery located in Petersham, renowned for its Portuguese pastries. The bakery has garnered a strong and loyal following, particularly for its Portuguese tarts, which consistently sell between 600 and 1000 units on a typical weekend day.

Portuguese Tart ($4.50 in December 2022, $5.00 in October 2023).

This tart featured a delicate dusting of cinnamon, encasing a thin and audibly crispy, flaky pastry shell brimming with a sweet egg custard. Subtle hints of cinnamon graced the initial bite, enhancing the forthcoming sweetness before allowing the rich, eggy custard to conclude each bite. In comparison, these surpassed the ones from Tuga Pastries, which tended to be slightly sweeter and less egg-centric.

Baked Chocolate Tart ($5.00 in October 2023)

This tart showcased a cocoa shortcrust base with a subtle sweetness and a pronounced savoury character. It formed a perfect harmony with the indulgent, gooey, and fudgy chocolate center, which exuded richness and decadence. We enjoyed every bite of this tart, appreciating the well-balanced sweetness, delightful textural contrasts, and the use of high-quality ingredients.

Portuguese Creme Caramel ($6.00 in December 2022).

Abundant caramel accompanied this dessert, reaching the perfect depth of darkness without a hint of burning. The pudding had a robust eggy flavour, featuring a somewhat firmer but still smooth exterior in contrast to the creamier and silkier interior. Personally, we’d have preferred the pudding to be slightly less cooked, but it was nonetheless an enjoyable treat.

Portuguese Lamington ($6.50 in October 2023), featuring egg jam, chocolate, coconut and sponge cake.

Regrettably, unlike the previous desserts, we found this one to be lacking in sweetness balance. The combination of the egg jam (from the Portuguese tart) and the chocolate (similar to that in the chocolate tart) resulted in an overpowering sweetness, with the chocolate lacking the necessary richness to counter it. Additionally, the textures of the egg jam and chocolate were too alike, failing to offer the desired contrast to the sponge’s softness. Instead, the coarse toasted coconut dominated with a chewiness that was not enjoyable.

On the whole delicious baked goods with rich egg custard abound at Sweet Belem Cake Boutique. We’d be keen to try other cakes when we’re in the area.

Sweet Belem Cake Boutique is located at 35B New Canterbury Rd, Petersham NSW 2049.