Black Star Pastry, Newtown

Newtown - a treasure trove of fashion trends, 6.50 thai, music, street art and good food as i'm slowly discovering. Whilst passing Oscillate Wildly the other night, I spotted a quaint little bakery next door and it turns out it was the famous Black Star Pastry. Christopher The is the genius at work here, formerly of 2 hatters Universal and Claudes, Christopher has since left and opened up a little patisserie in the heart of Newtown.  I haven't had much time to visit it lately but I knew a visit was inevitable sooner or later.

Some would say it's cosy, but it's a little on the more claustrophobic and uncomfortable side with it's lack of chairs  and stout tables. There is, however, an intoxicating aroma made up of layers of layers of coffee, sweet and hearty pies that just draws you in. 

Young Henry Beer and Brisket 7.8

I had a beef and beer pie all wrapped in a wonderfully crisp, artfully groved pastry case. The filling was good but it pales in comparison to the next pie.

Lamb Shank + Red Wine 7.8

For my 8 dollars, I'll pick the far more gutsy lamb pie liberally laced with rosemary leaves and fall-off-the-bone tender lamb strips that leave me wanting more. I notice L didn't seem to complain about this pie and she usually loathes lamb. 

Strawberry Watermelon Cake with Rose Cream 7

There's so much hype that surrounds this cake and it's befitting that it does so. L could not stop raving on and on and on about it. It's hard not to, with the clearly defined individual alternating layers of crisp sweet watermelon, sponge cake (as opposed to the usual sogginess that just invades the other layers) and strawberries perfumed with a rose cream and dressed with a glossy syrup and rose petals and pistachios. It's light and all the hero flavours never over power, instead wonderful complementing each other in harmonic balance.

Bread and Butter Pudding with Anglaise 6.2

On the other hand, I could not stop going on about the bread and butter pudding. Layers and layers of sweet buttery brioche are compacted together, studded with sweet raisins and a vanilla bean creme anglaisé with a little kick of liqueur. It's just bloody delicious.

There's so much more to Black Star Pastry and it's a little odd that I've only just discovered it. I'm a little disappointed that I missed out on the truffle day on August but there's always next year right? I don't think, however, that I can wait that long for my next Black Star Pastry fix.


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Posted in: bakery, cakes, dessert, Newtown, pie