Sweet Bones Bakery

It’s just past 8.30am on a Saturday morning, and Lonsdale Street in Braddon is starting to wake up. We managed to get a table at Elk and Pea without booking or having to squeeze in with someone else, simply because we arrived right on opening (8am). A day of assignment writing stretches out ahead of me, and I feel a little motivation is in order…

Sweet Bones Bakery is on the heading-towards-Haig-Park end of Lonsdale Street, next to Elk and Pea and Lonsdale Street Roasters, buried in the back of the Londale Street Traders arcade at number 27.

The decent menu is crammed onto a blackboard, but I’m only after one thing. Delicious treats. I’m not vegan (obviously!) but I vegan treats taste amazing – I think I’d almost prefer them from non-vegan – when they’re done right.

It’s the cupcakes in the glass cabinet which capture my attention. Peanut butter chocolate? Oh yeah. It’s expensive at $5, but I never turn down peanut butter chocolate. I’m just about to pay when I see there’s chocolate hazelnut brownies. There’s choc macadamia too, but – I know, heathen – I don’t like macadamia. Choc hazelnut, on the other hand, is a combination to almost rival peanut butter chocolate. The brownie is a little cheaper ($4), maybe because less work has gone into it. The lovely lady serving me chooses me the piece at the top of the stack, and it’s a corner piece. Double oh yeah. It just gets better and better. They’re individually places in brown paper bags (think primary school tuckshop big lunch) with the Sweet Bones logo stamped on the bags in red.

Okay, enough torture. How do they taste? I surprise myself more than anybody when I don’t eat them straight away, putting them in the fridge instead. As a result, they’re probably a little different from when first bought fresh by the time I come to eat them four hours later, so bear in mind.

Choc hazelnut vegan brownie

Moist and rich. (Yes those are textbooks in the background!)

I attack the brownie first. It’s much more moist than I expect, and incredibly chocolatey. Hazelnuts are throughout the brownie, but mostly have been pushed into the top of the mixture. The texture’s great, but it just falls short of being chewy on the inside and could be a little more crunchy on the outside.

I know I shouldn’t, or I should wait, but I can’t help but wonder what the cupcake tastes like.

Chocolate peanut butter cupcake

It’s shiny on top, and the chocolate drizzled onto the icing has the texture and taste of chocolate Ice Magic.

I eat the bottom first (actually, that’s how I always eat cupcakes. Am I the only one?). It doesn’t hold its own, unfortunately. It’s not dry, but the flavour doesn’t come through like I’d expect.

The icing though. Wow. The chocolate peanut butter shines through. It’s … it sounds silly, but it’s authentic, and with the cake part, it all comes together. The icing a little grainy, but it’s not a bad thing – it reminds me so much of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, and that’s a win in my books.

I can’t wait to try more – and hope the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes are a permanent fixture in that glass cabinet.

Date: 4 May 2013

Cost: $9

Worthwhile factor: Highly worthwhile

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Related articles

• Recipe: Peanut Butter Brownies (marleyzelinkovasmith.wordpress.com)
• Best Ever Vegan Fudge (vibrantlyvegan.com)
• Chocoholic: Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake (sweets.seriouseats.com)

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