I have always been a fan of éclairs, particularly the traditional chocolate éclair filled with pastry cream. When executed well, the combination of the airy choux dough, cream filling and chocolate icing is just too hard to resist. Growing up in Melbourne, these pastries have become so common that you might find them in most local bakeries, sitting in the pastry cabinet alongside much loved favourites such as jam tarts and donuts.
At Cacao Lab, the éclairs are a little different from the ones you might be accustomed to both eating and seeing. Each flavour offering is comprised of several elements and structurally, carry its own unique characteristic. Take the Lemon Meringue for instance, which is topped with four meringue kisses, vanilla sable and filled with a zesty lemon curd. Its just one of the 10 delicious flavours available.
Whilst you can purchase éclairs at the other Cacao locations in Melbourne, Cacao Lab is the playground for these pastries (they carry the largest selection of éclairs). It might be a little hard to locate, but this little dessert laboratory is a must visit for any éclair or dessert fiend. If not, the aesthetics alone might be enough to tug your heart strings.
Yes, they taste just as good as they look!
Mango and salted caramel eclair, caramel popcorn and white chocolate discs
Lemon Curd, vanilla sable (shortbread) and italian meringue
Cacao Lab
Driver Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000
so stunning – this is a work of art.