Pastry: Golden but texture of a soft biscuit 6.5/10
Presentation: Proportionally sound, excellent glossy icing 8/10
Value for money: $3.80 - Medium portion size, some satisfaction gained 7/10
Overall score: 7/10
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Filling: Thicker than expected creamy custard 6.5/10
Pastry: Golden but texture of a soft biscuit 6.5/10 Presentation: Proportionally sound, excellent glossy icing 8/10 Value for money: $3.80 - Medium portion size, some satisfaction gained 7/10 Overall score: 7/10
I pulled up outside Amie in Richmond at 7.30am, heading towards work. I wasn’t sure if they’d have much baked by that time of the morning, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some vanilla slices in the cabinet. I sceptically wondered if they were left overs from yesterday, but I took one just to find out regardless. Unravelling from its paper bag at work a little while later I was met with quick a dense little block. The custard was heavy and much thicker than I was expecting. The pastry allowed for easy pickup and remained rigid enough to consume with my fingers. If this was yesterday’s than it had faired well, but if fresh then the pastry is not baked quite a firmly, with a more biscuity texture than that of a buttery flaky pastry. The custard was firm but not set, creamy but not vanilla flavoured. Not amazing, but not awful either. The icing was the best component; glossy and a great thickness for the proportions of the slice.it provided that added sweetness to a not-so sweet custard. At $3.80 you really can’t complain here, and next time I will endeavour to try one of their banh mi sandwiches too.
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Filling: Morish, light and airy vanilla custard 9.5/10 Pastry: Thin, crispy and golden brown 8.5/10 Presentation: Excellent proportions, expertly iced 9/10 Value for money: $4.20 - Medium portion size, surprisingly fresh at 5pm 10/10 Overall score: 9.25/10 This review starts with a story of generosity and a massive thank you. For many years now Simon Sharp, son of Kevin Sharp - the master baker at Sharp’s Bakery in Birchip, has been encouraging me to visit the country Victoria town to sample the best vanilla slice in Australia. With a few tried and failed attempts at reaching Birchip, as well as missing out on sampling a Sharp’s slice at the Mildura 2018 Vanilla Slice Triumph, I was randomly contacted by Simon. He was heading my direction with two freshly baked slices (that morning) and wanted me to have them. I caught up with him at a secret rendezvous point to gladly accept his offering, cementing the deal with a cheeky selfie with my son and a nice chat.
After the short drive home, the vanilla slices had covered approximately 350km from Birchip to Melbourne and were now ready for unpacking and hasty consumption at 5pm! Neatly packed in a takeaway tub with the Sharp’s logo and reminder of their successes at the GAVS Triumph’s over the years, I took one slice out, cut it in half with a sharp knife and was relieved to still hear a crunch and feel the resistance of the blade passing through. Mrs B took a bite, as did I, and we looked at each other waiting for the first one to speak their opinion. The outcome? Very nice indeed. Considering the grand effort of the slices having even reached me in the same day as being baked, in one piece, with no sogginess in the pastry is not only a miracle, but massively impressive - again, thank you Simon. The custard, though not fridge cold, was deliciously light, airy, smooth, not overpoweringly sweet and had a subtle undertone of vanilla. We managed to escape with minimal escaped custard, thankful to the perfect consistency and quantity of the filling. The pastry too, considering the odds, still had excellent crunch and rigidity to be picked up. Two wafer thin layers and a mid brown bake ensured notable savoury flavour to the slice. Finally, a delicate layer of perfectly formed icing ensured maximum sugar delivery to our flailing 5pm needs. We were also impressed that we didn’t have any sticky icing finger prints when the goods were scoffed. So overall, I’m thrilled to have finally ticked Sharp’s off my list. I’d love to actually visit Birchip and have one fresh off the shelf next time. To be honest, there isn’t much difference in the products on sale in Sharp’s and Bridgwater Bakehouse (current winners of the Triumph for the second year running). I’m sure it will only be a matter of time until Sharp’s take out the title again. Simon, you’re a legend! Thanks to Kevin for the slices too, and good luck at the 2020 GAVST in August. |
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January 2022
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