OK, Spotswood - sharing is caring. Welcome to Candied, Spotty's new secret sweet spot!
This is a divine little bakery/cafe by Toula and Orlando, formerly of East Brunswick's Sugardough. Sidle up to the cool concrete counter and you'll see a hive of activity out the back as luscious pies, croissants and cookies come to life.
The angle is Aussie bakery with Euro flair and an American twist. There's inspiration from New York's Momofuku Milk Bar with "crusty brownie pie", wodges of dangerously dark brownie goodness with a salted pretzel crust. More pie madness ensues with the apple pie shake - a piece of Mom's finest blended with milk till sippable!
And continuing the western suburbs' love affair with donuts, Candied offer these pleasure bombs filled with smooth American-style jelly or zuppa Inglese, Italian-style custard.
Beef pie, $5.60
Try pies like egg and bacon, silverbeet and cheese or good ole beef. With house-made pastry and Toula's homemade tomato sauce, it's a totally awesome reincarnation of a much maligned Aussie classic.
Like North Melbourne's Beatrix, Candied are really proud of their commitment to their suppliers. I love this trend - it makes me feel part of a continuum linking producer, provider and patron. (And yes, I've seen the Portlandia sketch and I LOVE IT - you should watch it too!)
But lest we all take ourselves too seriously, get stuck into Candied's ker-azee soft serve, like this gorgeous banofee flavour made with real bananas and house-made caramel sauce. Oh yeah!! Flavours change regularly - check back for condensed milk, Milo and even peanut butter and jelly!
Candied is a bakery so there aren't loads of tables and chairs. Grab a spot at the communal table, or park yourself on this low bench along one wall. Leaning against the cool bricks, great coffee in your lap, it's actually strangely relaxing.
...and don't forget bread to go. Lastly, if you want a super hot tip, put an order in for blue cheese croissants. They're taking a sojourn from the menu but Orlando's happy to make them for you if you call ahead. I'm not into blue cheese on its own at all, but these croissants are absolute corkers - the light sprinkle of blue goes deliciously crusty against all that buttery, flaky goodness, making a savoury flavour bomb that's totally irresistible.
81A Hudsons Road, Spotswood
Phone: 9391 1335
Hours: Wed-Sat 7.30am-4pm, Sun 8am-4pm
Oh no, of course - blue cheese, soft serve, espresso and I won't mention the lovely filled sandwiches with slices of Brie peeking out! ;-)
ReplyDeleteis it near any public transport point? me wants to check it out one day.
ReplyDeleteYes Sally, it's less than 50 m from Spotswood station. :-)
DeleteHi
ReplyDeletezuppa inglese is not custard.
try trifle.
Jennifer
Thanks for that - I'm not sure if it's meant to be the custard in zuppa Inglese then or zuppa Inglese-flavoured custard. Anyway, it is delicious!
DeleteThanks for the great posts; we've been following in your footsteps, checking out your recommendations, and thought we'd almost beaten you to this one until we actually saw you there last week. ;-)
ReplyDeleteCheers, Meg
Oh Meg, that's a scream! You should have said hi! :-D
DeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteI too have followed your blog for years, and enjoy it very much. I also agree with alot of your opinion and taste! I was excited when Candied opened due to the fact that I live down the road (near the Newport train station - only a minute away!)but I now refuse to give them my patronage. Over the summer every time I dropped by to purchase something they were closed ( I get that everyone needs a break, no real issues there.) The second time I turned up on a Monday morning, again to find them closed, since worked out closed for buisness every Tuesday also. (again no real major issue.) But what has turned me off completely is that two Sunday mornings in a row I have turned up at there opening time to buy a loaf of bread. Both times have been told that there would be no bread ready until "around 9am" which is a full hour after opening. That is four times in total I have had to turn around and drive to Williamstown to buy bread. There won't be a fifth unfortunately.
Hi anon,
DeleteThanks for your feedback and I'm chuffed you've been a regular follower for years! I can see that Candied being shut over summer and on Mon & Tues could be disappointing but as you say, completely understandable. Many cafes and bakeries do open seven days a week but I completely understand the need to have a proper weekend! I would imagine it's a sensible long-term strategy to prevent burnout and to keep quality high.
I can definitely see how the bread issue is perturbing, though. I think it is reasonable to expect a bakery to have bread ready to go as soon as they open. Maybe not the full range, but definitely a basic loaf or two. Maybe it's worth chatting to Candied if you do go back in just one more time as to what their standard procedure is. They're still a relatively new business so maybe they were still ironing out kinks and now the bread is ready to go at 8am on Sunday?
Otherwise, another tip is the pint of milk in Newport sell fresh bread (from Crumbs Organic Bakery in Ascot Vale) and they open at 8am on a Sunday. I'm sure they'd be closer than going all the way to Willie. Happy breakfasting anyway and thanks for your readership over the years.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pint of milk tip, they are alot closer, I struggle with going to cafes in the area due to the fact that I know what I produce myself on a Sunday morning (hence requiring beautiful bread!) is far superior for a lot less!
On a side note have you ever noticed the similarities between the owners of the pint of milk/pickle barrel and candied, uncanny!
Mark
Hi Mark - I've only ever spoken to the pint of milk owner on the phone so don't know what he looks like. Hmm, another excuse to go back and sample their pancakes with peanut butter parfait and praline! MMMMM!
DeleteHeh heh... I can just picture the honey joy cheesecake shivering in its box, saying to the crusty brownie pie - "What do you think she intends to do with us?" You're next, sucker!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree about Sourdough Kitchen! And the counter staff they have at the moment are absolutely delightful.