Meeting Esther at Exquise Patisserie

Quite often I like to attribute my immense obsession with food to my mother. From a young sandgroping age I went from slurping noodles in Chinatown to eating fresh seafood in Fremantle and binging on street food all over the world. Even to this day, mum and I go on food adventures, seeking out delicious places to dine at or treats to take away.

Recently my mum and her friend stumbled upon a new patisserie which opened around three months ago in Fremantle. After chatting to the owner for ages and bringing home some divine baked goods, she managed to convince me that a trip to the port suburb was in order.

Exquise Patisserie is a quiet little cafe, hidden from the main strip in Fremantle. The owner, Esther, is delightfully sweet, having immigrated from China years ago. She lives, breathes and of course eats all things baked, with strength in French pastries and cakes in particular. Oh yes, and the most incredible handmade marshmallows you could even imagine. 

Beverage wise you have five senses coffee beans in use, plus some beautiful teas and fresh juices. On our visit my mum ordered some chrysanthemum tea while I chose a watermelon, apple, ginger and lemon juice. They both went down an absolute treat, my juice refreshing and cool. They were the perfect accompaniment for the slices of cake we ordered.

Mum's mango cheesecake was smooth and lightly sweet; the bottom crumbly and the mango hit bright but not overpowering. It might surprise you that I'm actually not the biggest mango fan, but even I could appreciate the flavouring in this cake. I hear they also do a guava version sometimes!

My cake slice of choice is enigmatically titled 'chocolate souffle'. As Esther puts the plate down in front of me, she smiles and tells me affectionately that people say it's like eating a cake form of ice-cream. Consider my curiosity piqued!

It looks dark and dense, but the texture is actually so light! It's almost like a mousse cake, with a lovely rich and bitter ganache on the outside. While I can appreciate chocolate cake, it's never my first choice, but I loved this. The slices of nuts underneath offer the perfect crunch and savoury contrast to each bite.

The patisserie was intermittently busy, but in the quiet periods we got the chance to chat to Esther more and photograph some of the beautiful pastries she makes each day. I've included photos below (many of which are things we ended up buying and taking home with us). My favourites flavour wise were definitely the almond croissant and the bacon and gruyere cheese quiche.

I mentioned before that there are some phenomenal marshmallows made here at Exquise. Funnily enough, my boy's nickname for me is 'mallow' so everyone is always buying me marshmallows. I've come to love them (ALOT) and handmade ones are my weakness.

The marshmallows here are made with fruit purees with no added colours. They're soft and so unbelievably fluffy with bursts of flavour coming through. There's raspberry, mango, passionfruit, blueberry, strawberry, black currant and more. I definitely recommend trying these if you pay Exquise a visit!

I almost don't want to tell you the best part about Exquise... but in the interest of getting the word out about this cute little place, I guess I should. Every Friday Esther bakes fresh loaves of brioche buns (six buns per loaf) for sale on Friday and on the weekend. 

Now brioche buns are hard enough to find most of the time as not that many bakeries make them, and most stock seems to get gobbled up by those who can't get enough of butter (people like me). Lucky for me I was there just as they came fresh out of the oven... and at $6.50 (yes, you read that right) a loaf, well naturally we had to buy a few for the road! 

I was so full when we left Exquise but that didn't stop me from digging in to try a roll in the car. Heaven. Fresh out of the oven, steaming hot and buttery soft, it was delicious! Lucky for me, Fremantle isn't super close otherwise I'd be down there every Friday getting my brioche on. 

Next time you're in Freo take a minute and stroll off the main strip to Exquise Patisserie. I'm expecting big things to come for this place once people discover the tasty delights on offer and the lovely owner who is the pastry chef and the smiling face that greets you whenever you enter. I'm hoping all her hard work and dedication pays off!