Leena Eats, Gourmet Communication ... Food, Travel, Gastronomy

Reasons why Australians rock #1: The Lamington.

I am sad to say that Americans know very little about Australians. To us Yanks, being Australian means throwing another shrimp on the barbie while drinking Fosters beer and wrestling with a crocodile. I am happy to say there is at least one woman working to change that image one delicious Australian baked good at a time.

Go to this bakery! Deliciousness will ensue!

Naomi Levine is the owner and pastry chef of TipsyCake, Chicago’s only Australian bakery. I first had the honor of meeting Chef Naomi at a Culinary Historians of Chicago meeting about Australian food. Chef Naomi spoke about Australian baked goods and made pavlovas (meringue topped with whipped cream and fruit) and lamingtons (yellow cake rolled in chocolate and coconut). I ate more than my fair share of pavlovas and lamington. And she still liked me. My food twin and podcast guest host Bobby Lincoln was a regular at TipsyCake long before I discovered it, so he was happy to accompany me the shop’s Humboldt Park location to try to a few of Chef Naomi’s goods in person. TispyCake’s bright blue walls are welcoming and fun, and the space is open enough to watch the chefs make your favorite baked goods.

Interior shot of TipsyCake #1.

Interior shot of TipsyCake #2, the kitchen.

Cakes on display @ TipsyCake.

Of course, we each got our lamingtons, which, as you can see, are both rich and light all at once

TipsyCake’s lamington

and a few rockcakes, a crumbly baked good similar to a scone.

Rockcakes @ TipsyCake

Naomi also had caramel slices available, which consist of a pastry base, a layer of caramel, and a layer of chocolate. I used to eat a caramel slice during tea time in Australia, so this really brought back memories!

Caramel slices @ TipsyCake

Chef Naomi also makes meat pies by request and wedding cakes. In order to keep costs and waste low during these hard economic times, she tries to make only a few baked goods a day unless otherwise requested, so be sure to inquire before visiting! On the day we visited, Chef Naomi was sadly stood up by a wedding cake tasting appointment. Lucky for us, she hates waste and let us do the sampling! Did I mention we both REALLY LIKE Chef Naomi? Cuz we do And who said just because you are married, you can’t have another wedding cake tasting? Ain’t no shame in this game, people. So this is what a wedding cake tasting is like @ TipsyCake:

Wedding cake tasting @ TipsyCake

For cake, we tried chocolate, white, lemon, carrot and I think angel food. For frostings, we got to try eight: vanilla, cream cheese, strawberry, chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, passion fruit, caramel, and raspberry.

Frosting! So much frosting!

Did I mention there were a few kinds of frosting?

All Bobby and I gorged on different cake and frosting combinations. Chef Naomi’s frostings were buttercream-based and intensely flavored. My favorite combination was her moist carrot cake with passion fruit frosting, as well as anything else WITH anything else. And when the cake ran out, we ate the frosting straight from the little plastic cups because we are CLASSY people.

Don’t hate. If you had tasted the passion fruit buttercream, you would have done this too.

The aftermath:

Fair warning to all cups of frosting: you WILL be destroyed.

So, in conclusion, why should you go to TipsyCake, other than the fact that you can taste authentic Australian baked goods? Because you will leave looking like this:

One happy chappy.

~LTG! *********************************************************** TipsyCake 1043 N. California Avenue Chicago, IL 773-384-4418 tipsycakechicago.com