La Renaissance Patisserie, The Rocks

Ever since tasting my last year's birthday cake from La Renaissance with melt-in-the-mouth delicate chocolate sheets and light-as-air mousse, I knew that I had to return for more cakes and pastries! Charm had to go to The Rocks Markets to pick up some things and with the promise of cake I tagged along.

Courtyard in La Renaissance Patisserie

We had lunch at La Renaissance first, choosing things from a range of pies, baguettes and quiches from their savouries menu and ordering at the counter before taking a seat in the quaint little courtyard out the back.

Poulet Chasseur pie - $8.00

I ordered the poulet chasseur pie which had a delicious chicken and vegetable. As soon as I cut into the pie the sauce oozed outand I could smell the tomato, garlic and white wine aromas from the sauce. The chicken was still succulent and the pastry was beautifully flaky.

Boeuf Hâche pie - $7.00

Mum ordered the boeuf hâche which was the minced beef pie. The mince was surprisingly tasty and the pastry was the same flaky, buttery pastry from the previous pie. However, on the menu it said it was in a red wine and tomato sauce which I couldn't really taste. It's also possible that the tomato sauce they were referring to was the one that came with the pie in a squeezy pack! Hm... but nevertheless it was still a good meat pie.

Baguette poulet et crudités - $9.50

Charm decided to go with a baguette poulet et crudités which had roast chicken breast, salad, semi-dried tomatoes and roast garlic mayonnaise. The baguette was amazing with just the right amount of mayonnaise to accompany the tender chicken and salad. The bread itself was pretty good with fluffy insides but unfortunately the outside was a bit chewy.

A Slice of Soap - soap made in the shape of cupcakes and licorice allsorts!

We decided to wander around the markets for a bit before returning to get cakes and pastries. I saw some lovely sweets which turned out to be made out of soap! And also some other interesting items...

Wall hangings at The Rocks Markets

Um....

We returned to La Renaissance to pick some cakes to take home. After much umming and ahhing we settled on 3 cakes.

Passion de Pierre - $6.00

The first was the Passion de Pierre which was passionfruit mousse and raspberry jelly with a joconde sponge layer on the outside. This was lovely and light, with a tang from the passionfruit and the raspberry. The pepper-looking things on the top I think were balls of sugar.

Larme de Gaugin - $6.00

Another fruity cake was the teardrop shaped Larme de Gaugin. This was similar to the Passion de Pierre but with a sweeter berry flavoured mousse encased in an almond sponge. 

Zulu - $9.00

And of course I couldn't resist getting something with chocolate - the Zulu. It had 4 components: a chocolate mousse, a salted caramel ganache centre, a macaron biscuit exterior and a flourless chocolate biscuit base. The mousse was amazingly smooth and the Valrhona chocolate just made it heavenly. I loved the crunchy biscuit bits which contrasted with the smooth mousse and the salted caramel centre went great with the chocolate. Although all three cakes were delicious, this was by far my favourite out of them all. I'm already contemplating a return visit...

La Renaissance Patisserie
47 Argyle Street
The Rocks
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: +61 2 9421 4878


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