Where to find Sydney’s best crepes
08 Feb 2023
08 Feb 2023
When we went to Tonton Bread in Sydney’s Surry Hills in search of a much talked about croissant...
We didn’t expect to find a chocolate almond croissant that knocked our socks off and left us declaring it our must-try dish of the week!
Image credit Tonton Bread
Is that the full name?
Technically it’s a “Twice-cooked chocolate almond croissant”, but if you ask for a choc almond croissant or even an almond chocolate croissant you’ll get what you need.
Where do you get it?
Tonton Bread, 100 Fitzroy St Surry Hills NSW 2010
Why is it a winner?
It’s pretty easy to understand why we’re obsessed with this one. When we asked French hospitality wiz Marianne Poirey where to go for Sydney’s best croissant, she nominated Tonton Bread. When we got there, we were very easily sold on a different croissant, one which was essentially a mash-up between an almond croissant and a pain au chocolat. The chocolate almond croissant combined the glories of super buttery pastry, sweet almond cream and decadent Belgian dark chocolate in a flaky croissant with just the right amount of crunch. Technically, it’s difficult to master, but from a taste perspective, it’s magnifique! We’ll be back!
What does the baker say?
“
We wanted the choc almond croissant to remind us of the after school treat from the next-door bakery back home in Paris. We wanted to feel the comfort of our childhood, which is why we are extra generous on the filling and with the almond flakes on top.
From a technical perspective, making a good almond croissant is challenging as you bake a croissant twice but the almond cream inside only once. You do not want the croissant to be dry and you want the cream to be cooked inside which is important as it contains eggs and could be a food safety concern if raw almond cream remains inside. Therefore, we soak the whole choc almond croissant in a thick cinnamon syrup. Then we fill generously with our homemade rich vanilla almond cream. The syrup brings enough moisture for the croissant to take as much time as the almond cream to be baked without drying it out. At Tonton, between my wife Vero and myself, we bring about 30 years of combined expertise which we learnt from the best bakery houses in France. We are also both graduates of the prestigious Gregoire Ferrandi Paris Culinary School and we try to put all that we have learnt in practice with everything we do. „
Owner and baker at Tonton Bread, Adrien Chrunyk
Anything else to know?
The baguette at Tonton is also something special, with a flavour and texture that meets the best you’ll find in Paris. And you’ll also find Tonton at Le Marché-Willoughby.
If you’re after more great French recommendations, check out our After Service feature with Marianne Poirey, who helped us discover Tonton in the first place.
