Jackman and McRoss Bakery
Address: 59 Hampden Road, Battery Point, Tasmania, 7004
Phone: (03) 6223 3186
Open: Weekdays, 7.30am until 6pm
Weekends, 7.30am until 5pm
According to the Lonely Planet website, Jackman and McRoss Bakery is rated number 3 out of 117 things to do in Hobart. Following our Mount Wellington Descent (a downhill bike ride from the top of Mount Wellington, view below), we decided to check it out. Once we had enjoyed a cup of tea and a sweet treat, the high rating seemed less ridiculous.
The bakery is located at the top of iconic Hampden Road. Both locals and visitors battle for tables, but we visited an hour before closing time and had no trouble getting a seat.
People flock to the bakery for their freshly baked bread, pies and seasonal lunches. The first thing you notice upon entering is the giant glass display cabinet full of naughty cakes and slices. Behind it are the shelves of bread and a doorway leading through to the kitchen. Light floods the bakery through the ceiling to floor windows and there are a couple of tables available on the pavement. On a nice day, you will be pushed to find a woven chair in the main dining area, but if you follow the wooden floorboards down a step, you will come across a larger room, complete with modern art on the white walls.
Interestingly, we took home a sourdough loaf and a prune and walnut fruit load and were less than impressed; there wasn’t much tang in the sourdough. As for the fruit loaf, the minimal response ‘meh’ summed it up. While I can’t speak much for the breakfast or lunch menu, I can certainly rave about the cakes. Let’s just say you could guess I was on holiday!
I went for the richest option I could find: the chocolate gânache tart. If a chocolate base filled with a creamy chocolate filling and topped with a velvety wave of chocolate isn’t chocolaty enough, I don’t know what is.
An alternative was the lemon passionfruit meringue tart. The thin pastry base was filled with a sweet yet zesty curd, while the fluffy egg white top was barely browned. For something a little different, there was a smear of passionfruit pulp between the two layers.
Cheesecake lovers will jump for joy at the berry and cream cheese tart. The base was slightly thicker than that of the lemon passionfruit meringue tart and contained a rich, dense cheese filling, similar to the baked varieties. A small crowd of raspberries covered the cheesecake filling and shimmered beneath a sugary glaze.
The spiced apple and sultana crumble was the largest of the desserts we chose. The syrupy fruit inside complemented the sweetness of the brown sugar crumble and flaky pastry base.
Getting back to chocolate, the choc mint honeycomb tart was an interesting choice. Similar to the chocolate gânache tart but smaller in size, notes of honey and an aftertaste of mint were easily detectable. Personally, I think the mint and chocolate combination should be limited to Arnott’s Mint Slice biscuits, but I’d never turn down a chunk of honeycomb.
Admittedly, this post does nothing to enlighten supporters of savoury dishes, but those whose treasure their treats are sure to be tempted.
Those trip advisor ratings are so random sometimes. I used to laugh at the ones for top things to do in London so I can only sympathise at Hobart's plight.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, with so many rating sites, from Trip Advisor to Urbanspoon to the most recent Yelp, you start to wonder which is most accurate. Perhaps they could combine them all somehow? Whoever 'they' are...
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