Meet Mel.

She’s a mum, a incredible baker and the beautiful face behind one of my favourite cakes and sweet treats company called The Fleurieu Kitchen.

The Fleurieu Kitchen is based in Aldinga in Mel’s giant kitchen (that just quietly i’m incredibly jealous of). I had the pleasure of sitting down with her over a cup of tea one afternoon where we talked all things baking, sweets and good lighting for instagram photos- because lets face it, no one likes a shadow on their food pictures. This kind hearted women’s personality is bright, bubbly and her passion for baking is contagious. I was greeted with a huge smile and lemon tart covered in flowers and from that I knew that the face behind one of my favourite companies was a winner. And those instincts were spot on.

From listening to Mel talk passionately about food I learnt that her love of baking started several years ago. A trip to Paris sent her into a sugary whirlwind, where she was blown away by the precision, technique and beautiful pastries that were available on shop front counters daily. She wanted to re create this herself in Australia and so her love for pastries became serious. It blossomed ever more after watching an episode of Masterchef where the contestants were making a Zumbo macaron tower. She attempted it once and failed, but after trying again she aced the macarons and sold them locally at markets where they became a huge hit.

Markets quickly turned to catering and she stocked her treats at functions, weddings and to selected cafes. She continues to do that now, 3 years on, selling her goodies at local cafes 21 Junk Street and Maxwells Grocery- all located on the Fleurieu Peninsula.  I had the pleasure of tasting some of Mel’s raw and not so healthy treats, and let’s just say they taste incredible. I know when I get married one day these little goodies will be sitting on my dessert buffet because they are scrumptious and are mini works of art. They are too pretty to eat (but let’s face it, i’ll scoff them).

Here are some of my favourites from her menu:

Raw top deck cheesecake slice– Flavours of a traditional top deck chocolate without the calories. it has a cashew base, creamy middle and a drizzle of chocolate on top. bliss.

Raw blueberry + coconut slice– Now this is heavenly. It tastes like blueberries and creamy coconut and the base is sweet and a little crunchy. Topped with a flower and a individual blueberry it looks right at home in a french patisserie.

Chocolate caramel crunch– Served in a shot glass with layers of dark chocolate mousse, dulce de leche and chocolate coated caramel rice crispys- this chocolate dessert will blow your mind. The caramel is sweet and sticky, the rice crispys give the perfect texture to the dessert and it even has a square of chocolate brushed with gold on the top to make it super glamorous.

Lemon curd and salted caramel tartlets– now I am a huge fan of both lemon curd and salted caramel so I knew I would be rather partial of these babies. The lemon curd is zesty and the blueberry on top adds a nice sweet pop of flavour. the salted caramel uses the same caramel in the chocolate caramel crunch so my tastebuds were ecstatic when they got to relive that gooey caramel- but this time with a hint of salt. The chocolate in the tart wasn’t to rich and the cases for both the tartlets were thin and crisp- just like a good pastry should be.

Macarons– I was lucky enough to try 3 flavours of macarons- raspberry and dark chocolate, baileys and milk chocolate and white chocolate and macadamia praline. Can I just say OH MY GOD. I love macarons so eating these was a easy task. The shells were slightly crispy but not to hard, the insides were creamy and the flavours were sensational. The raspberry popped with flavour and the chocolate was a lovely combo. The baileys and milk chocolate- another delicious one, the baileys almost tasted milk chocolatey which I loved! And the macadamia praline was silky but had actual pieces of macadamia in it which topped it off.

If you are after a catering queen and a wizz in the dessert kitchen then you need to get in contact with Mel. Shes brought Paris to Aldinga and she’s doing it with grace.

You can get in contact with The Fleurieu Kitchen via their Facebook here.

**I was provided with treats by Mel for this review, however all my opinions remain honest and all views are my own.**