Overview
Birthdays are almost always a blast, but let's be honest — there was something extra special about those sprinkle-topped, cake-filled birthdays of your childhood, right? Well, if you're feeling nostalgic for the good old days, or you're just looking for a birthday treat that's really dressed to impress, Piccolina has you sorted.
The Melbourne gelateria has just added three nostalgia-fuelled newcomers to its famed signature range of gelato cakes, and your inner kid is about to be very happy indeed.
First, there's the Native Fairy Bread number ($86), inspired by owner Sandra Foti's recent work with Yamatji/Noongar woman and founder of Jala Jala Treats, Sharon Brinley. The cake's a total childhood classic, reimagined using native ingredients like strawberry gum and lemon myrtle. It's got a base of crema ricca (rich cream) gelato, sponge and Davidson's Plum jelly, finished with a colourful fiesta of hand-crafted native 'sprinkles' — think, chunks of strawberry gum crumble, rosella meringue and leatherwood honeycomb.
Equally festive and imbued with memories is the Strawberries & Cream trifle creation ($110) — another tried-and-true flavour combination, reworked with layers of crema ricca gelato, strawberry sorbet and compote, elderflower jelly and yoghurt crumble. It's all topped with mascarpone cream, a strawberry gel and freeze-dried strawberries, and even served in an old-school glass trifle bowl.
And chocolate fiends will fall hard for the Gianduiotto ($82), which is Foti's tribute to the tiny foil-wrapped Piedmontese treats known as Giandjua. This oversized version features a rich array of layers and textures, including hazelnut gelato, gianduja ganache, toasted almonds and hazelnut semifreddo, plus dark chocolate hazelnut croccante (brittle) and hazelnut dacquoise. The arced cake is covered in a soft gianduja glaze and encased in that telltale silver foil.
The new gelato cakes serve between 12 and 20 people; depending on how big everyone's individual dessert stomach is, of course.
Piccolina's full gelato cake lineup is available to pre-order via the website. You'll find stores in
Hawthorn, Collingwood, St Kilda, Richmond and Melbourne CBD.