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Bellbrae Harvest is a gorgeous little place nestled deep within a valley of small rolling hills about 15 minutes from Torquay. I have dropped by the restaurant on numerous occassions over the last few years, enjoying it for it’s honest to goodness food and absolutely amazing desserts. On this occassion I had eaten lunch elsewhere in Torquay, but my friend JD and I decided we needed to finish off the day with a decadent dessert (or two…or three!).

We shared the Trio of Bellbrae Harvest Ice-creams. To the fore of the photo was a Pear and Apple Sorbet, which was flecked with pear skin and lemon zest. The texture was amazing - it was almost like eating a softly poached lemony pear. Served with a wedge of gingerbread wafer coated in toasted pistachio nuts, it was lickety lovely.

The next bowl was a gorgeous frozen Chocolate Mousse Ice-cream. It was smooth as silk on the tongue and whipped to an absolute perfection. A lot of work went in to this one I think - perhaps Italian meringue, coverture chocolate and whipped cream? It was topped with a scrumptious buttery chocolate chip cookie, and a warning from the National Heart Foundation.

The third bowl contained an Orange Blossom Ice-cream. This one was a little disappointing. The orange blossom taste was beautiful, but the ice-cream had obviously gone through a melting/refreezing cycle. Ice crystals usually form when some of ice-cream’s water separates from fat, which eventually develops into large ice crystals. The result is a grainy-textured ice cream, and this Orange Blossom Ice-cream was not only grainy, but full of large ice crystals. A careless mistake in what could have been a faultless plate.

JD ordered the Chocolate and Prune Tart with Espresso Mousse and Marscapone Ice-cream. The dutch cocoa sweet pastry was baked with a filling of dark chocolate and pureed prunes. It was excessively unctuous and possibly too rich if it had not been for the espresso mousse, which successfully cut through the richness. It was also served with a beautiful marscapone ice-cream topped with persian fairy floss. It was tart, creamy, sweet and a great compliment to the whole dish.

I went with the Sticky Cumquat and Muscovado Pudding with Cardamom Anglaise. This was just comfort food personified. The moist steamed pudding was crowned with a rich thick cumquat marmalade/muscovado caramel. It sat next to a pool of cardamom anglaise and was a perfect example of how good a true creme anglaise can be. The addition of cardamom was pure genius. I’ll knick that one for my repertoire!

We also both sipped on Botrytis Semillon stickies care of Nightingale Wineries (Broke, NSW). It was raisiny and citrusy, and a perfect compliment to my cumquat pudding.

Written by mellie on July 16th, 2006 | Tags: restaurants | Category: Uncategorized |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL