85C Cake Shop, Sydney

Strawberry tiramisu

There’s a new cake shop in town.

Thursday night and I receive an email alert from food spy tracey who tells me "there’s a new cake shop on George Street". It doesn't take me long to find it (especially when I ask a pair of girls holding distinctive red cake boxes "Excuse me, whereabouts did you get that from?").


Display window

85 degrees is a new era of cake decadence. Apparently it all started when a group of businessmen looked in longingly at the luxurious afternoon tea at the cafe of a five-star hotel. At that moment they vowed that such exquisite elegance would no longer be restricted to the well-heeled; it should be readily available to the masses. Give. Them. Cake!


Opening day balloons and brochures

On opening day, there are staff handing out balloons and leaflets. I soon find out there's an opening special of "buy any drink, get any cake free". What could I do? I join the queue.


Opening day crowds and queue

It's a queue of about 30 other cake-lovers, and passersby soon stop to gaggle at the gigantic window display of delicate treats.




Valentine cake, $3.80 slice or $38 8-inch cake
"Modified Austrian traditional Sacher cake covered with
chocolate icing sugar is the best choice
for chocolate lover"


Fresh milk fruit cake, $3.60 slice or $36 8-inch cake
"A mixture of fresh fruit and Hokkaido milk
perfectly produces a dessert of elegance"


Strawberry tiramisu, $3.80 slice or $38 8-inch cake
"With the involvement of sweet and sour strawberry mousse
in Tiramisu, it creates another charming and magical feeling
of love and romance"


Coffee brule, $3.60 slice or $36 8-inch cake
"A mixture of coffee sponge, vanilla brule mousse and mixed nuts
creates a kind of peculiar and exotic taste that has always been
the top priority of 85 degrees’ cakes"


Inside 85 degrees

After 25 long minutes I finally make it inside. There's a barista tamping coffee inside and about eight staff impossibly squeezed behind the narrow counter. They are preparing drinks (they also do black and green teas, fruit blasts, milk teas, Ovaltine and iced drinks), getting cakes from the display window and packing them neatly into cute cardboard carry boxes.

After much deliberation (twenty-five minutes worth, as I waited in the queue), I decide on the Hokkaido Cheese (the only Japanese cheesecake in Australia, I'm told) and the Strawberry Cardina.


Hokkaido cheese, $4.00 slice
"A mixture of coffee sponge, vanilla brule mousse and mixed nuts
creates a kind of peculiar and exotic taste that has always been
the top priority of 85 degrees' cakes"

The Hokkaido cheese is a light airy cheesecake that tastes more like a ricotta white chocolate mousse. Embedded on the bottom are three malteser-like pastry puffs containing white chocolate. It's a tasty concoction.



The strawberry cardina is also surprisingly light. A layer of fluffy vanilla sponge cake is wrapped around a core of cream, pastel pink in hue and interspersed with tiny dicings of fresh strawberry. A rosette of cream on top holds in place a lightly glazed half-strawberry, finished with a curled leaf made from dark chocolate.


Strawberry cardina, $4.00 slice

This again is very good. It's light but tasty and the cream doesn't leave any greasy aftertaste in the mouth.

The coffee is also very drinkable. We had the iced coffees ($2.60) and it was a good strong beverage with a fairly robust caffeine kick. No annoying swirls of cream either, just a shot of cold espresso, milk and a handful of ice.

Coffee is an important part of their service: the name "85 degrees centigrade" apparently comes from research that indicates this is the ideal temperature at which to drink coffee. It is also the optimal temperature for brewing Taiwanese green tea.

And the best news of all?

From 25 September until 8* 1 October 2006,
all sliced cakes will be $2 only.

EDIT: Limited to 2 slices per person only. Any additional slices will be at full price.
*EDIT #2: They've cut the offer period, apparently because of "unprecedented demand and limited supply". Outrageous, I say.

I'll see you in the queue.



85C Cake and Beverage Store (85 degrees)
Shop 9, 545-551 George Street
Meriton Tower, Sydney
(opposite Hungry Jacks)