Viral 'Old Baby' cake | Du Plessy Pralin & Otello 🍰

 

I was visiting the North Shore area, and decided to see if luck was on my side to purchase the 'Old Baby' cake, or japonaise cake that recently went viral due to a Chinese influencer, and now the local news has been sharing the hype. Tucked away in a cute little mall in West Pymble, Du Plessy Pralin & Otello is a small chocolatier and patisserie shop that offers a selection of beautiful truffle chocolates and cakes too. 

The current owner, Paul Adam’s parents, Marcel and Martha founded Du Pressy Pralin at Pymble in 1961, where Marcel learnt his craft as a master pastry chef and patisserie in Switzerland. Paul took over the business, joining his mother Martha, after Marcel passed away in 1979. Du Plessy Pralin & Otello offers a delicious assortment of gateaux and chocolates. 

I arrived at the cake shop on a weekend morning, where there was no queue; however, two customers in front. Their japonaise cake sizes from S-L were all sold out. They only had the mini and XS cake sizes left, so I bought both sizes and gifted the mini to a friend later that evening. I will say that the dacquiose cake looked really enticing as well, but I can't finish off two whole cakes in a week.

The cake has two layers of almond and hazelnut meringue sandwiching a dark chocolate mousse filling, and is dusted with icing sugar and cocoa powder for the signature bird pattern on the cake. I did ask the staff which cake was their favourite, which they harmoniously said the 'Opera' cake was their favourite which they have fights over. 

Overall, the cake is a 6.5~7 out of 10 for me. I found the meringue is a little too sweet, and I wish the mousse filling were a little more bitter (from the dark chocolate), but otherwise an overall great cake. I absolutely loved the texture of the meringue, as it had a nice crunch yet softness to it, and the creamy, smooth mousse filling was just divine. This cake would pair perfectly with tea or coffee for an afternoon snack, go for the black option to balance out the sweetness if you're not a huge sweet tooth like me. 

Next time, I plan on getting the dacquoise cake and the 'Opera' cake. 

Du Plessy Pralin & Otello

Shop 17 Philip Mall, Kendall Street West Pymble, NSW, 2073

Opening Hours: Sun & Mon: CLOSED | Tues & Wed 9.30am - 5.30pm, Thur & Fri 9.30am - 6.00pm, Sat 9am - 2pm

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