I follow Penny University’s facebook page and noticed they recently introduced cronuts to their weekend menu. I’m informed that their bakers get in at 2am so the earlier you go in, the better chance you have of buying one. These maple and thyme glazed cronuts are displayed at the front counter near the cash register on a wooden board. At $6 each, these are the most expensive cronuts in Canberra that I know of – compared to Ricardo’s (which I’m sure were under $6), and Quizine at $4.
I bought a cronut to go and had it at home. There was a strong smell of maple syrup when I opened up the brown paper bag it came in (not to mention the bag was soaked through from the syrup). Penny’s cronuts are crispy and very flaky – I tried cutting it in half with a knife when I got home (there was a lovely crunch sound) and flakes went flying everywhere.
Lovely layers of flaky goodness covered in cinnamon sugar on the outside. A perfect half croissant half donut. No complaints here.
Cronuts are available weekends only. Get in early before they sell out!
I had actually decided to have an early breakfast here this Sunday morning. Sitting up at the wooden counter in front of the open kitchen, I wanted something healthy to offset the cronut I was about to indulge in and picked the Low GI Breakfast pudding ($15). This consists of black sticky rice, coconut, grilled mango and nut brittle. It was handed to me directly from the chef as I was watching them put it together. Very colourful. Love the different textures in this dish. The half mango had been cubed with the skin still on and grilled – this was warm, soft and so easy to pull off from the skin with my spoon. Both the nut brittle and the pomegranate were crunchy and sweet. I couldn’t really taste the coconut. Straight off the heat, the rice pudding itself was hot. A little bland on its own, I’d say they put in a tiny bit of sugar, it worked well with the natural sweetness of everything else. There is a lot of black sticky rice and not enough of the other stuff so I was eating plain rice towards the end. I’ll have to make sure I stir everything in properly next time I order this. An awesome dish and very filling – best of all, it suits most dietary requirements as it’s gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy-free.
I also had their award winning Razzi frappe ($8) consisting of apple sorbet, raspberries, banana and something else that I’ve forgotten. Thick, cold and yum.
The chefs doing their thing. Seems like a lovely and friendly place to work. Note: there is a 10% surcharge on Sundays and public holidays.
See my previous reviews of Penny University – its opening for brunch, and dinner.
Foodgasm 8/10
