Apple pecan custard tart from Le Bon Mélange Café, Pâtisserie.

G09/48 Gungahlin Place and Bruning Street, Gungahlin ACT 2912

Background

During the week, I was sharing with my BFF, GC, a couple of photos of Mum’s trifle which she made to accompany the steak dinner I cooked on Wednesday evening.

Mum made the custard from scratch and she happily ‘cheated’ with a packet vanilla sponge cake. Along with some raspberry jelly, whipped cream (flavoured with vanilla and brown sugar), Streets Raspberry Ripple ice cream, tinned lychees, fresh Kensington Pride mango, and some crushed Queensland nuts, it was a dessert of dreams. Rather than a boring bowl, Mum went all fancy and served the trifle in glasses, and we used parfait spoons.

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Introducing Le Bon Mélange

Knowing how much I like custard, the following morning, GC sent me a screenshot from the Le Bon Mélange Facebook page. LBM had created a new product, an apple, pecan, and custard tart. GC knows me well. 😊

The idea of this apple pecan custard creation floated around in my head all weekend. I crave custard. A sweet nut crumb on a pastry is the best. I also like a tart apple in a dessert creation.

So, this morning, I ventured to Gungahlin to buy an LBM apple pecan custard tart.

Gungahlin

As a Belco Bloke, I rarely get into Gungahlin, it was delightful to drive into the heart of the Gungahlin town centre. Everything was so green and lush.

James Kirk Street

As I was driving, I had two pleasant surprises. I came across James Kirk Street.

On one of the signs, someone had conveniently added a “T.” between the James and the Kirk. If you have no idea why this would interest me, it’s because I’m a fan of Star Trek, and James T. Kirk was the captain of USS Enterprise 1701 from The Original Series.

Notaras Lane

The next pleasant surprise was passing Notaras Lane. I had no idea there was a Notaras Lane in Canberra.

The reason for this surprise may be a little cryptic. Professor Len Notaras, AM is one of my dearest friends. Len is the Executive Director of the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre in Darwin. He was the former Medical Superintendent of the Royal Darwin Hospital and Secretary for the NT Government Department of Health.

The Notaras family is prominent in Canberra and while Len hails from Newcastle, it’s still his family here.

Le Bon Mélange

As I approached Le Bon Mélange, I could see all the cars parked on the street. I figured this place must be popular. Evidence of LBM’s popularity goes beyond the vehicles and queue of people. The LBM Instagram account has more than fifty thousand followers, and nearly five thousand accounts follow the LBM Facebook page.

After finding a park and a short walk, I entered LBM and noted the light and spacious feeling. The display cases for the pastries contain all these delicious looking treats. I’m going to have to come back and try more cakes 😊

The apple pecan custard tarts stood out from everything else.

When I paid for them, the sales assistant mentioned they were her favourite and asked me if I had tried them before. I explained no, this would be my first time.

I brought the tart home and made a coffee. What could be better than coffee and a tart for morning tea?

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Apple Pecan Custard Tart

The first thing I noticed was the faint smell of cinnamon. On cutting through the tart to get an idea of the cross-section, the pastry was firm yet thin. I like pie crust which isn’t too friable. The dome of diced apple split without falling apart and the custard was silky smooth with enough body to not flow. The sugar and cinnamon pecan nut crumb were delicate.

Biting through the edge of the tart revealed the crust wasn’t overly sweet and the custard was perfect. It was silky smooth and just sweet enough.

The apples were a little tart, and the pieces were still firm.

This apple pecan custard tart is excellent, and I’d go back again for more.

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