We’ve all been there. It’s a Saturday morning, you have a sugar craving but having a Golden Gaytime for breakfast just seems a little too indulgent. Enter Alex Crawford aka Sugar Man, who saw a gap in the market and created the Golden Gaytime croissant. He begins with a hand rolled croissant filled with honeycomb crème, dips it in chocolate mirror glaze and garnishes it with crunchy biscuit crumbs, and if you can think of a better way to start your morning then we’re all ears.
It’s just one of the many insanely moreish creations that Crawford will be serving for a one-off pop-up at Aldgate’s FRED Eatery on Saturday 4 August. “I’ve got to have the old school almond croissant – if I didn’t have that on the menu, they’d have my guts for garters,” he jokes. He’ll also be serving a few new offerings like rice pudding choux buns with plum compote (using plums from his own garden) and almond crunch topped with whipped cream, a lemon tart with “a slight wobble to it” that he will bruleé to order to create a layer of crunchy caramelised sugar and the Elvis Brekky Slice. That’d be a slice of gluten free banana bread with milk chocolate chips served toasted with peanut butter. The peanut butter is full of caramelised peanuts to add extra sweetness – he promises that it has “all the goodness you need” – and when you’re talking to a man this sweet, you know you can trust him.
It’s no surprise that some of his creations are pretty out there when you discover that Adriano Zumbo is his mentor and main influence alongside Christina Tosi (the founder of Momofuku’s sister bakery Milk Bar) and Pierre Hermé, the French patissiere who’s been dubbed the “Picasso of pastry.” But while he’s been influenced from these masters, his techniques are all self-taught, dating back to when he started the Sugar Man label with delightfully airy macarons that helped to inspire cravings across Adelaide.
Recently been turning his hand to chocolate bars, which he sells at FRED as well as a range of other local outlets, and the releases so far have included must try flavours like marmalade on toast, sticky date pudding and custard tart.
He’s working on a spring collection at the moment, but for the pop-up he’ll be making up a batch of Mr Peanutbutter bars. Using freshly ground Australian peanuts means there are no emulsifiers, and he’ll sprinkle in some Murray River pink salt before layering it Ghanain single origin milk chocolate so that when you split the bar in half you get a thick dose of gooey peanut butter. The result is “like Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups on crack.”
Apart from the chocolate and butter for the croissants, all of the ingredients are local, which makes these treats even sweeter so if you’re looking for a reason to get out of bed on a Saturday, this is the best one you’ll ever find.
DETAILS
When: Saturday 4 August
Where: FRED Eatery, 220 Mount Barker Rd, Aldgate SA 5154
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