The Brisbane tiramisu cruffin dish going off online
Inspired by an Italian classic dessert, this muffin croissant hybrid at a local Brisbane cafe has the internet in a spin.
QWeekend
Don't miss out on the headlines from QWeekend. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Over the past 30 years, the Tognini family name has become synonymous with hospitality in Brisbane. It all started when husband and wife Mark and Narelle Tognini opened Tognini’s Deli Cafe in 1993 in Milton, sharing their passion for great Italian food and hospitality.
Since then they’ve expanded the business to include Togninis Catering, and launched and sold other ventures including Il Locale Italian Restaurant in Rosalie, Tognini’s on Main in Kangaroo Point and Tognini’s at the State Library of Queensland. But their latest venue is perhaps the couple’s most special, with daughters Madeleine, a paediatric nurse, and Nastassia, a lawyer, joining the new eatery, Sorelle in St Lucia, in Brisbane’s south west.
“When we said we want to be part of it, they said, ‘You want to be part of this, you must be mad,’” says Nastassia, who grew up working in her parents’ businesses on and off.
“But this is exactly what Mum and Dad signed up for 30 years ago.”
Both sisters even have young families as their parents did when they opened the Milton deli cafe three decades ago, but the chaos of having little children around is all part of the appeal for the siblings. “I think life changes when you have children and that was the catalyst for me making the change,” Nastassia reveals.
Sorelle – which means sisters in Italian – slides into a strip of shops along busy Hawken Dr, and does away with the deli component like the Milton store and instead features a beautiful homewares and gifting section, boasting everything from vases and cushions to mortar and pestles and scent diffusers.
Also drawing attention in the elegantly adorned, pale-hued room, with dramatic pops of black on the tables and chairs, is the counter, which is replete with house-made sweets like muffins, brownies and Portuguese tarts, as well as breads and croissants from Cordelia Sourdough Bakehouse in South Brisbane.
Putting the spread right where diners go to pay makes walking away without a dark chocolate cookie bloated with cream or a tiny vegan red velvet cake a serious test of willpower. The only thing helping is the immense serving sizes of the eatery’s dishes.
An all-day, modern breakfast menu is at play at Sorelle, with the likes of Sicilian chilli scrambled eggs, a nourish bowl and a brekky burger; while at lunch time you could expect anything from calamari fritti to a mortadella toastie or saffron risotto. There are also daily specials, say, a steak sandwich or perhaps poached pear porridge.
The polenta cornbread ($22) appeals, with its avalanche of diced avocado, two runny centred poached eggs, and a crescent of chipotle cream. The cornbread itself is a little dense, but our added side of tanned, juicy, well-spiced merguez sausage ($7.50) is an excellent distraction.
The venue’s signature dish is its tiramisu cruffin ($22). An early Instagram favourite, it stars a cylindrical croissant-muffin hybrid swollen with a tiramisu chocolate cream that is so thick you could stand a spoon up in it, with a little pot of espresso syrup on the side for pouring over and a cluster of fresh berries to provide relief against all that fat.
It’s a seriously intense breakfast dish and the croissant could be a little crispier to juxtapose the dense cream, but for my guest, it’s spot on – even down to the subtle coffee flavour compared to the distinctly Italian-style brew served by the cup or mug using the family’s custom blend.
For those not a fan of coffee, there are milkshakes, smoothies (the mango and coconut is a winner), tea, juices and a one-and-a-bit-page offering of alcohol from Italian beers and classic cocktails to affordable wines from Australia, Italy, France and New Zealand.
What will no doubt be Sorelle’s shining star, however, is its service, with a family member always on hand to deliver genuine Italian hospitality that will make diners smile.
Sorelle Eatery
242 Hawken Dr, St Lucia
3073 2727
Open
7am-4pm Wed-Sun
Verdict
Food 3
Ambience 4
Value 3.5
Overall 3.5
‘Like culinary crack’: Hero dish that makes $160 feast worth the long drive
This rural South East Queensland restaurant is serving up a delight for the tastebuds, with a dish so good, you’ll be glad you made the effort to get there.
Model reveals how AFL star tried to slide into her DMs
A Queensland model has opened up on how an AFL star and her now boyfriend unsuccessfully attempted to slide into her Instagram DMs.