Lil Piggy Mittagong winner of the best bakery in the Southern Highlands

In a surprising coup, a new cafe in Mittagong headed by a coeliac baker has been voted the best maker of baked goods in the Southern Highlands.

Only six weeks after first opening its doors to the public, Lil Piggy Mittagong has been voted as the best bakery in the Southern Highlands. While this may come as a surprise to those who notice Lil Piggy isn’t technically a bakery, the cult status of the baked goods is changing many minds.

Although Lil Piggy only started selling doughnuts in the past few weeks, the delicious goods are literally running out the door. Owner Brad Wolff said he often had people camped out in the cafe waiting for the next batch to cook.

“At the moment, it doesn’t matter what I put out, it sells,” he said.

Lil Piggy Mittagong is constantly experimenting with flavours, like these salted caramel custard doughnuts.

Lil Piggy has quickly made a name for itself in adventurous baked goods, with muffin flavours ranging from mixed berry cheesecake to Cherry Ripe. Mr Wolff said he enjoyed creating new muffin flavours they haven’t tried before.

“We don’t run with average muffins. No one makes muffins like ours,” he said.

When he started Lil Piggy, Mr Wolff said he had a very simple aim for his cafe: to make people happy. He found that during his 20 years in hospitality, people enjoy getting the things they don’t usually receive, like a cupcake stacked high with extra goodies.

“That’s the whole ethos behind Lil Piggy - to make people smile,” he said.

“That’s why our caramel slice is the fattest caramel slice you’ve ever seen.”

Lil Piggy Mittagong is owned and operated by Brad Wolff.

Although a coeliac baker may seem like an impossibility, Mr Wolff said working in kitchens opened his eyes to the lack of good gluten-free baked goods. Baking then evolved out of the necessity for delicious options for “glutards”, as he calls himself.

“The only reason we specialise in gluten-free food is because no one can tell,” he said.

It’s a point of pride in an industry where gluten-free products are often noticeably different. Most of the baked goods offered at Lil Piggy are gluten-free, with the exception of the muffins and doughnuts. That being said, Mr Wolff said he aimed to have gluten-free doughnuts for sale within the next week, to fully embrace the niche market.

Gluten-free almond cakes with lemon icing and rose petals from Lil Piggy Mittagong.

When asked what makes Lil Piggy so successful, Mr Wolff said it was the uniqueness of the cafe and the effort that the team puts into every aspect of a customer experience.

“We’re quirky. We’re all about being different,” he said.

“Everything we do here is the best that we can possibly do is to make sure we have that ‘wow’ factor and people walk out happy.”

In the short time it’s been open, Lil Piggy has certainly created a lot of happy people – and now they have an award to prove it.