The latest venture from the creator of the strawberry watermelon cake has arrived. Finally.

Black Star Pastry founder Christopher Thé snapped up the Mrs Underwood cafe site in Stanmore last May with hopes of opening cake shop and cafe Hearthe in its place at the back end of 2022.

It spluttered with false starts and delays. The talented pastry chef has confirmed the final pieces of the construction jigsaw puzzle have fallen into place in recent days, so it's all systems go.

Thé sold Black Star Pastry to the Jackalope Group in 2019. Its founder, Louis Li, took the watermelon cake international, opening a store in Shanghai in early 2022.

With time on his hands after the sale, Thé pondered his next move, deciding he was happiest devoted to a single venue rather than building an empire.

That period of professional contemplation also pushed him toward Indigenous ingredients. Keep an eye out for showstopping desert lime in the Geraldton wax cheesecake and eucalypt caramel in the paperbark cake in the cabinets at Hearthe. There's also a hibiscus cake made with a basil olive oil sponge spiked with gin.

Hearthe – a portmanteau of heart, art, earth and Thé – also trots out classic pastries, croissants, pain au chocolat and white sourdough.

The inner west doesn't live on pastries and bread alone, so Thé has crafted a clever eat-in menu that rotates through dishes such as kangaroo Wellington, chicken tagine and paperbark lamb.

Open Mon-Sat 6am-4pm; Sun 7am-4pm.

16 Douglas Street, Stanmore, hearthe.com.au