Food News – Izba Russian Treats

While I know my pirozhki (filled Russian buns) from my blini (pancakes) I must admit to being a bit lost with Russian cakes. Olga Rogacheva from Izba Russian Treats in Newtown helped me get up to speed, ahead of her new store’s grand opening in Broadway Shopping Centre. The first thing that will impress you about her Medovik (or Honey Cake) is the perfectly straight and even biscuity layers, separated by airy vanilla-infused sour cream, and sweetened with honey. It’s the standout of her creamy cake collection, that ranges from the subtler Russia’s #1 Napoleon that intersperses flaky pastry and custard layers, to her namesake Izba, which arrives looking like a pyramid of cut logs constructed from dough-rolled Amarena cherries, glued together by yet more vanilla-infused sour cream. If you’re not a huge fan of creamy, try the cocoa-dusted Kartoshka. It’s named for a potato, because that’s what they resemble. They were originally a Russian baker’s cheeky way to use up all the cake, biscuit and pastry scraps of an afternoon. Join Olga from midday on June 28 for the grand opening at Broadway Shopping Centre. Expect tastings and tunes from the Volatinski Trio. Olga tells me: “We will have the entire range that we sell in Newtown available at Broadway, including the scrumptious Salmon Pie, the Newtown locals’ favourite.”
www.izba.com.au