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Sydney CBD’s Banksia Bakehouse will bring in the new year with two unique pastry creations: a Finger Lime Croissant created with fresh native finger limes and a Cinnamon Scroll made with croissant pastry. 

The bakehouse’s Finger Lime croissant is filled with a creamy finger lime curd and topped with finger lime curd, torched meringue, meringue cookies, rosemary and fresh finger lime. 

“It’s as Australian as a croissant can be,” says Banksia Bakehouse’s co-owner Chris Sheldrick.

“We’ve wanted to use this native fruit since opening the bakehouse in August but we had to wait, as native finger limes only come into season from December. They have a fresh and tangy citrus flavour that’s perfect for summer and balanced by the creamy curd and buttery flaky pastry.” 

According to Australian Native Food & Botanicals, the native finger lime grows in sub-tropical rainforests in northern NSW and along the south-east Queensland border and is a traditional food of the local Aboriginal communities. 

The native finger lime has the largest colour variety of any known fruit – skins can be yellow-green, crimson, purple and black and the fruit pulp green, yellow, red or pink, which is reported as being high in vitamin C and rich in folate, potassium and vitamin E. Its resemblance to caviar has given it another name: Citrus Caviar. 

Is it a scroll? Or a croissant? 

The bakehouse’s other January ‘croissant’ special is the Cinnamon Scroll, which has the familiar round shape and white topping of a traditional scroll, however, its almond cream coats layers of light and flaky croissant pastry and a topping of milk icing and roasted pistachios. 

“We decided to use our croissant dough for the pastry to make the scroll lighter and more buttery than a traditional scroll, which can be heavy and doughy,” says Sheldrick. “Our pastry chefs spent over 15 months perfecting our recipe to achieve authentic French-style flaky and buttery croissants. And now they’ve enjoyed creating another patisserie favourite – the scroll – with their unique croissant pastry.” 

Banksia Bakehouse releases two unique croissant varieties each month and in just four months it has become a popular destination for the city’s workers and visitors, many of whom eagerly await the first of the month to see what the bakehouse has created.   

The team will be baking their Finger Lime Croissants and croissant-pastry Cinnamon Scrolls and all their baked goods – cakes, pies, sausage rolls, quiches, cruffins, traditional croissants and more - from January 12 at Grosvenor Place piazza, 225 George Street, Sydney, Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 4.30pm.