the supreme croissant at this ottawa coffee shop wasn't meant to stay on the menu
house-made, all-natural pistachio cream is the star of the popular pastry.
sep 10 2024
2 minute read
pistachio supreme croissant from hugo cafe at 399 bank st..
jean levac
/
postmedia
hugo café
399 bank st., instagram.com/hugoonbankstreet
pistachio supreme croissants drizzled in homemade icing.
jean levac
/
postmedia
open : w eekdays, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekends, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
price : $8 for a pistachio supreme croissant
at hugo café in centretown, the supreme croissants were originally a limited-time offering.
last summer, hugo’s then-pastry chef ardianto sumitro simply wanted to show that he could duplicate the eye-popping, virally popular creations that the lafayette grand café and bakery in new york had launched a year earlier. the re-imagined croissants that delighted the internet were shaped more like hockey pucks than pastries, and under their ganache toppings and inside their flaky embrace they concealed a blob of luscious, flavoured pastry cream.
“we didn’t plan to make it permanent, but it’s just so popular,” says the café’s owner sowon kim, who like sumitro studied to become a pastry chef at le cordon bleu ottawa in sandy hill.
now at the café, which is one of three businesses under the same roof in centretown, the pistachio version of the supreme croissant, priced at $8, consistently outsells its chocolate hazelnut cousin. it’s certainly a solid choice to inaugurate this series of weekly posts dedicated to culinary indulgences meant to help you get from monday to friday with something to look forward to.
advertisement
advertisement
with its admirable freshness and perfect balance of sweetness and nuttiness, the house-made, all-natural, stabilizer-free pistachio cream is the star of this pastry. the croissant is well and truly filled with this dense, light green ambrosia, and you’re best advised to eat this croissant carefully to avoid making a mess.
the creamy filling of a pistachio supreme croissant.
jean levac
/
postmedia
one reason to look forward to fall and winter is that the supreme croissants will taste even better, says kim. summertime heat meant the cream-filled pastries had to be refrigerated rather than showcased under glass beside the cash all day. cold storage, or for that matter, summer’s humidity, caused the croissants to lose some of their flakiness.
so, as the days grow shorter and cooler, you can at least be thankful that hugo’s supreme croissants will be … supreme-ier?
do you have a favourite place to get a little treat in ottawa? send peter an e-mail to let him know.
want to stay in the know about what’s happening in ottawa? sign up for the ottawa citizen’s arts and life newsletter — ottawa, out of office — our weekly guide to eating, listening, reading, watching, playing, hanging, learning and living well in the capital.
share story
