Sydney lockdown: 12 sweet treats to deliver cheer to friends in need

August 27, 2021

Mix and match: Cruller, cake, sugar-raised and filled doughnuts from Shortstop Coffee and Donuts.Supplied

Melbourne lockdown: 10 sweet treats to deliver to friends in need

We all know someone in need of a little TLC right now. When you don't want to send an extravagant hamper or a yet another trite text message, but you still want to let someone know you're thinking of them, a sweet treat delivery will definitely do the trick. Plus, we all know calories don't count in lockdown.

Here's a dozen of Sydney's best sweet treats to deliver cheer to friends in need.

Shortstop doughnuts

$4.50-132 plus $5 discount delivery within 20km of Barangaroo or Darling Square

Shortstop won't stop, not even in a pandemic. Send your pals two dozen mini sugar raised doughnuts – maple, cinnamon, vanilla or mixed – and you'll make their day. Or skip the bulk boxes, and mix and match your own selection of creative cake flavours (coffee pecan would be our pick), filled (choc pistachio cheesecake) or elegant twisted crullers (New Orleans iced coffee). Orders must be placed by 5pm for next day delivery within 20 kilometres of Barangaroo or Darling Square. See short-stop.com.au

Humble Bakery

$5-10 per item, $10 delivery within 10km of Surry Hills

Five-kilometre radius, be damned. This hot new Surry Hills bakery is delivering croissants, cookies, custard tarts and pumpkin pies to suburbs within a 10-kilometre radius. The bakehouse, a concept from the team behind Sydney eateries Porteno and Bodega (Elvis Abrahanowicz, Ben Milgate and Joseph Valore), has made a name for its pastries, sourdough and excellent sandwiches, but you can top up your order with Porteno chorizo and hand-made pasta from Bodega for extra bestie brownie points. See humblebakery.orderup.com.au

Matcha cheesecake with caramelised outer and creamy inner.Supplied

Fifteen-centimetre cakes

$38-45, free delivery throughout lockdown

It's all in the name for this dessert delivery service. Small cakes – 15 centimetres diameter to be exact – for your friend to share with their roomie or devour all by themselves. The business was started by Sydney chef Naoka Kojo and marketer Caddie Mao when the friends found themselves out of work after the pandemic hit. The Japanese-style Basque cheesecake (charry caramelised outer, light and creamy inner) is the signature, or you can level up with French Earl Grey, milk tea or matcha flavours. See 15centimeters.com.au

Crumpets by Merna

Breakfast boxes $22-35, plus $18 flat rate delivery (free on orders more than $65)

Send a mate a box of crumpets and they'll be yours forever. Crumpets by Merna's breakfast boxes include everything for a delicious morning spread: sourdough crumpets ready to toast plus a choice of limited edition slather-worthy flavours: peanut butter and raspberry jam, Pepe Saya butter, lemon or passionfruit curd and creme fraiche, or savoury Oomite butter. If your friend is of the plant-based persuasion, Merna's vegan coconut crumpets will keep them happy. Sydney metro deliveries every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday (orders cut off two days prior). See crumpetsbymerna.com.au

Flour and Stone

10-piece selection box, $70 plus delivery

Nadine Ingram's tray of mixed French pastries is special occasion stuff to make someone feel warm and fuzzy. This hand-made selection includes anything from beautiful brulee pastries to raspberry tarts, eclairs and Paris-Brest. Need something more low-key? Ingram's bar cakes ($35) offer popular flavours in snacking size – lemon drizzle, choc-raspberry buttermilk, pistachio raspberry rose or carrot cake. Or keep things sweet and simple with an elegant box of classic French canele ($32, box of six) or delicate orange blossom madeleines ($20, box of 6). Tinned travelling cakes will soon join the menu too (great for sending to interstate mates). Deliveries available via courier to Sydney metro areas on selected days. See flourandstone.com.au

Tokyo Lamington

$21 minimum spend, plus $20 delivery within 20km of Newtown

Sort your friend's lamington fix with a box of Sydney's most interesting cube-shaped cakes. There's the OG that would do nanna proud, with raspberry jam, vanilla cream and a choc-coconut outer. Or go for something a little more unusual – a yuzu meringue number, perhaps, blackforest flavour or the most fun of the lot: the fairy bread lamington with popcorn buttercream. Oh, and because it's an on-demand service, same-day delivery is available within four hours of ordering. Keep an eye Tokyo Lamington's website for suburban pop-ups and collabs (coming to Circa in Parramatta on August 28-29 and Good Fella coffee in Bella Vista on September 4-5). See tokyolamington.com

In Lieu Pastries

Weekly pastry box $35, plus $10 delivery within 5km of Waterloo or Uber price on request beyond 5km

Pastry chef Ben Treloar moved from fresh-out-of-lockdown Melbourne to fresh-into-lockdown Sydney to help open Oncore by Clare Smyth at Crown Sydney. With those plans on hold, he's now delivering pastries and cakes each Sunday within 5 kilometres of Waterloo (Uber packages beyond the 5km zone on request). The boxes change from week to week, so expect anything from craquelin eclair with stewed strawberries one week to vanilla bean genoise soaked in yuzushu with whipped mascarpone the next. Order via Treloar's Instagram account @ben.treloar00

Black Star Pastry

Tasting box, $55, plus $10 delivery (free on orders more than $100)

Friends don't let friends miss out on strawberry watermelon cake just because it's lockdown. All of Black Star's biggest hits now come in one box, delivered to a wide range of postcodes. Send your friend and their tribe six different treats: strawberry watermelon, of course, plus colourful layered creations such as Japanese forest cake, chocolate mirage, raspberry lychee cake, pistachio lemon zen cake and dragon cake. One day's notice on all orders required. To order or check delivery postcodes, see blackstarpastry.foodstorm.com

Former Momofuku Seiobo head pastry chef Samantha Alice Levett.Chris Chen

Cream pastry boxes

$45 per box, plus $5 local Newtown delivery, $12.99 delivery within 12km of Newtown or $19.99 more than 12km from Newtown

Former Momofuku Seiobo head pastry chef Samantha Alice Levett found herself at a loose end after the Pyrmont restaurant closed in June and COVID wiped out her travel plans. So she decided to "bring a bit of joy, surprise and deliciousness into lockdown" by setting up her own dessert delivery company. Each weekly Cream mystery box contains four or so of Levett's creations, usually a slice of cake, tart, something "rich and chocolatey" and a cookie sandwich or choux bun. See @samiimpossible on Instagram for details, and order via @cakehero_au on Saturday morning for Wednesday delivery.

The Grounds of Alexandria

High tea pack, $64-150, plus delivery

Make someone's morning with The Ground's classic high tea pack for two, four or six people. Available for delivery Friday to Sunday to selected suburbs, each platter includes all the bite-sized creations you'd usually find at an upmarket hotel soiree: cured salmon and creme fraiche on brioche with caviar, heirloom tomato tartlets, poached chicken sandwiches with fennel and tarragon, lavender macarons and more. There's even a vegetarian version for your cruelty-free friends, or plenty of other kits to choose from: DIY s'mores, mixed pastries, scones with jam and cream, classic doughnuts, brownies boxes, kids' cookie kits and WFH care packs ($18-140). Delivery available on selected days. See thegroundscatering.com.au/items/folder/ready-meals

Francesca Palacio's Filipino pastry sample box.Supplied

Cake Stories by Francesca

Filipino pastry sample box $40, plus $12 delivery within 12km of Sydney CBD or $20 beyond 12km

Pastry chef Francesca Palacio's creations have proved so popular with friends and family during lockdown that she's turned her Instagram page into a small-batch bakery. Mix and match your choice of pretty Filipino pastries, including pandesal, ensaymada, pan de coco or buko hand pies (minimum four items). Or order the lot in a beautifully presented Filipino pastry sample box – but be warned, they sell out quickly. See instagram.com/cakestoriesbyfrancesca

Empanadas Che

Argentinian sweets $18-23, plus $10-20 delivery within 20km of Drummoyne

Send a six-pack of sweet mini empanadas filled with dulche de leche or Nutella, or choose a selection of pretty alfajores. These traditional Argentinian biscuits are made from two delicate cookies with your choice of flavours (iced, chocolate or maicena). See empanadasche.com.au