A Moment For: The Internet-Famous Chocolate Cake at a New Cafe in Petersham

Treasured inner west coffee shop Brothers Ben opened on a little Petersham corner in 2018. Since then, it’s grown and shifted, changed owners, and as of July gained an outpost on the corner opposite: Brothers Ben Atelier.

Stop by for cheffy brekkie plates and good coffee – leaving room for thick slices of an internet-famous chocolate layer cake, too.

“We knew from that very first bite it was going to satisfy every chocolate craving,” says self-taught chef Leo Nguyen, who co-owns the pair of cafes with Ann Ho. “It kept selling out on the weekend we launched, word spread, and customers started ordering it for special occasions.” 

The specifics of the cake are pretty well-known. It’s the  London Cake, made to the exact recipe of Edd Kimber, the first winner of The Great British Bake Off. The choc-caramel layer cake is ultra rich, with sheets of cake sandwiching a whipped salted caramel and dark-choc ganache.

The famous cake is delicate and quite time-consuming, so the Atelier team has limited slices each day. Read all the details – then plant to go early.

What: London Cake
How: First is the salted caramel, which Kimber directs you to take to the darkest possible point (without burning), for a deep flavour. In goes salt, butter and warm cream, then it’s left to cool. For the ganache, 58 per cent dark chocolate is melted then combined with cream, honey and butter, and mixed until glossy. The caramel is whipped and then layered with sheets of buttermilk chocolate cake and ganache.
Cost: $11
Where: Brothers Ben Atelier, 49 Palace Street, Petersham

@brothersbenatelier