It was an unremarkable March day at Du Plessy Pralin & Otello when Margie, a regular customer, turned up with a Chinese social media influencer looking for a Japonaise cake.

A month later, queues pack the footpath every day outside the West Pymble shop, and it’s normal to see rows of people sitting with cake boxes in their laps, waiting for the bus back to the city.

“It’s bizarre,” Du Plessy’s second-generation owner Paul Adam tells Broadsheet. “The influencer posted a video of the cake and people went crazy.”

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In Adam’s version of the classic recipe, light-as-air dark chocolate mousse is sandwiched between two layers of almond and hazelnut meringue. A pair of rosellas – stencilled in cocoa powder – fly across the top. “I started making it in 1988 and it’s our most popular cake. Margie has been coming in for years; she orders a Japonaise every birthday.”

Margie, who teaches English to refugees, and Max, an influencer and international student, are an unlikely pair. They met on the train, connecting over a box of pastries Max had bought that day. Margie was politely unimpressed by Max’s selections and told him about her favourite cake shop, Du Plessy Pralin & Otello. They exchanged numbers and a short time later arranged to meet and try the Japonaise. Max vlogged the whole thing, posting to Chinese social media platform Red Note. The video went viral, spawning the Japonaise craze.

Where Adam used to sell 100 Japonaise cakes a week, he’s now selling 100 every day.

“International students have been flying in from all over Australia to buy the cake. We even have customers coming from China to pick up a cake, only to have it confiscated at customs. It’s normal now to see 40 people waiting for the bus with cakes in their laps.”

At one point, demand was so high, a secondary market formed.

“Professional shoppers would come and buy six cakes. When we’d sell out, they’d go on We Chat and sell slices for $37. I don’t like that because others were missing out, so we put a stop to it.”

In 1961, Adam’s parents Marcel and Martha founded Du Plessy Pralin in Pymble, after migrating to Australia from France. Trained in Switzerland, Marcel was a master pastry chef. Adam followed in his footsteps, doing his pastry training in France. He has his parents’ original lease with a handwritten note from the real estate. “It was a three-year lease and the agent wrote my parents a note that said, ‘Good luck. I don’t think you’re going to make it.’”

In 1988, Adam moved the shop to West Pymble, where it became what it is now: a neighbourhood favourite for pretty cakes, handmade chocolates and Easter sweets.

The mania for the mousse cake was whipped up in the lead-up to the busy Easter period, when the team makes more than 4500 chocolate eggs and bunnies. Adam asked Max to tell his followers to come back in May for Japonaise.

Demand has slowed, but not much. When Paul speaks to Broadsheet, it’s late on Monday and he’s gearing up for a night shift after working all day. He’s tired, but happy to ride the wave. “I’m really proud. I’m proud of my staff; everyone is doing amazing.”

How can you get your hands on a cake? Adam recommends patience. “It’s only cake. Eventually the frenzy will settle down and things will go back to normal.”

Du Plessy Pralin & Otello
Shop 17, Philip Mall, Kendall Street, West Pymble
(02) 9498 8089

Hours:
Mon to Wed 9.30am–5.30pm
Thu & Fri 9.30am–6pm
Sat 9am–2pm

duplessypralinandotello.com