The cruller, our signature

Ask anyone who queues at the Burleigh counter on a Saturday what they came for and odds are it is a cruller. It has quietly become the thing Tarte is known for, the pastry people drive down from Brisbane to collect, and the one visitors photograph before they eat.

What is a cruller, exactly?

A cruller is a twisted ring of choux pastry, fried until the outside crisps and the inside stays almost custardy, then glazed. Choux is the same dough that makes eclairs and profiteroles, which is why a good cruller eats lighter than a doughnut. It is airy where a doughnut is dense, delicate where a doughnut is chewy.

And no, it is not a churro. Churros are piped straight and rolled in cinnamon sugar. A cruller is twisted into a ring and glazed. Different dough handling, different finish, different thing entirely. Ours are crullers.

Made every morning in Burleigh

Our crullers are made in house at the Burleigh bakery each morning, piped, twisted, fried and glazed the same day they are sold. When they are gone, they are gone, which on weekends can be embarrassingly early.

The flavours

The line-up rotates with the seasons, but the current bench runs vanilla bean and custard, cinnamon, and the dulce de leche that food writers keep singling out. Come at Christmas and you might catch the candy cane cruller.

Where to get one

The full range comes out of the bakery at 1748 Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads, from 6:30am daily. You can also order ahead through our online store for pickup. Down at the Beach House in Currumbin, the Tea Garden's pastry bar carries them too, and they earn a spot on the high tea tiers.

Come early. We mean it about the selling out.