House of Suns roadside bakery is selling cake in the Blue Mountains bush
‘They were fascinated’: A home baker became an internet sensation by selling elaborate South American cakes from the forested grounds of the Blue Mountains, and we found three other roadside bakeries to try.
Customers trek a mile through Blue Mountains woodland to join the queue outside House of Suns, a tiny bright yellow bakery that opens once a week and sells out within an hour.
The shelves are stocked at 9 a.m. Saturday with beautiful Latin American desserts from self-taught baker Romina Gardella, who opened House of Suns in March outside her family’s off-grid property in Springwood.
Although the stay-at-home mom quietly harbored dreams of opening her own bakery one day, she never expected the roadside stall, handmade from old wooden pallets and purchased from the honesty box, would attract so much attention.
“Initially there were a few people out for a walk in the woods and they were surprised to see a slice of cake at this yellow stand in the middle of the city. [Martin’s Lookout Trail]Gardella said: ”What?’ they said. “They were fascinated.”
A few weeks later, Gardella arrived at a long line of customers standing on the side of the road.
“I arrived at the stand at nine o’clock to set up and there was a queue and while I was stocking up more people came and it was incredible,” he said.
The news spread on social media and Gardella’s story caught people’s attention. The mother-of-three moved to Australia from Chile 17 years ago and fell in love with a Blue Mountains man with African drumming talent.
For the past 10 years, they have raised their three young children, each with a name that refers to the sun. Gardella said House of Suns took its name from them; It’s a way to take her family with her as she pursues her own dream and reinvents herself after becoming a mother.
“I love baking. I can’t stop thinking about what I’m going to learn next, so I always put something new on the menu every week,” Gardella said.
“It’s also a way to showcase where I come from and the flavors I grew up with.”
On any given Saturday, you might find the counter stocked with alfajoras, shortbread biscuits sandwiched with dulce de leche; “a bit like a melting moment”; panqueue, a cake layering something “like a pancake but not a crepe” with orange curd; or torta amor, love cake. The latter was a bestseller, Gardella said.
“It’s divine. There are crunchy layers, then vanilla custard and raspberry whipped cream, which is like a creamy patisserie.”
“Everything is unique to Chile: I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, I want to honor what I know.”
The flavors are new to most customers, but there is also a growing group of South Americans coming from Sydney to enjoy desserts they haven’t had in years.
“It was so special to see someone try a piece of cake and say, ‘Oh my God, I haven’t had this in 30 years,'” Gardella said.
There are no plans to open a physical store yet, but for Gardella, its current success is enough.
“My heart goes out to every person who comes,” he said.
“Sometimes you think, can I really do this? Am I good enough? Are people really going to come and eat my cakes? Then it happens and tells you, ‘Yes, you can do it.'”
Three more roadside bakeries to try
Kiln Cottage, Quakers Hill
Self-taught baker Marilyn Matic and her husband, “chief taste tester” Tony Matic, opened their pastel pink microbakery in June and it quickly became a hit. Customers use a modern honesty box to pay for homemade sourdough bread, brownies and chunky cookies via cash, QR code or PayPal. “This has become a real talking point,” Tony said. “We have people coming to visit us from the city.”
Open at 8am on Saturday
Pye Road, Quaker Hill, instagram.com/thecookiestarsydney
Lily’s Local, Arcadia
Before there was Luca in Castle Hill, there was Lily’s Tavern in Arcadia. Former MasterChef contestant Larissa Dominello opened the stunning roadside bakery in 2023, inspired by Tasmania’s Bruny Island Bread Fridge. But what started as a way to build community has “escalated to levels I can’t match”, with customers traveling as far as Newcastle for honey cakes, sticky date puddings and black olive focaccia. After a brief hiatus to accommodate Luca with her husband, Luke Dominello, Lily’s Local is expected to reopen before the end of winter.
Open Sunday 8am (check social media for reopening date)
Cobah Road, Arcadia, instagram.com/lilyslocal
Braeside Bakery, Blackheath
Young Blue Mountains resident Mylah Ashby started her farm gate stand in August; He installed handmade shelving, an honesty box that accepts card payments, and a small outdoor seating area for relaxing after a long journey. Each week, she stocks the oven with homemade treats like brown butter chocolate chip cookies, pear and ginger cake, and jars of lemon-ginger marmalade.
Open Sunday at 8am
33 Braeside Avenue, Blackheath, instagram.com/braesidebakery
Bianca Crovat- Bianca is Good Food’s Sydney dining out and restaurant editor.
