When it comes to the dessert table at a Christmas feast, few are likely picking fruit over puddings, cake, and ice cream.
But now, thanks to these delicious creations by former MasterChef contestant, Reynold Poernomo, you can have the best of both worlds.
The ‘King of Desserts’ – as Poernomo was dubbed – has created cakes that look exactly like fruit for the holiday menu at his Sydney restaurant KOI Dessert Bar.
From shiny cherries to shimmering pears, the 24-year-old’s creations almost look too beautiful to eat.
Former MasterChef contestant Reynold Poernomo has created cakes that look exactly like fruit for the holiday menu at his Sydney restaurant, KOI Dessert Bar
Poernomo (pictured) revealed the design was inspired by French pastry chef Cédric Grolet
But, unlike the plastic fruit we once used to decorate our tables, these fake fruit are actually packed with delicious flavours.
The taste of each $15 cake matches the fruit it is modelled after, with Poernomo’s range including a pear, cherry, and lemon.
Poernomo’s ‘Xmas Pear’ cake is made of a pear cardamom mousse with almond jaconde, poached pear and caramel, while the ‘Xmas Lemon’ cake comes complete with citrus ganache, pineapple jam, lemon confit, and Madeleine sponge.
The ‘Xmas Cherry’ cake contains a Morello cherry mousse, cherry and chocolate ganache, and fruit mince soaked in brandy.
Poernomo’s ‘Xmas Pear’ cake (left) is made of a pear cardamom mousse with almond jaconde, poached pear and caramel, while the ‘Xmas Lemon’ cake (right) comes complete with citrus ganache, pineapple jam, lemon confit, and Madeleine sponge
Poernomo, who runs KOI with his brothers and mum, told Daily Mail Australia that he was inspired by French pastry chef Cédric Grolet.
Grolet, who has won the title of Best Pastry Chef in the World, is renowned for creating incredibly realistic-looking fruit pastries with a sweet surprise inside.
Poernomo is a huge fan of Grolet’s work, and wanted to bring his creations to Sydney with a unique KOI twist.
‘We wanted to make it a bit more floral,’ he said. ‘We grow our own flowers and have our own garden, so we wanted to utilise that.’
Each cake is shaped with a mold that is filled with mousse and then jelly or jam is inserted in the center, Poernomo explained.
After it is frozen, the cake is then sprayed or dipped into a coating and glaze.
Poernomo revealed that chocolate is one of the best tools for making the fruits look so realistic because ‘you can literally make chocolate do whatever you want’.
Poernomo has also created a spin on mince pies with the Bauble Tart, which contains fruit mince with brandy and spices, chocolate filling, and a speculaas crumb base
The $225 Koi White Christmas Cake features the Xmas Cherry, Lemon, and Pear Cakes on top of a rice bubble base
In the case of the lemon cake, after being molded and frozen it is coated with a lemon and cocoa butter and then sprayed yellow.
‘Then we spray it again with a mirror glaze, which is a clear jelly that we melt down and mix with a bit of gold to create an effect that looks like a real lemon, Poernomo added.
The pastry chef said he wanted to shake things up and do something different for the holidays as he found there were few places in Sydney doing glazed or fruit cakes.
‘We wanted it to be challenging,’ he said. ‘It’s not an easy process, and we sometimes actually break more than we can sell.’
‘It comes down to temperature and timing, they’re really fragile.’
But these delectable fruit aren’t the only holiday offerings at KOI.
Poernomo has also created a spin on mince pies with the Bauble Tart, which contains fruit mince with brandy and spices, chocolate filling, and a speculaas crumb base.
The chocolate bauble on top is filled with cherry gel, fruit mince, and tea dacquoise – a dessert cake made with layers of almond and hazelnut meringue.
In September Poernomo created a limited edition spring fruit series, the predecessor to his Christmas range
Flavours included a mandarin cake with a mandarin vanilla mousse and pineapple jam, and a pear cake with pear cardamom mousse with poached pear, pear jelly and almond joconde
Also available is a Santa’s Hat cake, a strawberry cheesecake with a blueberry gel in the middle and marshmallow coated with coconut on the outside.
Life has changed drastically for Poernomo since he appeared on season seven of MasterChef in 2015.
‘I was a student before I did any of this, I was studying nutrition,’ he recalled. ‘I wasn’t doing too well, studying is not really my forte. MasterChef was a massive breakthrough and a big opportunity.’
Poernomo launched KOI with his family in January 2016, wanting to create the first dessert bar in Sydney – and give it two completely distinct dining experiences.
On the first floor of the restaurant is a casual downstairs cafe, while upstairs is a formal dining room with a set six-course dinner and four-course dessert menus.
And Poernomo revealed that next year he will be opening his own Sydney restaurant, which he said will be conceptual with a revolving menu, theme, and layout.
‘It will be a bit more experimental and something different in Sydney,’ he said. ‘It’s something new, and we’ll see whether it works or not.’