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“They were mesmerised”: A home baker has become an online sensation for selling elaborate South American cakes in Blue Mountains bushland, and we’ve found three more roadside bakeries to try.
Customers hike for a kilometre through Blue Mountains bushland to join the queue outside House of Suns, a bright yellow micro-bakery that opens once a week and sells out within the hour.
The shelves are stocked at 9am on Saturday with beautiful Latin American desserts by self-taught baker Romina Gardella, who opened House of Suns outside her family’s off-grid Springwood property in March.
Though the stay-at-home mum quietly harboured dreams of opening her own bakery one day, she never expected the roadside stall, handbuilt from old wood pallets and reliant on honesty box purchases, would receive so much attention.
“At the start we had a few people who were going for a bush walk, and they were surprised to find a slice of cake at this yellow stand in the middle of [Martin’s Lookout Trail],” Gardella said. “They were like, ‘What?’ They were mesmerised.”
A few weeks later, Gardella arrived to a long line of customers standing along the side of the trail.
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“I came to the stall at nine o’clock to set up, and there was a queue of people, and more people arrived as I was stocking up, and it was just unbelievable,” she said.
Word had spread on social media, and people were intrigued by Gardella’s story. The mother of three moved from Chile to Australia 17 years ago and fell in love with a Blue Mountains man with a talent for African drumming.
For the past 10 years, they have raised their three young children, each with a name referencing the sun. Gardella said House of Suns is named for them – a way of bringing her family along as she follows a dream of her own, and rediscovers herself after becoming a mother.
“I love baking. I can’t stop thinking about what I’m going to learn next and that’s why I’m always putting something new on the menu each week,” Gardella said.
“It’s also a way to showcase where I came from and the flavours I grew up with.”
On a given Saturday you might find the stall 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 pancake” with orange curd; or torta amor, a love cake. The latter is a bestseller, said Gardella.
“It’s divine. It’s got the crunchy layers, then the vanilla custard like a creme patisserie, and the whipped cream with raspberries.
“It’s all very Chilean: I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, I want to honour what I know.”
The flavours are new to most customers, but there’s also a growing group of South Americans driving from Sydney to enjoy desserts they haven’t eaten for years.
“It was very special to have somebody try a piece of cake and say, ‘Oh my god, I haven’t had that in 30 years,’” Gardella said.
There aren’t any plans to open a brick-and-mortar shop yet, but for Gardella, its present success is enough.
“My heart feels so much gratitude for every person who comes,” she said.
“Sometimes you think, can I really do this? Am I good enough? Are people actually going to come and eat my cakes? And then this happens, and it tells you, ‘Yes, you can.’”
Three more roadside bakeries to try
The Bakery Shed, Quakers Hill
Self-taught baker Marilyn Matic and her “chief taste-tester” husband Tony Matic opened their pastel pink micro-bakery in June, and it quickly became a hit. Customers use a modern honesty box to pay for their homemade sourdough bread, brownies and chunky cookies via cash, QR code or PayPal. “It’s become a real talking point,” said Tony. “We have people travel from the city to visit us.”
Open 8am Sat
Pye Road, Quakers Hill, instagram.com/thecookiestarsydney
Lily’s Local, Arcadia
Before there was Luca in Castle Hill, there was Lily’s Local in Arcadia. Former MasterChef contestant Larissa Dominello opened the charming roadside bakery in 2023, taking inspiration from Tasmania’s Bruny Island Bread Fridge. But what began as a way to build community “took off to levels I couldn’t match”, with customers travelling as far as Newcastle for honey cakes, sticky date puddings and black olive focaccia. After a brief hiatus to launch Luca with husband Luke Dominello, Lily’s Local is expected to reopen before winter’s end.
Open 8am Sun (check socials for reopening date)
Cobah Road, Arcadia, instagram.com/lilyslocal
Braeside Bakery, Blackheath
Young Blue Mountains local Mylah Ashby set up her farmgate stall in August, installing hand-built shelves, an honesty box that accepts card payments, and a little outdoor seating area to rest after a long drive. Each week she stocks the bakery with homemade treats, including brown butter chocolate chip cookies, pear and ginger cake, and jars of lemon ginger marmalade.
Open 8am Sun
33 Braeside Avenue, Blackheath, instagram.com/braesidebakery
