Croissant craftsmanship sweetens up Hillcrest
Double-beef burgers, salmon crolls and cheesecakes are now varieties of creative croissants in a new Hillcrest bakery that has customers from all over South East Queensland queuing out the door.
Whether it’s cruffins, crookies, cronuts or crolls, the new Croix Croissant bakery and cafe is making life sweeter for locals and tourists alike with delectable twists to the traditional buttery treat.
The owners, husband-and-wife team Audi and Rizka Krisnandika, are taking traditional croissants to a whole new level of tastebud temptation to put Logan on the foodie map.
Above: Croix Croissant’s daily selection of treats.
It’s the latest quality bakery to open in Logan, and the couple is proud to be drawing in new customers to visit the city. They are also pleased to be bringing international trends to the area, by recreating the latest treats on social media around the world.
‘If something goes viral in Paris, people want to try it in Logan so that’s what we try to bring,’ Rizka says. ‘We take inspiration from everywhere – if it’s doable, why not? – we like to experiment.’
The couple’s Indonesian heritage has also influenced some menu items, such as a green croissant enhanced with pandan – a South-East Asian plant with a mild, earthy vanilla flavour – which, as Rizka explains, is part of sharing the couple’s food culture with locals.
Another was a Mi Goreng croissant that was a huge hit in their Melbourne store, which they opened 18 months ago in Flemington.
When the pair moved to Queensland with their 3 young sons to be closer to family, they decided to open their second store at the Middle Road Village Shopping Centre in Hillcrest – now a must-visit location for flaky pastry fans.
Above: Croix Croissant owner Audi Krisnandika in his Hillcrest bakery.
‘Growth here is way faster than Melbourne, which is surprising. We have people from the Gold Coast and around Brisbane coming all the way to Logan to try our pastries, which feels amazing – they say it’s worth the drive because they are overwhelmed by the choice,’ Rizka says.
The hand-rolled croissants are created during a traditional 3-day process, with 15 to 20 varieties on offer daily, totalling around 2,000 each week.
‘We have the classic crème brûlée croissant, the double-beef burger croll with cheese and burger sauce is really popular, and the lemon cheesecake cruffin is a best-seller,’ Rizka says.
‘The crookie has also just taken off world-wide, starting in Paris, and it is a real favourite with the kids.’
For the uninitiated in baked goods terminology, Rizka explains that a cruffin is a mixture of a croissant and muffin, a croll is a croissant and roll combo, and a crookie is a croissant with cookie dough inside and on top.
The recipes are by Audi, who was studying commercial cookery when he met Rizka, then an accountant.
‘We got married and then I realised I liked cooking far more than accounting so I also did a cooking course,’ Rizka laughs.
They began manufacturing tempeh and ran a cafe until COVID-19 lockdowns, followed by home deliveries of doughnuts and croissants.
Audi, who grew up loving croissants due to his extended family living in France for 5 years, then perfected the croissant recipe and the couple realised a croissant café was their shared passion.
By Rachel Syers
Photo at top: Rizka Krisnandika is ready for customers at her Croix Croissant bakery in Hillcrest, with husband Audi and a selection of their flaky pastry treats.
For more must-visit bakeries around Logan, visit Bakeries in Logan – Our Logan
