At least five shops in Ottawa and Gatineau now make trompe-l’œil desserts, the hyperrealistic fruit-shaped pastries that have taken social media by storm. These creations, which mimic fruits like mangoes, bananas, and cherries, are filled with inventive centers ranging from Hong Kong sweet soup to Ukrainian cake.
The Rise of Fake Fruit Desserts
Nasr Nasr, founder of Juice Dudez in the ByWard Market, resisted the trend for months. “When they started becoming trendy, a lot of people suggested we try it,” he said. “I kept saying, ‘No, we should stick to our strengths.’ Leave trompe-l’œil to pastry chefs. People train for years to get them right.”
After sampling fruit-shaped pastries across Montreal and Toronto, Nasr found most disappointing. “There was no real chocolate,” he said. “And they never tasted like actual fruit. Most of the time, I only tasted syrup.” A juice bar, he decided, had an advantage: “Fruit is what we do best, so we had to take a stab at it.”
After about 15 rounds of testing, Juice Dudez debuted a trompe-l’œil mango with a speckled shell that cracks open to reveal fresh mango chunks in mascarpone cream on a Lotus cookie base. The dessert now sells out daily, “no matter how much we increase the production,” Nasr said.
What Is Trompe-l’Œil?
Trompe-l’œil, French for “trick the eye,” describes a painting so convincing that a viewer reaches out to check reality. Renaissance painters made a discipline of the effect, and pastry chefs now practice a similar illusion. Chef Cédric Grolet popularized the dessert at Le Meurice in Paris, where his sculpted fruits sell for €18. His lemons are the calling card, and in 2018 he took the World’s Best Pastry Chef title.
Elina Olefirenko, pastry chef behind Elina’s Patisserie on Sussex Drive, says famous chefs have always pulled techniques back into fashion, though social media has sped up the process. “In the industry, a few different chefs set the trends,” she said. “I didn’t plan to do trompe-l’œil. I thought the trend was already gone 10 years ago.”
Local Interpretations
Olefirenko opened her shop in late 2022 after training at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa. Customers began asking for fruit-shaped pastries they had seen abroad. She made a trompe-l’œil pear “just to try,” and customers responded by biting into it and showing the center on video.
Her lemon tart became a small lemon set into a sablé shell, using four or five kinds of citrus. The cherry interprets Black Forest cake with natural sour-cherry glaze over chocolate tart, sponge, crémeux, cherries, and vanilla mousse. “If it looks like a cherry to you,” she said, “then it’s a trompe-l’œil.”
The banana features bruised skin encasing caramelized fruit, while the fig has a grainy center. Her acorn is technically demanding: inside the small brown shell, she hides Kyiv cake, a Ukrainian dessert with hazelnut meringue, praline, crème brûlée, coffee mousse, and chocolate crunch. “It’s more for the soul and the pride of the chef than for profit,” she said.
The Fake Fruit Economy
Before Sanaz Homa could perfect a fake raspberry at Tartelette in Old Ottawa East, a staff member had to bring a mould home from Paris. Canadian suppliers didn’t carry the shapes she wanted; a cheap sample from China arrived in the wrong size; the Italian brand came through a U.S. supplier. “I bought about $600 of moulds and paid $180 just for the customs,” she said.
Her first trompe-l’œil was an orange, using a round Christmas ornament mould. Since December, the $12 weekend-only pastry sells out within hours. “I wanted to make sure it works,” she said, “and after that, I ordered more moulds.” The orange took six months to develop: orange jelly, crémeux, mousse, sponge, and a chocolate shell. A second Tartelette location opens in Kanata in early July.
Asian-Inspired Trompe-l’Œil
Joanne Yip and Kenny Xu, co-owners of SpoonMii in the ByWard Market, came to trompe-l’œil through tanghulu, selling candy-glossed fruit skewers at Asian night markets. They opened their store last November. Yip handles baking; Xu focuses on logistics. “He dragged me to do the markets,” said Yip. “I dragged him to do the store.”
Their mango contains mango sago, a chilled sweet soup from Hong Kong with mango, coconut milk, and tapioca pearls. “It’s liquid form, like a soup, a sweet dessert soup,” Yip said. The shell is white chocolate painted by hand, and the filling uses fresh mango and coconut milk, kept uncooked. A rice cracker at the base comes from a childhood snack. “Everyone’s doing trompe-l’œil but I put my Hong Kong dessert inside to share my culture,” she said.
Keeping It Cold and Light
Lalie Borange of Charlotte Macarons in Gatineau trained in Paris at the Valrhona school and with Pierre Hermé. She added trompe-l’œil in January after customers brought photos. “I take inspiration from French recipes, though I always adjust the sugar, since people lean toward what’s less sweet,” she said.
Her mango ($7.95) has a thin shell over mango cream and soft cake. “Something that looks like a mango should taste like a mango,” she said. The pistachio filling tastes like pistachio ice cream, and the raspberry could pass for small cheesecake. She puts about eight minutes of hands-on work per piece; a batch of a few hundred takes four to five hours. “It’s the cold of the chocolate that creates the effect,” she said. “Leave it in the car for an hour and you won’t get the crunch.”
Which to Buy
For the juiciest bite, SpoonMii’s mango ($10.25) offers an exciting center with fruit and coconut. For polish, Elina’s Patisserie banana ($14.50) is a showpiece for realism, while the acorn is technically layered. For value, Charlotte Macarons’ raspberry ($7.95) is a strong pick. For citrus, Tartelette’s orange ($12) is light and clean. Juice Dudez is one to watch, with a strawberry version due soon and a surprise gelato trompe-l’œil planned for summer.
Nasr said watching customer reactions gets him every time. “Their eyes open wide as soon as they bite into it,” he said. “It’s the crunch. I think people love the crunch.”
