Waikato bakery wins award for best custard square

Volare Te Awamutu manager Elise Gibson and staff member Lucas Sargison with a selection of their award-winning custard squares. Photo / Dean Taylor

Waikato bakery Volare has taken out top prize in Baking New Zealand’s Great Square Off Custard Square Championship.

The bakery, which has stores in Hamilton, Cambridge and Te Awamutu, finished first equal with New Plymouth’s Piccolo Morso, with a traditional take on the classic custard square.

“We’re really stoked,” Volare marketing manager Holly Phillips said.

“Custard squares are a bit of a labour of love — the slice takes three days to make, including two days just to get the traditional puff pastry ready, so it’s really nice for that hard work to be recognised.”

Chief judge Ron Omelvena said the Volare and Piccolo Morso custard squares stood out for their technical execution, with finishing touches that elevated them above the rest.

“The Volare custard square had a really nice piece of chocolate work that added to the traditional icing and took it up a notch.

“It’s the first time we’ve encountered a joint winner across our competitions, but the standard was so high and we just couldn’t split them.”

Phillips said while custard squares were not the most popular product on their shelves, they were a great way for bakers to practise and hone their techniques across the different elements.

“It shows what you can do with simple, quality ingredients. We always try to focus on the best local ingredients and executing traditional methods really well. It’s great to see that approach standing the test of time.”

Auckland’s Wen & Yen was second, with Timaru’s U-Bake in third place.