Sweet pies is a concept that is quite unfamiliar to us Australians - meat pie is the way to go for Aussies! When I first heard about a cafe in Newtown selling dessert pies, I was sold. The Pie Tin, here I come :D
 |
Coconut cream pie, $6.50 |
The first time I went was quite a while ago and prices have indeed climbed since then. The cream used to come for free (though admittedly, it was quite unnecessary), but now it costs $0.50 extra. I was a tad disappointed with this coconut pie as there wasn't a distinct flavour of coconut except for the tiny bit of toasted coconut coconut flakes on top. The custard was smooth and creamy and nice though. But for my first trip, I was not wowed and left without my high expectations met as everyone was raving about this place.
Deciding to give it another chance, my friend Gingerbreadmanne and I decided to treat ourselves for our morning of hard work at uni with pie! I think we were a bit too ambitious, ordering three pies between the two of us. And no, we didn't even just order 3 slices of normal pie, we thought we could take on the huuuge XXL apple pie.
 |
The apple pie that ate Newtown, $10.50, + $1.00 extra for vanilla ice-cream |
Just look at the size of that pie slice! Compare it to that little spork in the corner and my friend's hand... Nope, we couldn't finish it no matter how hard we tried especially because the pie was extremely tart from the use of Granny Smith apples which was good because it showed they didn't add excessive amounts of sugar. The scoop of vanilla ice-cream was our saviour - it helped cut through the tartness. We finished about half of this pie before admitting defeat and packing the rest to take away haha. The crust was delicious and the apple filling itself had a really good hit of cinnamon. I love cinnamon. But I think the size and sheer amount was what lead to our downfall. Only order this if you have a big group of people!! I took it home and made it into a parfait - plain Greek yogurt layered with apple pie. Delicious!
 |
Tart lime and blueberry pie, $8.50 |
If we had known the apple pie was going to be that tart, perhaps it wasn't the best idea to order this slice of tart lime and blueberry pie. This pie was amazing and packed a lime punch. The filling was smooth and custardy, simply dissolving in your mouth. But eating it with the tart apple pie, we were starting to get a bit overwhelmed by the sourness. So we decided to get a savoury pie as well!
 |
Moroccan lamb, chickpeas & cumin, $6.80 |
There was a heady scent of cumin as we cut open the pie. It was heavenly eating this pie because it helped our tastebuds recover from all that sour pie we just ate! The filling was not at all dry, the lamb was tender and soft, and there were bits of pumpkin and chickpeas scattered throughout. Very comforting to eat.
 |
Er yes, a bit disgusting, but lamb pie innards! |
One of my UNSW friends (hello K!) made a trip to Newtown with T and came to visit me in my studio with takeaway pie from The Pie Tin. So lovely of them to do so :)
 |
Slow roasted beef brisket, hickory smoke & mushrooms, $6.80 |
There were huge chunks of beef brisket which had a wonderful smoky flavour. It was seasoned with lots of pepper which is right down my alley - I have a tendency to add lots of pepper hehe.
 |
Flaky pastry pistachio & dark chocolate pie $5.80 |
This pie slice was exactly what it was made out to be. The pastry was wonderfully sweet from the dusting of icing sugar, crumbly and flaky and it surrounded a rich chocolate filling. Gone in a flash :(
 |
Sweet pumpkin pie, $7.50 |
Oh dear, the pumpkin pie got smushed slightly from it's travelling! I was curious as to how pumpkin pie would taste because it seems to be an American thing. But boy am I glad they got this pie. There was no skimping with the nutmeg that's for sure! But I love my spices so this went down a treat. In fact, the spiced flavour of this pie was what inspired me to make my
healthy sweet potato muffins!
Despite having a rocky start to my relationship with the Pie Tin, I can foresee many trips down here in the future during uni for some comforting dessert or even their meat pies :) Does anyone find the concept of dessert pies strange, or do you love dessert as much as I do?
The Pie Tin
1a Brown St
Newtown, NSW, 2042
Opening Hours
Monday - Wednesday: 10:00am - 8:00pm
Thursday - Saturday: 10:00am - 10:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am - 6:00pm