Air apparent: Fluffy Fluffy Dessert Cafe’s a (not too) sweet new option in Mills 50
“Get the croffle,” a friend told me.
I like some portmanteaus more than others.
Some have been around so long, many of us forget they are portmanteaus. Smog comes to mind. Also, sitcom.
They can be political (Brexit), tech-forward (cyborg), even editorial (listicle).They can also be particularly clever (I’m looking at you, “affluenza.”) Celebrity couple names — Bennifer, Brangelina, Kimye — are arguably the lowest form of the art.
Feed your head, and your sweet tooth, at White Rabbit Dessert Experience | Review
Food variants run the gamut from lyrical (frappuccino) to clumsy (pluot).
Croffle, a mashup of croissant and waffle, as do all of them, I suppose, depends on the ear of the beholder, but I think it’s kind of cute. Something I might find smiling at me, cheeks rosy, amid a cache of anthropomorphized Japanese-style food plushies — like the shrimp nigiri I bought to keep my Dole Whip company on the sofa.
There will be a lot less room for plushies or anything else on the couch, though, if I persist in visiting the new Fluffy Fluffy Dessert Cafe on East Colonial Drive.
The Mills 50 shop is a first for not only Orlando, but the whole of the U.S. as this Toronto-based operation — best known for its insanely airy soufflé pancakes — continues its jiggly jaunt toward world dessert domination.
Known as Fuwa Fuwa elsewhere (Japanese for “fluffy fluffy”), nine stores in Canada and three in the U.K. preceded this stateside franchise, which offers up decent parking in its location adjacent to the Phước Lộc Thọ Super Oriental Market, a rarity for the neighborhood.
Though still signless on my visit (a banner I missed while driving by flapped precariously on this stormy day), the Instagrammers appeared to be finding the place just fine. The crowd was surprisingly robust for a weekday midafternoon as a friend and I lined up for a sampling of their sweets.
I love dessert as much as the next person, perhaps a little less than those with whom the sweet-tooth force is strong, but Asian desserts, generally lower in sugar, seem to send me more often than not. Also, I love breakfast food at any meal. So, why not dessert it up?
Croffle recommendation notwithstanding, I went outside my norm for the occasion and ordered a flavored latte ($5). Seduced by the idea of a sesame-infused coffee beverage, the weather prompted me to go for the hot option. A little sweet for me (they always are) but the nutty flavor, reminiscent of halvah, was a pleasant complement to the bitterness of the beans. The silkiness was sublime, and it’s a feature near omnipresent in the various items we sampled.
Those pancakes. I can see why they’re a thing. Made with heavily whipped egg whites, they’re cooked low and slow, affording them a custardy texture, and an alluring jiggle beneath their fetching layer of ultra light whipped cream. A nod to the brand’s Canadian heritage, the classic variety (two pancakes for $12.99) were served with a side of real maple syrup.
Flavored varieties are popular. Mine looked positively underdressed amid plates piled with options like matcha and mango, strawberry and raspberry-banana ($13.99) but the plain served as a nice baseline for a possible next visit. There’s something lovely about the textures here, so soft and pillowy, warm and inviting. Bouncy and cheerful.
Luxurious, even.
De Leon Springs pancake restaurant reopens to guests for cook-your-own experience
It’s a word I’d also use for the burnt-top cheesecake we tried. There weren’t many left in the case, but the mango ($5.99/slice) seemed enticing. Fluffy Fluffy’s take on the crustless Basque-style classic dessert was airy and creamy, its caramelized top offering a flan-like flavor to the subtle fruitiness of the mango, all of it another velvety experience. These are available as whole cakes, as well, ranging from $17.99 to $19.99. Flavors include original, matcha, coco and Earl Grey.
There’s a soufflé version, too. Fodder for another time, as we had to save room for that croffle ($7.75). Here’s where we opted in for toppings, choosing the cocoa banana, laden with chocolate syrup and fresh fruit slices. The croffle itself is a wonder: crispy, airy, fluffy, flaky and a nice blank slate for the variations. Savory ones, featuring open-face avocado versions as well as ham and smoked salmon sandwich varieties, are reportedly coming soon.
We grabbed a side of red bean ice cream, too, which was fine, but I’d have sooner given that real estate over to a slice of roll cake or crepe cake, or perhaps another variety of croffle or pancake. These springy stars spoke directly to my love of egg tarts and natas and flan. And even, potentially, portmanteaus, since they so neatly encapsulate so many lovely and surprisingly light delights in the universe of dessert.
Souffléke? Panquake?
Eh, I’ll leave it to the neologists, but Fluffy Fluffy is a decidedly fun, new option to quell those not-too-sweet tooth yearnings in a bright and sunny space.
If you go
Fluffy Fluffy Dessert Cafe: 2008 E. Colonial Drive in Orlando, 727-637-8298; fluffyfluffy.com
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
