Butter Mafia, the gluten free bakers

Posted: June 15, 2023 Updated: June 15, 2023

Butter Mafia are a gluten free bakery operating out of Northcote in Melbourne’s north. Butter Mafia doesn’t have a retail location, instead they offer a delivery bakery service. However you can also order online for an in-person pick up.

I guess actually, the bakery, which is located on a business lot on a busy street, fits in nicely with their name. The team are based in a small premises with a roller door front, it’s a bit of an underground operation vibe.

100% gluten free zone

The kitchen is a 100% gluten free zone, accredited by Coeliac Australia. This means there are no wheat, rye, barley or oat products on the premises.

On top of that, as part of their accreditation cakes are randomly selected for laboratory testing. This ensures they do not contain gluten and are safe for Aussie coeliacs.

Mafia-themed bakes

The entire range at Butter Mafia have mob themed names, henchmen, the don, bossy lady and mob wife to name a few. They’ve been baking since 2014, so you know their bakes have been well-honed.

In 2023 my husband’s work had a small event that was centred around cookies. It meant we *had to* go out and buy cookies and other sweet treats. He ordered classics box which includes dessert bars and cookies.

I’ve put some photos and my thoughts below. 🙂

Henchmen Cookies

My favourite type of cookie is a soft, chewy cookie with chunks of filling. Preferably chunks of different textures, like white chocolate and cranberry or ginger cookies with stem ginger. So naturally peanut butter cookies with big chunks of chocolate are going to get my attention.

Chewy, slightly salty, rich rich chocolate. I love the smell of these as soon as you open the box, the rich peanut butter aroma is there right away. A little bit grainy in texture I think from the sugar but that’s typical of cookies.

The Mob Wife

Gluten Free Chocolate Mud with Raspberry Pate – Mob Wife. A layer of flavourful raspberry pate provides a pop on fresh fruitiness on top of rich, moist and decadent Chocolate mud cake.

Rich most mud cake. Raspberry pate is very concentrated raspberry. It’s like the most solid jam you’ve ever had.

The Mistress

A delicately balanced, soft, creamy and tangy lemon and passionfruit curd set on a butter vanilla biscuit base and laced with fine coconut

It’s like the most beautiful lemon tart mixed with passion fruit. The texture is that of a thick curd. The base is delicate biscuit but slightly more cooked at the base so it’s firm. The coconut doesn’t add much to the taste but it does make it look special.

Bad Boy Brownie

It’s a perfectly fudgy brownie with loads of almond pieces. I like that this brownie is actually a brownie, rather than 80% chocolate chunks barely held together with brownie batter. It’s also much more moist and soft than brownies I usually come across which are drier and harder. It also means the almond pieces get to shine, giving good textural contrast.

It’s something you might not think of often but I like it when you get something that says nuts and there’s actually a tonne of nuts in there. It’s so disappointing getting an item and it feels like it was just there as a garnish. Definitely not the case for these brownies!

Final thoughts

These dessert bars are great, they are really polished and you can tell a lot of work has gone in to perfecting them. I suspect they have very high attention to detail and quality control. I liked everything we got except one, I didn’t really enjoy the Mafia Darling. To be fair I’m not super into salted caramel or white chocolate. However, I did find it was too salty, even for a salted caramel.

The Henchmen cookies are brilliant, I’d definitely go back for those and highly recommend them if you’re placing an order. They also last really well, I ate the last one six days after we first bought them. Their packaging does say they will last up to five days refrigerated.

Visit Butter Mafia

Butter Mafia has two locations, handily on opposite sides of Melbourne. Note, the Northcote site is more like a business estate, you can’t get coffee or sit around anywhere. It’s a bit tricky to park but you can park just outside the door for a quick pick-up.

Northcote

Location: Unit 25/148 Arthurton Rd, Northcote VIC 3070.

Opening times: Monday & Wednesday – 10am to 4pm. Tuesday, Thursday & Friday – 10am to 2pm

Dandenong

Location: Shop P16, The Pantry, Dandenong Market, Corner Clow St & Cleeland St, Dandenong.

Opening times: Tuesday, Friday and Saturday – 8am to 4pm. Sunday – 9am to 4pm

Be sure to check their Instagram account for the latest menu offerings and opening times.

Hungry for gluten free baked goods in Melbourne? Check out Pantry by Davies St! Or, if you prefer to make a sweet fix at home you could try my ice cream sandwiches made with rice cakes.