On a chilly Sunday morning in Ballarat, Victoria, the temperature hovers around 6 degrees Celsius, yet a queue stretches outside the local café, Naomi and I. This scene, reminiscent of Melbourne’s bustling food culture, is unusual for regional Victoria. The draw? A viral dessert sensation: the raspberry goldfields cookie pie.
Created by local baker Erika Browne, the cookie pie won the 2025 Ballarat Best Pie competition, catapulting it to fame. “I decided to enter the pie competition … not thinking that there was even the slightest chance of winning it,” Ms. Browne shared. “After I won, it’s been crazy, it’s been madness. I can’t even believe it.”
A Sweet Success Story
Operating under the name Mrs Browne Bakes, Erika crafts her baked goods in a council-approved home kitchen. Her creations are sold at Naomi and I and local farmers’ markets. The café restocks the pies twice daily, only to see them sell out rapidly. “Yesterday, I delivered about 250 and they sold the lot in less than an hour,” Ms. Browne noted.
Social media has played a significant role in the pie’s success, drawing enthusiasts from Melbourne, Geelong, and Bendigo. Ms. Browne has even had to clarify online that she cannot sell directly from her home or car. “When my workers deliver to Naomi and I, sometimes people will park beside them and try and buy cookies directly from the car boot,” she explained.
Erika’s journey to becoming a celebrated baker began when she moved with her family from the Philippines to Ballarat in 2006. “I was 17 at the time and I didn’t know how to cook or bake,” she recalled. Inspired by her aunt’s sticky date pudding, she pursued a degree in food science and nutrition, eventually launching Mrs Browne Bakes in 2016.
The Allure of the Cookie Pie
The raspberry goldfields cookie pie is a tribute to Ballarat’s heritage, featuring local ingredients like Sovereign Hill raspberry drops and a sprinkle of gold. Despite its popularity, the pies are limited to two per customer. “I’m a food scientist and I love experimenting with different flavors,” Erika said. “I like getting ideas from different cuisines and also, coming from the Philippines, I also like introducing Filipino flavors to Ballarat.”
However, the cookie pie itself remains a local affair, with no Filipino flavors included. Instead, it tells a story of Ballarat’s gold rush history, enriched with chocolate and other local ingredients.
Social Media’s Role in Food Trends
The phenomenon of queuing for food, while new to regional Victoria, is well-known in Melbourne. Ailene Wu, a Melbourne-based “foodie content creator” with over 370,000 TikTok followers, remarked, “When I see something going viral, I’m like: ‘Oh my God, I want to try it because everyone’s talking about it.'” She noted the impact of social media on food culture, saying, “Social media has changed the food scene completely forever and it’s going to continue to.”
According to Wu, consumers increasingly seek personal connections with businesses. “There’s more of a drive for content that focuses on the employees or the story behind the businesses,” she said, highlighting the appeal of Mrs Browne Bakes’ story.
“The fact that she got rejected by the first business that she wanted to sell her cookies from [is great]. There’s also that perfect mix of a little bit of controversy as well because some people are like, ‘That’s not a pie!'”
The Viral Impact
Since its debut, Ms. Browne has sold over 4,000 cookie pies in just three weeks. Fraser Wyley, owner of Naomi and I, expressed his astonishment, “We have had the biggest queues waiting for this beautiful pie every single day, and it is selling out in sometimes 20 minutes.”
Local resident Kylie Moxon managed to secure some pies and planned to surprise a friend in Torquay. “I’m delivering the pies today to my friend in Torquay,” she said. “I missed out a couple of days this week, but I finally got them today, so it’s going to be a big surprise.”
However, not everyone has been so fortunate. Jake Weightman, a local who has attempted to purchase a pie on four separate occasions, lamented, “I’ve seen some very long lines, but I can’t wait that long. I have to get to work.”
The cookie pie craze in Ballarat is more than just a culinary success; it reflects the power of social media and the evolving landscape of food culture in regional areas. As the demand continues, it remains to be seen how long this sweet sensation will captivate Victoria’s taste buds.
