This crème brûlée doughnut is the best sweet treat I've ever eaten

Hold the phone – I think I’ve found the most imaginative doughnuts in the world.

The good news is you don’t have to travel far to find them; just a hop, skip and a jump across the Tasman to the sunny paradise of the Gold Coast.

And if there’s one thing you learn from this article – be sure to turn up to Paddock Bakery with an empty stomach, ideally absolutely ravenous.

The café itself is set in an old renovated 1970s home, complete with antique red bricks from around Australia and salvaged timber. There’s seating inside, outdoors and upstairs in the loft and on the deck.

Located in Burleigh Heads, Paddock Bakery opened in 2014 and has become famous for its incredible array of doughnuts and sweet treats, as well as generous servings for breakfast and lunch. Don’t rush your visit – you’ll spend some time salivating at the counter, because what lies on display is a work of art.

There are sugary crème brûlée doughnuts with caramelised centres waiting to be cracked with the back of a spoon. Breakfast doughnuts filled to the brim with chorizo, capsicum and mushrooms. They’ve got apple and rhubarb doughnut French toast, Nutella cruffins, peanut butter and jelly doughnuts – and perhaps the most impressive of all, the remarkably presented Biscoff cheesecake doughnut topped with salted caramel and pretzel cookie crumbs.

It’s not just about the doughnuts either – Paddock Bakery has a Milk Bar menu with flamboyant options such as salted caramel topped with peanut brittle, whipped cream and pretzel cookie crumb, or a PB&J shake with peanut butter and jam milk, topped with peanut butter ganache, freeze-dried raspberries, and toffee peanuts.

If you’re after a savoury bite first, you can’t go wrong with their sandwiches made fresh to order – the turkey and cranberry toastie is a winner, served on a cranberry and walnut sourdough, as is the reuben with freshly sliced wagyu beef. The servings are huge – so you may need to order your dessert to take away with you, or find someone to share the portions.

There are colourful, nutritious salads available too – also served in a large portion – but if all that food is a bit much for your stomach, you can still indulge with a hot drink. Paddock Bakery’s signature hot chocolate is made with melted Lindt milk chocolate and bittersweet dark chocolate, served with torched marshmallow on top. Nothing at this café is subtle, and everything is divine dance on the tastebuds.

Owner Maya Scholz says it can take weeks to perfect a creation.

“Our inspiration can come from absolutely anything, be it a seasonal flavour, a colour, sometimes even through the lyrics of a song. We get together as a team and create magic,” Scholz told Stuff Travel.

“We only ever launch when we know we’ve hit the WOW factor. It’s an incredibly satisfying journey.”

Paddock Bakery, 20 Hibiscus Haven, Burleigh Heads, Queensland. See:

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