Sweet Paradise

Bakery: Sweet Paradise 
Address: 630 Stone Church Rd, Hamilton ON 
Website: http://sweetparadise.ca/
Style: Italian 
Price: $$ 

It was the 19th of March, the feast day of San Giuseppe, and you know what that was supposed to mean: zeppole! Yes, it was the day I've been waiting for (though, to be fair, many bakeries make zeppole during the month of March or thereabouts) and I thought I would cover a couple of Italian bakeries in Hamilton that I had been putting off. This, in some sense, was a disaster; only one bakery had zeppole that day -- unthinkable! -- and that zeppola came from Sweet Paradise.

Despite the "bakery" vibes coming from their name and website, Sweet Paradise is a classic Italian bakery and deli, but they did have the largest selection of  Italian pastries and cakes from the places I visited that day, such as two types of cannoli and something known as a Sicilian doughnut (!).

But I was there for the zeppole (as was everyone else in the bakery line). At first, I didn't notice them, but then I realized they were the cream puff-looking pastries coated with powdered sugar, available in either ricotta or amarena cherry. ($3) Perhaps the term "zeppolina" would be more fitting; these were smallest zeppole I've seen. I'm also not too sure why there was so much powdered sugar on it. After scraping off a few spoonfuls, I gave it a try. Zeppole are often considered the Italian equivalent of a doughnut and with the stiff choux pastry often used, this is a bit of a far stretch; this was the first time I could see the resemblance. A soft dough stuffed with custard and cherries, this zeppola was generously filled and yummy. Maybe it didn't beat this year's winner from Sanremo, but it is definitely worthy of second-place. :)

Rating: ***