Krepesz Cafe

Bakery: Krepesz Cafe
Address: 253 Augusta Ave, Toronto ON
Website: http://www.krepesz.com/
Style: Hungarian 
Price: $$-$$$

Well, this isn't really a bakery, but as I had tried Polish crepes awhile back, I thought it was only right to try the Hungarian version. ... Though I didn't really do that this time around -- I was full from a trip down Baldwin Village (that's what it's called?) for some yummy Japanese food ^.^ -- but as I was in Kensington Market and thought I'd delayed it enough, I went in for one of their signature offerings (i.e. excluding crepes, of which the chicken stew (paprikas) seems to be the most famous, although they have a few unique, traditional sweet varieties of palacsinta): chimney cake! This is the only place I've heard of that does have it, so there you go. ;)

Chimney cake is pretty much a white sponge cake that is rolled around a wooden spit and baked over an open fire. The dough is slightly flavoured with orange and is rolled in granulated sugar; they're sold by piece ($3.10/each or around $5 with your choice of coffee) Getting it as a hollow roll of dough makes it look not that interesting and it's pretty hard to believe just by its appearance that it's so tasty! I mean, there's nothing really to it, just the dough and sugar, but the hint of orange is pretty nice and then there's that undeniable taste of smoke and wood. Or, well, not sure if that in particular, but you have that totally unique sensation and not only that, it's very good! There's that baked-in, ever so slight crust on the outside and then on the inside it's soft and moist. I really liked it!

The prices are not that cheap, but the chimney cake was delicious and it really makes me want to try the crepes as well -- not sure how I can pass up a trip to Baldwin, but we'll see. ;D

Rating: ***

Garni Bakery

Bakery: Garni Bakery
Address: 9555 Yonge St, Richmond Hill ON
Website: n/a 
Style: Persian, Middle Eastern
Price: $$

There are several Persian bakeries still needing a visit along and near Yonge, most of which are in Richmond Hill. On a recent trip to buy a cake, one brother popped into Garni Bakery, tucked somewhere among the businesses on the T&T plaza. This being his first trip to a Persian bakery, he had expected nothing except baklava (which was perfectly fine by him) and was a little surprised, though not unpleasantly so, to find such things as an array of aromatic cookies and various breads. The flat, "Barbari" bread is by far the most popular, but as it's not sweet, I'll only mention it and continue to the goodies. ;)

Taking his cue from the two customers in front of him, he got a selection of cookies as well as... those honey twists whose name I still don't know in any language. As always, he made no note whatsoever of the price, but I presume that both items are sold by weight? Nevertheless, at first I was a little skeptical to try the cookies after my last experience with Middle Eastern baking wasn't the most positive, but the cookies were delicious! The dough was delicately flavoured with orange water (not too perfume-y) and even those that were just plain dough sprinkled with some slivered almonds were very tasty. Others with jam in the middle (again, I was fearing rose water -- ha ha if you haven't learned already, I'm not one for fragrance in my food. I don't know what it is but yeah...) were even better! I think a few people were hoping I'd try a piece and end up passing on the rest, but that didn't happen. I ate them all up, and with pleasure. ;P

The honey twists, unlike the typical Lebanese version which is just plain dough coated in a mix of sugar and honey, the proportion being different depending on the location, were quite unique. For one, the dough was orange and, once more, quite fragrant. It must have been orange water, if my memory serves me correctly. The dough was not only coated, but soaked so that the texture was entirely different and actually somewhere in between the Lebanese and the Indian equivalent (jaleebi [sp?]): it was softer and wasn't so gooey and sticky. In a word, the brothers were amazed. These are by far the best they've had and were very impressed with Garni. While I wouldn't say they're the best (I think my fave are still Mona's), I too have to say I was impressed with this bakery.

Garni is certainly the best Persian bakery from my current list, although I enjoyed the others I've tried to this date. (And can't wait to try more.) ^.^

Rating: ***1/2

The Magic Rolling Pin

Bakery: The Magic Rolling Pin 
Address: 302 King St, Peterborough ON 
Website: http://www.magicrollingpin.com/
Style: British
Price: $$$$ 

Despite the name being reminiscent of some sort of cupcake shop (I was actually not even going to bother checking the website, but I did and thus sent my brother there to pick something up for me), the Magic Rolling Pin likes to think itself far above the likes of such riffraff. Indeed, asking the brother for his impressions on the place -- as I always do when I'm not the one buying -- he replied with: 'You'd think the Queen stopped here on her royal visit.' With that being said, this is touted as a tea room and patisserie, though it's more of the former, as it seems to be both a place you more eat at than take away from and offering cake slices and pound cakes instead of any sort of dainty pastries.

Their website advertises taking out a whole box of tarts (of the British type)... but after the brother's eye-opening trip, I'm not sure how much such a box would end up costing. $150? O.o Yes, I don't actually use the four-level price point very often -- I may have just used it once or twice before -- but this place is pricey. Please be aware as nothing is priced in-store. At first I didn't really take him seriously, saying that French patisseries are also expensive; he claims it's more expensive than that and at $8 for a single slice of cheesecake, I think I might have to agree. Having researched places in Toronto to have proper afternoon tea last year (I never ended up going, because no one really agreed on a good place and it seemed that everywhere reviewers went the cake portion was horrendous), I roughly knew the price point of tea, from tea rooms to hotels. These guys are the most expensive I've encountered. If the surrounding are in fact regal and you get to use all your fancy china and napkins, then perhaps they should do as the higher-end patisseries do and charge different prices for eating in and taking away, since, to be quite honest with you, paying almost $16 for two items -- one a cheesecake and the other a muffin baked in a fancy tin -- seems downright ridiculous.

And if it were bad, the review would stop here. But, fortunately, what looked like nothing much turned out quite yummy. Certainly not worth the price ($16 can, after all, get you a whole bunch of heaven at, for example, the DPH), but still very tasty. The lemon pound cakelet -- not quite sure what to call it -- I found fairly good, though I was a little disappointed with the fact that, no matter how pretty it looked in terms of presentation, had the taste and texture of a better-than-average muffin. The lemon custard layer on top had more flavour than the rest of the cake; thankfully, it wasn't what lemon-flavoured tastes like, but was actually lemon: very tangy, really intense -- curiously good. ;)

The cheesecake (it came with a small container of clotted cream which had flopped and turned to liquid upon its return home) I have to say I was wary of; I was fearing that much maligned back of the Philadelphia box recipe (as I've encountered in other bakeries), but it very good! Everything about it was good: the cheese mass was creamy, the crumble (combine that with the liquefied cream) was delicious, as was the very rich, flaky crust, very clearly made from scratch. It was, I must say, a surprise hit.

In this sense, The Magic Rolling Pin makes some pretty exceptional British baked goods; 99% of tea rooms seem to receive the very same verdict: good tea, good sandwiches, horrible pastries, so this place is an exception to this rule. The price is nonetheless quite extravagant (alas, the majority of us aren't lords and ladies...), but at least your afternoon tea is accompanied with some good dessert. Who cares about those sandwiches! ;)

Rating: **1/2

East City Bakery [RIP]

Bakery: East City Bakery 
Address: 159 Douro St, Peterborough ON 
Website: http://www.east-city-baker.com/ 
Style: English, German, North American
Price: $-$$ 

So, for whatever reason, the brother had this sudden urge to visit some other cities in Southern Ontario following his trips to Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph. He decided on Peterborough and came back with three Cake Tours! :) That even qualifies for a special Peterborough tag; not only that, it seems like he's covered all the bakeries (according to Google, that is) in the city.

The first on the tour is East-City Bakery, a fairly small bakery on the east side of the river and located in a neighbourhood; actually, the bakery itself is likewise in a red brick house. It's very nice to read and feel assured that they pride themselves on being an all-natural bakery (and, in fact, seem to do a few community programs as well)... more than that, their website also mentioned something about Poppy Seed Twisters. Oh, they knew how to lure me in (though I was, frankly, already interested at the 'Guten Appetit' ;D)! Sadly, to my considerable grief, there was nothing poppy seed when the brother went, but they did make up for it with some pretty tasty baked goods nevertheless. The selection is more English/Canadian, with items including date squares, nanaimo squares, eccles cakes, turnovers, etc.

The first thing he picked up was a turnover/danish (prices were, as always, not noted; pictured is the cherry turnover).. well, actually it was two since he got one cherry and another unsweetened apple one. Both were very good; given that danishes are usually made from the same, one-dough-fits-all and come out tasting a little too commercial (this is obviously excluding the exceptional danishes featured on this site ^-^;), which is why I'm often pretty hesitant to pick them up myself, this didn't look a cookie cutter danish and, thankfully, didn't taste like one either. Delicious, soft, flavourful dough with equally tasty fruit filling that isn't just that usual gloop. A very promising start.

The other item up for sampling was, not sure if it had a name, but a cherry tart (this is what the brother called it), although it resembled more an individual cake. At first glance, this looked like some sort of pound cake, but it was curiously more complex than that, with a sponge cake dough mixed in with chunks of cherry and plenty of coconut to create this super chewy, almost macaroon-like treat... not to mention that crumble on top~ For what it was (unless there's some secret I don't know about!), I was a little surprised to find it quite rich, but mmm... it was really good! *-* And this is coming from someone who normally doesn't like coconut too!

Anyways, of the three bakeries sampled in Peterborough, East City was definitely the favourite. While they don't have anything overly elaborate, everything was still great-tasting. I can envision a stunning poppy seed bun coming from a place like this! ;)

Rating: ***1/2

Rustic Bakery

Bakery: Rustic Bakery
Address: 318 Rustic Rd, Toronto ON
Website: http://therusticbakery.ca/
Style: Italian
Price: $-$$

This has to be one of the most obscure plazas I've come across. Nestled among a street of houses on the corner of Culford and Rustic Rd (yes, I'm sure I'm not the only one who didn't have a clue where that was) and across the street from a school, an Italian bakery seems strangely out of place, even more so an authentic Italian bakery with plenty of tasty choices in terms of baked goods, despite being at once a deli, espresso joint and bakery all in one. Was there the usual hot table as well? I don't remember. All I do remember was a very tasty assortment of Italian pastries which even I, not being the biggest fan of, succumbed to, as well as a few items that I have yet to see elsewhere. The standard pastries (i.e. cannoli) come in several varieties and, curiously enough, so did my personal favourite: zeppole! :) Actually, the last time the brother brought back some Italian pastries for all, he got offended that I (very quickly and without the slightest hesitation) nabbed the single zeppola for myself, so this time I went all out and just got one for everyone! And right I was -- zeppole are the best....

And these zeppole, in particular, were exceptionally good. Unfortunately, the Golden Zeppola Challenge of last year was awhile ago, so it might be hard to determine if it would make to the very top, but this is certainly a medal-winner. At Rustic, there are four variants of zeppole ($3/each): either ricotta or cream, baked or fried. The fried (rear) are slightly smaller, but they were particularly stunning (the lady at the counter was telling me [purely in Italian... I guess my minor came in handy after all O.o] how the baked are better for you... and proceeded to give more fried than baked ;)) Mmmm... so good! Delicious dough, slightly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with plenty of cream filling (which she also informed me were better) and, unlike many bakeries, with the perfect amount of cherry syrup mixed in with that cream filling. Definitely recommended!

I also took a piece of this thing which I had never before seen ($1.50/each): this cookie-like cake with a hard, shortbread-y crust and stuffed with a chewy filling made of fig paste and chunks of pistachios and candied figs (is that what it was?) The larger version, a ring cake with whole slices of candied orange on top, looks even more interesting. I think the reason it drew my attention was that it resembled Maltese pastries, which -- one must note -- I love. Taste-wise, it didn't disappoint, though the chunks of candied fruit tend to get stuck to your teeth. XD It reminded me of trizzi... strizzi? Maybe this is the Italian equivalent? Nonetheless, this was also a tasty discovery and especially for those who aren't necessarily fans of cream- or cheese-filled Italian pastries.

This place came as a very pleasant surprise. Some manoeuvring is needed if you don't live in the neighbourhood, but it's worth it. And if you are in the neighbourhood, then lucky you. ;D

Rating: ***1/2

Maison Délice [RIP]

Bakery: Maison Délice
Address: 363 Kerr St, Oakville ON 
Website: http://www.maisondelice.ca 
Style: Middle Eastern, North African, French 
Price: $$-$$$$

Maison Délice is, since the birth of this website, the third bakery to fill this spot in Kerr Village and has been open for just a few weeks. It was preceded by something European (was it Polish? Or am I now confused?) and then by a Venezuelan place. This time, we have a French and Middle Eastern (the website uses North African -- perhaps Moroccan or Algerian??) pastry shop and cafe with several elaborately decorated cake/slices as well as interesting varieties of baklava and nutty pastries I have yet to see another else. On a regular weekday morning, either the French-style baked goods, croissants and brioches according to the labels, were all gone or weren't baked in the first place, since the containers were empty. However, knowing that, whichever country it may be, North African is certainly something that's hard to get your hands on (the vast majority of Middle Eastern 'bakeries' are Lebanese), I was here for the more exotic things.

Only selected items are labelled and priced, while others are not. These ranged from $1-something for the baked goods, to around $3. Some items are quite expensive, if not overpriced for what you're getting. Around $3 for a cookie or one piece of baklava or $2 for that dough twist (first photo); in general, baklava is always a costly treat, but over $7 for three tiny items, only one of which was actually something elaborate? To be quite honest with you, it felt like a bit of a ripoff.

But back to the baked goods (which are always the most important part of every trip), I and fellow samplers were slightly disappointed with the purchase. For one, the dough twist ($2) was one of the cheapest pastries there; you'll see a similar style from various style: "bows" of deep-fried dough, crispy on the outside and airy on the inside. The variant here was coated with sticky honey glaze and topped with sesame seeds (ha ha I realized only after I had eaten that I'd taken the picture of it upside down XD). Despite the fact that there was very fragrant, in terms of the smell, I found these strangely lacking in any sort of taste, as fond I am of these in general (called chrusty in Polish, for example). You didn't even get that fried dough taste, which surprised me. Was it simply old? O.o

Similarly, there was the cookie, which was unanimously the least favourite, simply due to the fact that it had no taste. I really don't know what fragrance there was (rose water, perhaps), but there was some aroma... Well, after trying it and wondering if it was just me, I handed it over to the other samplers, and three additional people agreed: it had no taste! The cookie dough itself was very floury (kind of like eating uncooked flour and water) and dry. There was some sort of jam in the middle, but no one could discern what it was. One said that it smelled like Turkish Delight, but didn't taste like anything. I'm not quite sure if it's supposed to be like this or not? /confused/ This one turned out to be the one regret out of the three purchases.

Finally, came the showstopper: an intricate, almost pretty pastry made with rolled, multi-layered dough (not filo) stuffed with nuts and sesame seeds and overall sweet and chewy, like baklava is meant to be. This was definitely a unique find; I can't see I've seen this anywhere else and, out of everything, this was the one that I would consider getting again. Worth a try.

Overall, this place was a bit of a hit-and-miss. I'm not sure how the French baked goods fare, but there were some interesting, one-of-a-kind selections that would have been more inviting if they were labelled, (more reasonably) priced, or fresher. :/

Rating: **      

Heritage Doughnuts

Bakery: Heritage Doughnuts @ St Jacob's Farmers Market
Address: 878 Weber St N, Waterloo ON 
Website: http://www.stjacobs.com/farmers-market
Style: North American 
Price: $ 

So I had someone return to the St Jacob's Farmers Market once news of a new building had spread. For those who may not know, the previous market building burned down last year, taking with it countless of shops and some bakeries too. The new building is only one storey and it might come as a disappointment (it did for me, at any rate) that two of the baked good-draws -- the Cinni-bun shop and the apple fritter place -- have not returned. :( 

Nevertheless, one place that is around are Heritage Doughnuts (I'm not sure if they have a name or that's just the style of their doughnuts; for simplicity's sake, I'll use it as their name): a stall selling doughnuts which come in boxes of six (around $4, if someone's memory serves them correctly...), and only in one variety (apple cider with sugar on top)

For the sampling, we got the hot apple cider doughnuts sprinkled with sugar. These are cake doughnuts and, in general, I have to say I'm not really fond of cake doughnuts. They're denser than yeast doughnuts and tend to be drier and not very fluffy. To my surprise, these were pretty tasty. The apple cider isn't in-your-face obvious, but there is that hint of something sweet there that you can't quite place and it must be that that makes the dough surprisingly moist and tasty. They certainly aren't apple fritters or cinnamon buns, but they'll do. ;)

Rating: **1/2

Eric the Baker

Bakery: Eric the Baker
Address: 46 Carden St, Guelph ON 
Website: n/a
Style: French 
Price: $$ 

Let's just get down to it: Eric the Baker not only amazed, but it impressed so much that it was unanimously granted (i.e. by the household, I mean) the title of a southern Ontario gem and certainly one of the semi-local highlights of the Cake Tour, when in Guelph or not. Well, you have to drive there, but it'll be worth it. That's what the French do to you. :P

Backing up a bit, the brother returned the following week for his audio equipment and was to explore more bakeries in Kitchener when he found many already closed. How he ended up in Guelph is beyond me (I wasn't there for the explanation) but he contacted the other brother to find him a bakery there and the most promising was this one: a fairly small, one-man-show (run by Eric himself) bakery/cafe with a selection of baked goods that sells out quickly as well as coffee, lunch items, etc. The high number of francophone customers (Eric is a Frenchman and seems to know more than a thing or two about pastries ^^;;) is also a very good sign. Unfortunately, at around 4p.m. almost everything was gone so the choices were limited to a few more elaborate pastries. Some of these included fruit tarts (around $3/each), coming in a few varieties: here we have mixed fruit, apple, and pear (with candied orange).

By far, the pear was the best, with the pears at the right level of softness and then you have a bit of zip with the orange peel so the pear isn't too bland. With all of the tarts, the dough was really the, keeping on theme, pièce de résistance. It almost had this Danish-dough taste and texture to it: perfectly flaky and dense and so tasty. Mmmm... what a find!! :)

Rating: ****