Pâtisserie Notre-Dame du Rosaire

Bakery: Pâtisserie Notre-Dame du Rosaire
Address: 227 rue Rachel E, Montreal QC
Website: http://www.natasdurosaire.ca/
Style: Portuguese 
Price: $ 

I've never actually walked past this bakery and poked my head in, though I've heard good things from my extensive bakery research, especially regarding the Plateau Mont-Royal, so this was the first time, though I kept putting it on my to-visit list that I went inside and gave this bakery a try. On this particular trip, I went to a couple of Portuguese bakeries in the neighbourhood and so I was surprised to find it as empty as I did. Besides trays upon trays of natas, Portuguese custard tarts, in several flavour varieties, the bakery doesn't have very much. They had a few loaves of bread and a very limited selection of sweets such as meringues and two types of cake, none of which were the staples you'd expect to find at a Portuguese bakery. Therefore, it's more than clear that if you don't like natas (unfortunately, this is where I fall; I am not the biggest fan of this national pastry), it would be best to go to another bakery in the area. If you do, this is the place for you.

Having no backup bakeries for that day, the idea of skipping one bakery and thus reducing my daily bakery count was not an option. Really, the next option of trying some of their custard tarts would have probably been the best one, but I somehow didn't make it that far in the thought process. :P No, no, that's being a little mean, since I did settle for a slice of apple cake ($1.25); I'll admit the slices looked bigger, but the price also proved to be considerably less than expected. This was a moist sponge cake dough with apple slices on top, all with a hint of cinnamon. This reminded me of a cake my mom would make (this is a compliment), though personally I would have preferred to pay a little more and get a slightly larger slice. .__. Pretty good, but not quite what I was expecting to find.

Rating: **1/2

Robiglio [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Robiglio 
Address: Via dei Servi 112/r, Florence 
Website: n/a 
Style: Italian
Price: $$ 

You guessed it -- the Cake Fairy is back with one more treat from Italy, this time from Florence. Milan, Florence... it's amazing how far her wings can carry her. ;D Thank you for this Cake Tour!

Robiglio is a long-standing, cherry wood and mirror-bedecked patisserie, confectionery, and cafe in Florence; they also have a restaurant, but who really cares about that? It's all about the sweets! And Robiglio has quite a bit of them: shelves of jellies and chocolates, cakes with candied fruits and nuts, baked goods galore and cakes that I've never seen before; we're not in Cannoli-land anymore, Dorothy.... Just looking at the photos makes me jealous! *-*

 This time, the Cake Fairy gave us a present wrapped prettily in gold and ribbon. Undoing the ribbon (this did indeed turn into a ceremony in the kitchen with everyone huddled around, eager as if it were Christmas) and unwrapping the paper, there it was: a loaf cake covered in hard milk chocolate. The knife was handed over and it was time to slice it up. This proved far more difficult than anticipated: once breaking through the tasty chocolate exterior, the cake crumbled. There was no cohesion at all. All attempts at photographing a slice were in vain. The plates looked like someone had fed the cake through a paper shredder. Even the candied fruit all pooled at the pool, instead of being evenly distributed throughout the dough.

This sort of fruit cake is made in advance and it's pretty much assumed you'll be enjoying at a later date, but this was pretty dry and the dough had nothing binding it together like alcohol, honey or sugar syrup, which are common in fruit, honey or spice cakes; therefore, crumbling upon impact. Very good in taste but dry and messy, it was more an aesthetic nightmare than anything else. Spoons, not forks recommended. -_-

Rating: ***

Mark

Bakery: Tradycyjny Sękacz Mazurski "Mark" 
Address: Available at selected Polish delis in GTA
Website: http://www.mark.pl/
Style: Polish, Masurian 
Price: $$$ 

Here's a somewhat special holiday treat for the Cake Tour! ^^ I noticed these traditional "tree cakes" one or two years ago at several Polish delis; they're imported from Poland, available almost exclusively during holiday periods (Christmas and possibly Easter), and sold either as whole cakes or pieces of the "trunk". Although Mark isn't exactly a bakery, they specialize in one thing: these lovely tree cakes hailing from the Masuria region in Poland, more or less the same thing as German Baumkuchen and similar in concept to Hungarian chimney cakes, in that they're baked on spits. However, the ones I spotted beforehand were made with margarine and chemical additives; they weren't as "traditional" as I wanted them, that's for sure. Kind of like croissants made from oil, not butter. Like, why?

It was only this year that I spotted a differently wrapped cake and excitedly noticed it was a butter version (look for the label with "Sękacz maślany"; I got mine at Wisla Deli for $15.79): natural ingredients like eggs, orange peel, and butter. I immediately snatched it! Opening the bag, you get the delicious aroma of butter and orange, and even with no preservatives, the dough was dense and soft. For a cake of "plain" dough, this was surprisingly flavourful. The texture was one-of-a-kind; the taste reminded me of wafers or madeleines. One ring after another, I could not get enough of this cake. Definitely the best treat of this Christmas season, despite goodies from various local bakeries -- yum!! *-*

Rating: ****

Breka Bakery

Bakery: Breka Bakery 
Address: 818 Bute St, Vancouver BC
Website: http://www.breka.ca
Style: German, European 
Price: $$ 

I think it has to be a universal rule that a place open 24/7 can't possibly have good food. After all, what are the first kinds of food businesses that come to mind? Fast food. Never-quite-fresh, production-line fast food that's open in the wee hours of the morning and can say little more besides that: it's open and that's the need it fills. I would never believe anyone if they told me there was a bakery that was always open and wasn't a coffee-and-doughnut chain; for that bakery to have German and poppy seed baked goods AND be really good -- it could only be a joke. Surely, no one can possibly satisfy a poppy seed craving at 2am! And yet along comes Breka Bakery, a European bakery that is not only open, but serves a wide assortment of mostly pan-European baked goods, cake slices, German specialties like Bienenstich, strudels, and quark cheesecakes, doughnuts, and the list goes on and on. But wait (yes, this is starting to sound like a TV commercial), they also have reasonable prices! It truly is amazing.

The poppy seed square ($3.25) was a necessary purchase. There was enough poppy seeds in this thing to fail a drug test: a pure, heavy poppy seed mass with shortbread crust and lattice on top (unfortunately it got a little flattened in transit) that moist and flavourful -- much better than the previous poppy seed square bought. What a pleasant surprise! Now you know that, no matter when you arrive in town or no matter when you're hungry for something sweet, there's a great-tasting German/European treat waiting for you at any time of day or night -- wow, it's such a beautiful thing.... ;-;

Rating: ***1/2

Cake and Loaf Bakery

Bakery: Cake and Loaf Bakery 
Address: 321 Dundurn St S, Hamilton ON 
Website: https://cakeandloaf.ca/ 
Style: Canadian
Price: $$

Cake and Loaf is a newer, relatively small bakeshop in Hamilton, specializing in old-school Canadian bakery staples (cinnamon buns, butter tarts, etc.) with a hipster twist. There might even be a bit of a retro vibe going for it, with the white trays and unpainted wooden shelves, serving up anything from giant Oreo cookies, homemade chocolate bars, to apple crumble and... jars of preserves. Small-town bakery meets heritage home pantry, perhaps? I'm not sure if their logo should universally apply to everything in-store; it was a little funny having "healthy" listed as one of the descriptors on the box for the generously iced cinnamon bun. At least there's now no reason against you having one: it's says right there it's healthy. ;D

One item that seemed to stand out and seems to be one of their diagonally frosted cinnamon buns. Hard, flaky dough on the outside makes it look a little like a twice-baked danish, but the effect was unique and interesting: while it didn't have your typical cinnamon bun texture, I'd say it was like a cinnamon toast in the shape of a bun. Just the right amount of cinnamon. Good frosting on top. Definitely the best thing from this place.

Less exciting was the butter tart, which like the cinnamon bun, tried to put a new spin on a great classic. Most notably the airier, flaky puff pastry shell that wrapped around the filling and then overflowed over the top. The effect, however, was kind of disjointed: the shell wouldn't cut easily (the problem with this type of dough), resulting in clumsy chunks of dough with everything inside spilling onto the plate. The filling itself, instead of having the pecans mixed in with the buttery mass, had them sitting on top. I'm not sure if this was the best way to do it: the nuts were dry and trail mix-like while the buttery mass sitting on the bottom had no texture and not enough dough to eat it with. If you got everything in one mouthful, it was good, but doing so was difficult and messy.

 Next up was the egg nog doughnut (or something along those lines). This looked pretty good and points go for appearance: chunks of spice dough perched atop a thick layer of creamy icing. This was also filled with a flavoured cream. I love my doughnuts (embarrassing confession of the day), so I was looking forward to this one; however, I wasn't fan of the dense, cake dough, which I felt matched neither the ball-shape of the doughnut nor the cream filling. An airy yeast dough, with a nice, slightly crispy exterior would have been amazing. 

In the end, I was slightly disappointed with both the doughnut and the butter tart; I felt they could have been better, especially given the fact that the cinnamon bun was well done. Good, but not the best.

Rating: **1/2

Blómasetrið - Kaffi Kyrrð [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Blómasetrið - Kaffi Kyrrð
Address: Skúlagata 13, Borgarnes
Website: http://blomasetrid.is/
Style: Icelandic, Cakes
Price: $$

Earlier this year, I had the absolute pleasure and honour of working at this lovely cafe in Borgarnes, Iceland, so having it as part of the Cake Tour is a must, though, like the two times I reviewed someone's individual baking, I also feel it would be unfair to actually rank it due to overwhelming personal bias and regular bribes in the form of free cake. We're entering conflict of interest territory here.... ;) However, I'll have to attempt an impartial and informative review. Let's do it!

Blómasetrið - Kaffi Kyrrð is an all-in-one gift shop, flower shop, guesthouse upstairs, and cafe -- the latter of which is tucked into the back section of the store. One blog named it one of the top cafes in the world and one glance around this homey, couch- and painting-laden cafe is enough to see why; there's something totally magical about the eclectic decor, the lovely patio with that mountain serving as a backdrop, and the aesthetically-pleasing array of desserts, drinks, and light meals and that has to be why people love it -- some are even mesmerized. It truly is "one of a kind". :)

In addition to the atmosphere, the cafe serves three types of sweets: muffins (chocolate or caramel; 550kr), rotating flavours of cake slices (990kr), and Icelandic waffles (850kr). For something hot and homemade, I would so go for the waffles -- photographed is my Mimi variant with maple syrup, chocolate shavings and heart-shaped whipped cream; I only realized now that all I really took pictures of were my own takes on everything, but the idea is there. :P The original waffle is served with rhubarb jam, chocolate syrup, chocolate shavings, and whipped cream.

 The one thing that broke my cake-loving heart was that the cakes aren't homemade... :( Naturally, some of the cakes are also better than others: my favourites included the pecan pie, the berry cheesecake, and the heated apple cakes with caramel sauce... hopefully, I'm not forgetting one like I did when asked. Scandalous. -_- You have to be either lucky or quick if you want the first two, though -- they never seem to last very long, and with good reason.

And all are prepared with love and whipped cream, along with corresponding sauce (chocolate, caramel or strawberry/blueberry) and those omnipresent chocolate shavings. This isn't just cake thrown onto a plate; it's pretty and thoughtful and a... a celebration of the marriage between cake and  cream! I was always happy to serve it to an appreciative crowd; I still remember that time when the table was in near tears in the face of such beauty. ;) 

This was a fantastic experience and I can only, most heartily recommend visiting this charming cafe for a slice of cake and a napkin floret in your coffee cup handle -- before you know it, the magic of the place will get you too. :D

Bubby Rose's Bakery

Bakery: Bubby Rose's Bakery & Cafe
Address: 1022 Cook St, Victoria BC
Website: http://bubbyrosesbakery.com/
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

Back in Victoria. Deciding to take a mid-day break, I settled for Bubby Rose's bakery... and, as was more often than not the case with my travels, I came at a busy time with every table inside taken and a fairly long line at the counter -- three cheers for bakery culture! ^-^v Having planned my route ahead of time, I was pretty much intent on trying what this bustling bakery considers their famous cinnamon rolls, but finding them individually saran wrapped, they didn't look as appetizing as I had hoped. Not to mention they had other options to choose from.

Bubby Rose's is a "healthier", home-style bakery -- the kind of bakery I would expect to find on Vancouver Island. ;) Cinnamon buns (available with or without raisins), carrot cake, loaf cakes, muffins and brownies with gluten-free and vegan options. They even make their own granola. And feeling a little over-indulged after a few days of hardcore Cake Touring, I thought I better go for something "healthier"; at least, let's phrase it that way. :P

And I love date squares ($2.65)! Who doesn't? You get your oats and dates and you're recharged for all consequent bakery reviewing. XD Bubby Rose's makes theirs with extra chunky granola clusters on top -- uploading my photos onto my computer, I was momentarily taken aback. Did this really look that good when I ordered it? A bit hard to eat, but good texture, good amount of dates, and the dough wasn't too sweet and nice match for the sweet stickiness of the fruit.

Yet another recommended bakery from Victoria means we're at 6:0. Keep it up!

Rating: ***

Le P'tit Atelier

Bakery: Le P'tit Atelier 
Address: 93 Rachel O, Montreal QC
Website: facebook
Style: Canadian, French 
Price: $$ 

I randomly chanced upon this bakery where "small" isn't just in the name: this cute, tiny patisserie, with perhaps room for three diners and a little display case of all their goodies, is certainly not the largest in town, but nonetheless offers a selection of all the classic French baked goods (croissants, chocolatines) in addition to petite tarts, notably of the maple and lemon variety, a few cookies and smaller snacks, and why not throw in some hot cross buns?

I had one of my favourite Quebec bakery staples: the chausson aux pommes ($2.80). Beautifully crafted pastry with flaky, buttery dough that was flavourful and delicious upon that first bite, but I soon came to realize why my bag felt strangely empty -- so much so that as I was carrying back I kept thinking it was actually the apple cake sliver from another bakery done that day, because I simply couldn't associate something so lightweight with an apple-filled pastry: where were the apples?

It was just so... hollow and I'd never had a hollow chausson sans pommes before, so I don't think it was meant to be like this (and if it was, then it wasn't very exciting). No, really, I tried to solve the mystery and found the culprit: a decent-sized hole underneath which I assume aided in the escape of the apple filling. There were signs of it along the bottom and it tasted good, but no usual sauce and no apple chunks in case it was a chunkier filling -- just a bit of moisture and flavour in an otherwise empty shell. :( I don't know what happened....

Rating: **

Transylvanian Traditions

Bakery: Transylvanian Traditions
Address: 1111 Davie St, Vancouver BC
Website: http://transylvaniantraditions.com/index.html
Style: Romanian 
Price: $$ 

Transylvanian Traditions is a Romanian bakery/pastry shop that seem to specialize in torte-like cake slices in a variety of traditional Romanian and Eastern European flavours as well as Hungarian chimney cakes (judging by the giant poster outside) and some other, less sweet baked goods and treats (macarons, sweet buns, etc.) They also seem to devote much effort in decorating their storefront with various slogans and claims: Do they really have the best cakes in Vancouver? Are these the best pastries you've ever imagined? Is this the long sought-after Heaven of Desserts? Let's take a look. ;)

Three cake types were sampled; all were around $3.50-$4.50 per slice. The first was a "Nuga cake": vanilla sponge cake with sweet, chocolatey syrup, ground walnuts and whipped cream. This wasn't as chocolatey or as elaborate as I imagined it, but the cake rolled in walnuts was a nice touch and added flavour complexity.

Up next: the classic Amandina. This, whether it's true or not, is what I think of as the quintessential Romanian cake (and always a good sign at giving away an Eastern European bakery's nationality ;)). This is essentially a chocolate cake soaked in alcohol and then usually topped off with a dark chocolate ganache. This time, there was also chocolate cream between the cake layers for extra richness. I appreciated the alcohol in the cake (some bakeries just use sugar syrup *shakes head*); it was decadent and moist. Very good.

Lastly, the Sunshine Romania. This consisted of vanilla sponge cake, some fresh fruit, and a large layer of cream. Despite the fact that chocolate cake is usually not my favourite type of cake, this one was my least favourite of the three. There wasn't enough flavour and it was simply too much cream; in some ways, it was most resembling a standard vanilla birthday cake. However, most cakes fall into either chocolate cake or vanilla cake, so there isn't that much variety for those who don't want chocolate.

The best cakes in Vancouver? Did I reach Nirvana? :P Maybe not, but Transylvanian Traditions is still a very good Old-World bakery where you can have a delicious, modestly priced slice of cake.

Rating: ***1/2

Pasticceria La Siciliana [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pasticceria La Siciliana 
Address: Via Teodosio, 85, Milan 
Website: http://lasiciliana.weebly.com/
Style: Italian, Sicilian 

Price: $$  

All hail the Cake Fairy! :) On a trip to Italy, my winged benefactor not only brought me back treats from one bakery, but three bakeries throughout Northern Italy. Yes, my friends, Mimi's Cake Tour has touched down on Italian soil... well, my feet haven't, but my tastebuds have! Can you believe it?! I am in awe of her powers, I really am... thank you yet again for helping the Cake Tour become so much greater. We will take over the world, one cake at a time. :D ((E grazie mille anche a Nicolò, che ha suggerito questa deliziosa pasticceria! La tua assistenza e la tua contribuzione al Cake Tour sono molto apprezzate. ^^))

As the name makes all too clear, La Siciliana is a long-standing, Sicilian-style patisserie and coffee shop that specializes in those southern pastries I am all too familiar with: cream-filled cannoli being the most famous, babas filled with whipped cream, pastries with almonds or pistachio, along with treats that I've never seen before.

Nonetheless, to be greeted with cannoli, I was a little skeptical, because -- truth be told -- I've had difficulty in finding good cannoli; however, this one was the best I have ever tasted! Amazing pastry that was thin, crispy, and tasted fresh, even when eaten several days after purchase. Delicious cheese/cream filling that was just the right consistency; it wasn't thick or overly sweet either, just light and airy with bits of chocolate and dipped in chunks of pistachio at both ends and the sort of cream that you can eat on its own. So good!

Even better? This little green treat that was one heavenly bite after another: underneath this thin layer of sugary glaze, there was the unexpected combination of liquor-soaked sponge cake, pistachio, and the same stracciatella cream as in the cannoli. Wow. This alone was worthy of a perfect rating -- what a gem of a pastry! *-* It's been so long since I've had such delicious Italian/Sicilian pastries, and this one is hands down the best of the bunch!!

Rating: ****  

J C Patissier

Bakery: J C Patissier 
Address: 303 York Blvd, Hamilton ON
Website: http://www.jcpatissier.ca/ 
Style: North American, French 
Price: $$-$$$ 

Some more Hamilton bakeries coming your way! ^^ The first one up is J C Patissier, a French-inspired patisserie run by a husband and wife team of pastry chefs from various culinary backgrounds. This is, despite the name of the establishment, not overtly and exclusively "French" nor did I find much of a cultural fusion as the website detailed (on the contrary, I would have liked to see more "fusing" going on); there is a small selection of tarts and cakes, but like the blueberry cheesecake purchased, I wouldn't associate with any particular style, perhaps even a nondescript, pan-American style seen at most bakeries.

Nonetheless, the more European of the two items purchased, the apple tart, was definitely my favourite and the best of the two. A thick, shortbread crust with a filling of sliced apples and a sort of spongier mass. This wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was a good tart shell with a tasty filling.

 I can't say the same thing for the cheesecake, but this might also be my bias against cheesecake that isn't Eastern European (or Japanese); rather, maybe I should just say "New York Style", which I'm afraid I simply can't stand. Other samplers didn't think it that bad, but I confess I just have this thing (hence telling everyone not to bring me cheesecake if they wish to bring me something from a new bakery) against very thick cheesecakes that taste like little more than a brick of Philadelphia. As objective as I try to be, I just... can't... like the stick-to-your-fork-and-upper-palette cheesiness of a New York style cheesecake. I also thought the little Christmas decoration, specifically the hard red and green sprinkles on top of the little dollop, didn't match well with the rich, creamy texture of the cheesecake. The thing is, it didn't feel as dense as it ended up being, so I was a little disappointed; I was hoping it would be something more unique.

In the end, I was a little disappointed with this bakery.  I would have, however, picked something else for myself had I gone in person.

Rating: **1/2

Cottage Bakery

Bakery: Cottage Bakery
Address: 1267 Fairfield Rd, Victoria BC
Website: facebook 
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$

Here's another bakery stop in Victoria and, like a lot of the bakeries I visited (I'm sure that Victoria has the highest average score out of a great many Canadian cities), it was a worthwhile stop. Cottage Bakery is a quaint bakery in the lower level of a colourful house and makes what I would call traditional, old-school baking, the kind that is always associated with a figurative grandma, with a couple French-inspired, flaky baked goods and fancier cake slices thrown in there for variety. Cookies, squares, chocolate cake, and cinnamon buns -- there was quite a bit that looked tasty, and again I had trouble picking out just one item. But I made it! XD

I was thinking date squares all along until I spotted this lovely pumpkin pie square ($3.50)... and upon enquiring whether the swirl on top was icing or whipped cream, and finding it was whipped cream, I uh, knew I had to have it. .__. I mean, if you can't get ice cream on your pumpkin pie, there better be whipped cream (this is reasoning that should never be spoken aloud)! And there was. Oh yes, indeed there was! *-*

It has been so long since I've had pumpkin pie (mostly because no one knows how to make it properly), and though a little different than a traditional pumpkin pie in a shell, it was close enough for me to get my fix. Actually, the reason why it was a little different, was because it was better. This is an excellent square for people who don't want overly sweet sweets, and you really get a chance to taste the spiced pumpkin. Pair that with simple whipped cream, a few pumpkin seeds and a fantastic bottom that I can't stop raving about: instead of using a plain shortbread dough or even graham crumbs, this had a spice cake bottom similar to carrot cake. Mmmm, what an amazing idea -- so tasty!

Is this... yup, another recommended bakery! :) 

Rating: ***1/2

Cukiernia Antolak [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Cukiernia Antolak 
Address: Białobrzeska 13, Warsaw 
Website: http://www.cukiernia-antolak.pl/
Style: Polish
Price: $$ 

These are the last cakes/baked goods I had on my trip to Poland. Actually, this wasn't bought by me, but a relative, so I don't really know that much about the bakery itself besides the name and where it was. I saw it, so I know it's fancier than many of the bakeries reviewed before this, especially the ones where I just had a doughnut. This is because this is what you'd call a patisserie/pastry shop, where the specialty is cakes and pastries, not bread.

I noticed they have a lot of these "torte-like" cakes with sponge cake and flavoured cream, similar to the pistachio mousse or raspberry mousse cake I had; these creamy cakes seem to be a popular. The pistachio one with pistachio mousse and pieces of cherry was good. The apple cake was a little different from the other two, with a more crumbly dough and an airy dough on top, with meringue (I think); good apple filling, but the winner was definitely the raspberry mousse cake. This had chocolate cake dough, then raspberry mousse and raspberry jelly. It was fruity and flavourful. Overall, all cake slices were very good.

Rating: ***1/2

Café Mimi

Bakery: Café Mimi
Address: 3970 Rue Saint-Denis, Montréal QC 

Website: http://www.cafemimi.ca/

Style: Balkan, Serbian, Croatian 

Price: $$

I have been waiting for this moment! To review a bakery called Mimi can always been a dream of mine, and I once found one (strangely enough it was a Serbian deli and this Mimi, if not Serbian, comes from the same geographic region), but upon entering realized there was nothing sweet there. The second time I decided to give it another try, it was closed down. Since then, I've vowed to pounce on a Mimi and at last I got one: Café-Patisserie Mimi in Montreal, specializing in Eastern European hot food, baked goods, and imported products. 

Having checked their website prior to popping in, I was greeted with photos of flaky baked goods, both sweet and savoury, trays of baklava and pastries. Getting excited, I found the real-life selection not as amazing: in terms of flaky, savoury bureks were the only things there. There was no sign of the other baked goods shown online. The baklava and some pastries were there, though there wasn't as much selection as I've seen elsewhere. In addition to these, there were squares, with either sour cherry or apple.

I took a slice of sour cherry cake ($2.00), a simple square cake with two layers of dough and a sour cherry "filling" in the middle. The premise sounded good and I've had this style of cake from other places with great success, but this turned into my most disappointing Cake Tour of this Montreal trip. This was so stale. The cherry filling had hardened and wasn't really a filling at all, but a few pieces of cherry; the dough crumbled upon contact. It had taken on the mixed flavours of the fridge and everything that had been in it, both sweet and savoury. This was not in any way an enjoyable experience -- I was devastated. Mimi! How could you do this to me!?! ;__; 

Rating: *