Paris Bakery

Bakery: Paris Bakery 
Address: 81 Grand River St N, Paris ON
Website: http://www.parisbakery.ca/
Style: Canadian, Scottish
Price: $$

One weekend, a regular Cake Tour supplier was in nearby Brantford and I thought I might as well point out this bakery in downtown Paris... hence the name; it is not, as I supposed from a distance, a French bakery, though they do have some daintier pastries, breads, and pastries. Nevertheless, Paris Bakery has more of a classic Canadian selection, with some Scottish/British baked goods thrown in there as well (Eccles cakes, meat pies, scones, etc.)

On this trip, I received some samples from the former: the classic butter tart and carrot cake as well as... some sort of shortbread creation. No one could quite figure what this was, besides a cross between a strawberry shortcake and a Scottish shortbread. Basically, it was both with a cookie bottom and crumblier towering top, coated in jam and coconut, then topped with a swirl of cream (and a cherry on top ^^); I'm not quite sure what was the intended effect, but I think I was expecting a little more from it than an elaborate cookie. My least favourite from the three.

Secondly, there was the butter tart. The clearly homemade crust was a welcome touch, but didn't quite live up to my anticipations and proved to be the downfall of the tasty, rightfully rich butter filling. For one, the crust was too wide on top, leaving you with tons of tart shell and no filling; secondly, it didn't have enough distinct flavour of its own, resembling more a shell for savoury goods such as meat pies than sweets. Not bad, but disappointed with that crust.

The third item was a classic carrot cake with a thick layer of cream cheese icing on top and in between the layers. Unlike the typical square variety, this one actually looked like a cake, which was nice. Good, moist dough with plenty of carrot and a tasty icing. Not exceptional, but a delicious carrot cake. Without a doubt, the highlight at this good, but not great bakery.

Rating: **1/2