Farmhouse Eats

Bakery: Farmhouse Eats
Address: 13644 Loyalist Pkwy (Hwy 33), Picton ON
Website: n/a
Style: Canadian
Price: $

The second stop on my Kingston tour, this bakery is actually tucked behind the fruit market stall, though the sign makes finding the bakery pretty clear. Rest assured, I didn't miss the turn. :P

While the bakery is quite small, offering a limited selection of denser, soda-style breads, savoury goods, cookies and squares, many of the products are also baked with or inspired by produce from the farm such as fruit tarts and pies. Without a doubt, the highlight is -- clearly advertised in the fruit market -- their individual short cakes, eaten with strawberries and whipped cream, of course.  ;) A dense, semi-sweet buttermilk muffin or scone of sorts ($3.00 for a pack), the shortcake is clearly meant to be eaten as an accompaniment to fruit. I took raspberries from the on-site stand and had no whipped cream on hand and actually preferred the shortcake on its own versus piled on with fruit (as pictured). The lack of sweetness and stiffer texture in the shortcakes made it not the best combination with fruit, resembling more a bun or slice of bread than an actual cake. Pretty good in taste, but not quite sure what the best pairing with this would be.

The second item I got were these fruit tarts made with local fruit; there were a few varieties, but I couldn't resist the raspberry one (2/$3). Homemade fruit filling in a thick flaky tart shell. The shell itself was, like the shortcakes, a little lacking in flavour, but the fruit-filled jam was what really stood out. Final verdict: good, but not great.

Rating: **1/2