The County Sweet Spot Bakery [RIP]

Bakery: The County Sweet Spot Bakery
Address: 172 Main St, Picton ON 
Website: facebook 
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

This is one of a couple new bakeries I have to add to the Prince Edward County tab. In fact, for such a small area, Prince Edward County has an impressive amount of proper bakeries along with farm markets selling their own baked goods -- it is indeed a beautiful thing and one that should be applauded. Good job for keeping the bakery tradition alive. :)

Sweet Spot is one "legitimate", dedicated bakery in Picton (versus a farmer's market or food store) and features an array of classic Canadian baking including cookies, squares, and tarts. Of course, I did spot some cupcakes as well... *squint-eyed scowl*

One of that stood out were the butter tarts, specifically the maple pecan butter tarts. I'm always fascinated at how many varieties and hybrids of butter tarts you can come across and this crunchy toffee-like topping was definitely worth a try. For a hand-folded tart shell, it was a nice thickness, not too fat or doubled up along the folds, and was nice and soft. The topping with the pecans was slightly crunchy and suited the more molten, buttery filling underneath. Not too runny, not too solid: a perfect balance between the two makes a delicious butter tart. This was, without a doubt, a great start to more Prince Edward County destinations!

Rating: *** 

Joe la Croûte

Bakery: Joe la Croûte 
Address: 7024 Avenue Casgrain, Montreal QC 
Website: http://www.joelacroute.com
Style: French
Price: $$ 

With so many fantastic bakery options in and around Jean Talon market, I already go crazy enough without delving into places that still need to be reviewed. Committing myself to this task, I decided to take it one bakery at a time and start with Joe la Croûte. Joe, however, is indeed a proper boulangerie; it has a fairly large -- depending on the day -- selection of artisan breads and that is more or less it. In other words, their specialty isn't sweet baked goods by any means. It's a bit of a shame, since their selection of breads does look good as do some savoury goods that almost look sweet... until you realize there's olives in it, for example. -_- Oh, the pain and frustration of a bread-bakery!

At first glance, I was almost sure they had no sweets at all. Perhaps they had a chocolatine, but beyond that, I was ready to give up until I spotted these maple-nut brioches ($2.80). Rolled up like cinnamon buns but featuring a thick sticky topping and filling of maple syrup and chunks of nuts in a soft, buttery egg dough, this was pretty good. I think the only criticism I have is that, making sure I got the name right, I checked if their website had product information and found the pictured brioche a far cry from the one I had. Where is all that maple topping and generous amounts of nuts dotting the whole thing? O.o Nevertheless, good, but not enough for those with a sweet tooth. :P

Rating: ***

Belleville Bakery

Bakery: Belleville Bakery
Address: 300 Bell Blvd, Belleville ON 
Website: http://www.bellevillebakery.com/
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

Yes, we've put Belleville on the map! :) Belleville Bakery has been on my bakery radar for maybe two years now, but it never seems to work out. Until now. Granted, I've always been a little skeptical given the fact that the big red sign in one corner of an industrial plaza makes them look like a counterfeit Buns Master bakery, which is certainly not the best association to have. Stepping inside, it does indeed seem like a rather large-scale production with people working in the back and no front-counter staff on hand; you need to ring the bell for someone to come from the baking area. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find they have a large selection of classic baked goods like various sweet buns, danishes, cookies, cakes, etc. that at first glance look pretty good and turned out tasting even better.

 I went for the carrot cake and then spotted afterwards that they had rum balls as well. Usually, I like that rustic feel with my carrot cakes. I don't like when it gets turned into some sort of torte and the simple spice cake feel is ruined, so at first I was concerned the cupcake-form and swirl of icing on top would fall into the latter category. Taking my first bite, I found it really good. Really good. The dough was nicely spiced with the right amount of carrots (too little is always the problem) and then the icing was super smooth and tasty. I'll admit that the orange sprinkles that were leaking on top weren't needed at all, but the walnut chunks were a nice addition.

Along with the dense, chocolatey (rummy) rum ball which I also enjoyed, this was a delicious and worthwhile stop on on an already fruitful trip to nearby Prince Edward County (yes, more cake tours are coming~!) -- it may be Buns Master on the outside, but it's as far as you can get on the inside! ;)

Rating: ***1/2

Bar à Beurre

Bakery: Bar à Beurre 
Address: 350 Notre Dame E, Montreal QC
Website: https://www.barabeurre.com/
Style: Italian
Price: $$$ 

One of the very few bakeries in Old Town Montreal itself, Bar à Beurre is an Italian patisserie specializing in what are known as "butter balls", Italian shortbread sandwich cookies stuffed with a buttery cream filling, although they have a few more standard items as well, including those omnipresent macarons (whose thick piped filling makes them look more like whoopie pies), cupcakes, custom cakes, and other cookies, Italian and otherwise. Essentially, the selection isn't that large at all and very cookie-focused, so your best bet is probably those peach-shaped balls of buttery goodness. :P

However, being in Old Town, they come at quite a steep price tag given the fact they are, after all, just cookies, but I mean, it is hard to pass up anything with butter in the name, and this was certainly the case here.  Not to mention having once tried imported Italian versions (considerably smaller, but still possessing the distinctive peach tones with filling) from a local deli and being curious how these would compare.

So, two different flavours of "butter balls" were sampled: lemon and pomegranate-orange. In some way, the name of these round cookies is a little deceiving given the fact that you're not really getting a butter punch or anything like that. A fellow sampler assumed the filling would actually just be butter and concluded that this particular flavoured variety had "no butter"; however, it's a bit similar to the filling found in macarons: thick and decadent and, in both cases for me, slightly tangy. A bit hard to manage, but nonetheless a tasty, buttery shortbread 'shell'. The lemon had more distinguishable taste, but both were quite good. In the end, though, I can't help but say a cookie is just a cookie.

Rating: **1/2

It's the Icing on the Cake

Bakery: It's the Icing on the Cake 
Address: 1238 Queen St E, Toronto ON
Website: http://itstheicingonthecake.ca/
Style: North American, Cakes
Price: $$ 

The final stop of a one-day Leslieville tour, Icing on the Cake, as the name somewhat gives away, is predominantly a cake shop. As with many cake places, just taking a look at the website alone would give the impression that all they do is custom cakes; however, their cotton candy pink store does offer a considerable selection of what I would call bakery classics: they have cookies, tarts and squares. Yes, there are still several flavours of cupcakes, but there are options for those that both cupcake-inclined and not. :P

 From the selection of squares, including brownies and some sort of apple crumble squares, I picked out the berry crumble ($2.75). This is the sort of homestyle cake I like, hence why I didn't hesitate in choosing it: simple and straightforward with different berries on a shortbread bottom and a nice amount of crumble on top. However, taking my first bite, I was a little disappointed at how it ended up being drier than I expected; not sure whether it was the proportions, dough style, or freshness. There was maybe too much dough compared to the other components, since the fruit should have helped, or the top was a little too baked, which dried out the fruit not covered by any crumble. Being a lover of crumble, some more of that would have been appreciated as well. Crumble is, as everyone should know, a wonderful thing. ;) Overall, I feel like, no matter how pretty their cakes are in photos, their other stuff could be better.

Rating: **

17 Sortir [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: 17 Sortir
Address: Grandagarður 19, Reykjavik
Website: facebook
Style: Cakes 
Price: $$-$$$ 

Telling myself I've done every bakery in 101 Reykjavik, I kept forgetting about this fancier (cup)cake shop. Rather, though I might have seen it before, I was really made aware of it the previous year (while trying to save my dripping ice cream cup from the place next door ^^) and almost immediately, its presence slipped my mind. I think the main reason for that was that it is first and foremost -- at least in terms of the items available in-store -- a cupcake shop. Yes, yes, I know; if you've been tracking the hints I drop every now and then, you'd know I am... not fond of the over-hyped cupcake, gourmet or otherwise. However, while cupcakes are indeed a focus, without a doubt they have some of the city's prettiest, albeit simply assembled cakes, though the selection is far from the "17 types" mentioned in their name.

In some ways, I feel like the store itself has seen better days, though it's far from old; while there, it seemed a little forlorn, with most items on the drinks menu crossed out and neither customers nor workers in sight. Perhaps it would be better to actually move the sign with the cake/cupcake prices to the front? I only noticed it was there on the side by the door on my way out... While there, the selection consisted of four types of cake (695kr), about a half dozen varieties of cupcakes (595kr) and one passion fruit square (495kr).

The slice of cake was more than I planned to spend, but it was my last day and hey! I thought I deserved it. :P I went with the strawberry-blueberry cake: two layers of vanilla sponge cake dotted sparsely with blueberries and interspersed with strawberry buttercream icing. Upon opening up my little container, I was greeted with the amazing smell of fruit. Yes, so often strawberry-flavoured products are just pink without having any distinct flavour. The icing -- and there was certainly a lot of it -- had the taste, texture and aroma of fresh, homemade ice cream; it was irresistible. Topping that off with fresh blueberries was a nice touch. Personally, for so tall a cake, I would have liked to see a little complexity, maybe some sort of cream instead of just icing everywhere? Not sure. Still, I know I had to have picked the best cake in store: a flavourful treat on my last day in Iceland (at least for this particular trip...).

Rating: ***

Sugarloaf Bakery

Bakery: Sugarloaf Bakery 
Address: 729 Queen St E, Toronto ON 
Website: http://www.sugarloafbakery.ca/
Style: Brazilian, Canadian 
Price: $$$ 

Spotting the sign and name of this bakery, I instantly, excitedly wondered if Sugarloaf Bakery was a Brazilian bakery with a very clever name. Their "non-traditional artisanal bakery" designation only served to confuse matters; personally, I would have been a lot more intrigued by "Brazilian bakery", seeing as it's certainly not a common ethnic baking variant in the city, but that might just be me. That being said, Sugarloaf is not exactly a Brazilian bakery, but more like an artisanal bakery with a bit of Brazilian flavour. Think baked goods with guava or dulce de leche, maybe some coconut, but besides that, the bakery's selection includes various types of sweet and savoury croissants, scones, brownies and cookies.

 Nevertheless, I couldn't resist the more traditional of the non-traditional. ;) I went with the beignet ($2.75): a simple, smaller doughnut ball stuffed with custard. This had tasty custard filling, much better than ones I've encountered at Portuguese bakeries, in a fresh, fluffy dough. The outside looked nicely fried, but I would have liked that golden brown exterior to have had a little more crunch to it. The softness always seems to give the impression of it sitting around for too long.

The next item up, the Pao de Mel ($3.75) looked exciting. Upon biting into it, I was a little surprised to find it was filled with a spice cake similar to a soft gingerbread, simply because I hadn't been expecting it. The chocolate and gingerbread tasted so... Eastern European. Interesting. Right in the middle, however, there was also a layer of dulce de leche. This layer added complexity and the overall taste was quite good, albeit unexpected. A bit dry, maybe, but good nonetheless and probably better value than the beignet above (though I myself preferred the beignet... ^^;).

Rating: ***

Sweet Bliss

Bakery: Sweet Bliss Baking Company
Address: 1304 Queen St E, Toronto ON
Website: http://www.sweetblissleslieville.com/
Style: Canadian, North American
Price: $$-$$$ 

The next bakery up in the tour of Leslieville, Sweet Bliss is a rather charming bakery and coffee shop with old-school vibes, though (yes, though) without a doubt the focus here is on cupcakes. However I wouldn't go so far as to call it a cupcake shop, considering they have a smaller selection of other baked goods including cinnamon buns (sold out), scones, cookies, and muffin-shaped coffee cakes. Whether it was because things were already gone on a Saturday afternoon or not, nothing really stood out as a must-try. It's so hard to gauge a bakery based on scones and cookies, so the default choice went to the strawberry rhubarb coffee cake, though I did end up enjoying my choice.

Sold in muffin forms, the strawberry rhubarb cake ($3.50) was, well, not the most photogenic baked good. The glaze, a bit of crumble and fruit melting all together on a hot summer day certainly didn't help matters, either. :/ Peeling off the paper, I was greeted with a moist and spongy vanilla coffee cake dotted with large chunks of chewy rhubarb. Slightly too big to handle, these were difficult to pick up without it completely peeling apart from the dough. Also, besides the pinkish top, I had a hard time discerning the strawberry part... where were they? O.o I like plain rhubarb cake, so it didn't bother me, but those who want a bit of sweetness to compliment the sourness of the rhubarb might be a little disappointed. Getting past the mess on top, this was something I enjoyed, mostly because I really like simple, home-style coffee cakes with fruit. Maybe it's something I expect more at home than from a bakery; it may not be worth the price, but it was still a tasty treat.

Rating: **1/2

Bobbette & Belle

Bakery: Bobbette & Belle
Address: 1121 Queen St E, Toronto ON
Website: http://bobbetteandbelle.com/
Style: French, European 
Price: $$$ 

I've often heard of Bobbette & Belle in the media and was always wondering if it was worth all that hype, especially given the selection of good, higher-end pastry shops and bakeries in the city. I suppose this was my chance to finally give this fancy patisserie a try and judge for myself.

I have to confess that I found Bobbette & Belle more chic and perhaps more "French" in appearance than in substance. Upon examining the goods, I would almost label it as hodgepodge with, yes, a selection of classic French pastries (croissants, macarons were the two that stood out), some Canadian baked goods (including the most expensive butter tart I've seen) and cupcakes. In some ways, it was difficult to pick out one item; some were downright not worth it and others, like the cupcakes, weren't that attractive an option.

 In the end, I opted for the French chocolate cake (around 4.75). A French chocolate cake, as indicated in store, is a cake traditionally baked without wheat flour, similar in this sense to the colourful macaron. I've seen this cake in a few other places and have been interested in trying it, especially since the French can do no wrong when it comes to baking. :P Disregarding the fact that the cake slice cracked in half in the box and made quite the mess, it was a nicely sized piece. Biting into it, I found it very chocolatey; it was sprinkled with quality cocoa on top and the dough was moist, kind of wet in texture, and very dense. Besides the initial melt-in-your-mouth sensation, it reminded me of a brownie. A better-quality brownie, to be sure, but a brownie nonetheless. Not quite what I was expecting.

Rating: **1/2

Brauða og Kökugerðin [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Brauða og Kökugerðin (Kallabakarí)
Address: Suðurgata 50A, Akranes 
Website: facebook 
Style: Icelandic
Price: $$ 

I've driven through Akranes on the bus several times, but never had the opportunity to really stop and explore the town as well search for bakeries, because of course I knew they had to have one. This time around, I finally got the chance to do an in-depth exploration of the town and its bakery. :) Despite online searches revealing that the bakery in town has changed locations and hands a few times, there is indeed a bakery. Yes, it may not exactly have a name -- the name above simply means "Bread and Cakes" and the store itself just has "bakery" splattered all over it -- but it's a bakery all the same. 

On a Sunday afternoon, it was quite stocked with a variety of baked goods; in fact, it was nice to see a fairly large selection that went beyond the usual Icelandic bakery repertoire. They had a lovely display case of cakes, cake slices, confectionery, and sweet buns. Notable finds included vinarterta (actually pretty rare in Iceland itself) and never-before-seen "Polish buns" which were filled with custard and drizzled with chocolate -- I'm not sure what made them Polish, but it was amusing to see. And, naturally, poppy seed buns. If an Icelandic bakery has poppy seed buns, you know that's what I'm taking. ^^

So a poppy seed bun it was (300kr). This looked promising with fresh, fluffy yeast dough rolled in a spiral shape, dotted with poppy seeds and topped with streusel topping and a mix of chocolate and vanilla icing. This was very good in taste, but ripping it open revealed that there wasn't exactly that much poppy seed in it... Actually, I would go so far as to say it was skimpy. 

Along with this, there was the licorice bar (far back; 345kr) which resembled more a chocolate bar than a baked good with a chocolate-coated marshmallow filling dotted with licorice bits. Interesting and... very Icelandic, but I'm not a fan of licorice, so I wasn't too into this one. 

The third item (365kr) had a name I forgot, but came in both a square or a full-sized cake. This had a thick, fairly dense cake bottom with nuts, caramel and chocolate coating -- somewhat of a cross between cake and chocolate bar. Pretty good. Maybe a bit too much dough would have been my only criticism. Overall, a pretty good bakery with great selection and okay prices that could be a little more generous with their poppy seed. ;)

Rating: ***

St John's Bakery

Bakery: St John's Bakery
Address: 153 Broadview Ave, Toronto ON
Website: http://stjohnsbakery.com/
Style: Canadian
Price: $$-$$$ 

The premise behind St. John's Bakery is a great one: run by a mission of the same name, this not-for-profit business creates employment opportunities while at the same time pumping out rustic organic breads and "baked goods". So, why the quotation marks? In a sense, I have always been reluctant to try this place out, because I was always under the impression that it was one of these bread-only bakeries. This is more or less true; their focus is bread. The vast majority of their assortment is bread with sweeter items relegated to three items: banana bread, scones, and ginger cookies. At the time of purchase, the first two were completely sold out and only the ginger cookies remained (though not that many).

A fan of ginger cookies (they must be the only cookie I genuinely love eating), I was looking forward to trying St John's version. These are sold individually for around $1.30 or $6 for a pack of six. With chunks of ginger in the dark brown dough and a sprinkling of sugar on top, these looked like they would do the job. However, biting into it, I was a little disappointed to find the texture wasn't as I liked it; I think ginger cookies should be chewy and these were soft and crumbly, nearly melting in your mouth. Delicious ginger taste, but I need my ginger cookies chewy. :p

Rating: **1/2

Bliss Bakery [International Correspondent]

Bakery: Bliss Bakery & Bistro
Address: 210-3608 Carrington Rd, Westbank BC
Website: http://www.blissbakery.ca/
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$$$

I needed to stop somewhere for breakfast again and I drove past this place and decided to give it a try. This location seems recently opened, but they have two other locations Bliss does call themselves a bakery, but I would call it more a cafe. It's the kind of place where you go for a coffee or a sandwich, for example. Their selection of baked goods, however, is still prominent, so I wouldn't go so far as to say it's on the same level as Panera Bread or Blenz Coffee.

 I would say that one of their features is cinnamon buns. They're baked in trays, coated in cream cheese icing and then cut into squares. The icing and cinnamon filling got pretty gooey, so the fork and knife was needed. There was only one thing that I didn't really like (besides the astronomical price) and that was the freshness; I often find that with these kinds of cafes with their own baked goods, they tend not to be super fresh. This time, my bun was kind of dry, definitely not at peak freshness and that detracted from my overall experience.

Rating: **1/2