Red Knot Bakery

Bakery: Red Knot Bakery
Address: 569 Prince St, Truro NS
Website: https://www.redknotbakery.com/ 
Style: European 
Price: $$ 

This little gem of a small, hip bakery was without a doubt a highlight of the Nova Scotia leg of the trip and it may be one of the province's best bakeries, especially since, after a few trips involving on-site research, nothing has really managed to amaze me (sorry, guys!). Until now, that is. It may be a pretty ambitious, loaded way to start a post, but when it's something worth praising, why not just get right into it? ;) Red Knot is a bakery using organic flour, butter and free range eggs and sources produce from local Nova Scotian farmers. Now, that's what I'm talking about! Taking all of that into consideration, the prices are also fairly reasonable. The selection isn't too big and it varies day to day, but it's tasty. Very tasty.

 Two items were sampled: a chocolate babka ($2.75) and the croissant of the day ($4), which was a peach blueberry cream danish of sorts that day. I definitely didn't expect to find the chocolate babka. It had the perfect babka texture: dense, buttery yet soft with a great crunch on the outside and some baked chocolate spilling out over the edges. The only thing I could say is that a bit more chocolate would have been nice.

For the peach blueberry cream "croissant", I knew it was a matter of the dough. And that was a delicious flaky, buttery, multi-layered dough. Add to that the very good filling of local peaches and blueberries and custard. Mmmm... what a find!

Rating: ****

Bugaboo's Cafe & Bakery

Bakery: Bugaboo's Cafe & Bakery
Address: 148 Silver Lode Lane, Vernon BC
Website: http://bugabooscafe.com/
Style: European, Dutch, German
Price: $$$-$$$$ 

When looking for bakeries in and around Vernon to try, I stumbled upon Bugaboo's and figured it had to be a plotting mistake; after all, there was a bakery just smack dab in the middle of a mountain. Of course, when I zoomed in further, I realized that it wasn't exactly that remote and it happened to be in the Silver Star ski resort town about 10 minutes from Vernon. Oh well. It still has major cool factor -- snow and crisp mountain air notwithstanding. ;) And while I was doing my research I saw... were those oliebollen in the picture?!? O.O Would I finally get a chance to try them?

Naturally, I drove up the mountain to Silver Star and made a mad dash to Bugaboo's! As is often the case with bakeries causing me so much excitement beforehand, I arrived to a very empty bakery. None of the famous cinnamon buns and apple strudels mentioned. Certainly no sign of oliebollen or anything that could have been them. And unfortunately for me, I had one of those customers in front of me who just bought out everything. I kept hoping she wouldn't take the last piece of bread pudding, but instead she grabbed all the croissants instead. What a relief! Also, as may be expected for a lone bakery in a "ski resort", the prices came as a shock, though perhaps not a surprise.

As mentioned above, I spotted the berry bread pudding ($4.95) among the leftovers of the day. I love bread pudding so I definitely couldn't resist this one. It was nice and chunky just the way I like it with a nice, slightly chewy baked crust on top and mixed with a bit of berries. I would have liked more berries, to say the least. And the dough itself, which should have come from the buttery baked goods they do make, didn't have so much flavour, buttery flavour that is. Good texture, looks really promising, but needed more taste. That sums things up perfectly.

Rating: **1/2

White Sails Bakery

 Bakery: White Sails Bakery
Address: 12930 Peggys Cove Rd, Tantallon NS
Website: http://www.whitesailsbakery.com/
Style: Canadian
Price: $$$ 

Hey, guess what? It's my 700th bakery! That's right, it took a little more than a year to go from 500 to 700. The Cake Tour is picking up speed... and so wish I had the crowds to celebrate. Oh well, I guess that means there's more cake for me. :P

With its multicoloured exterior and giant signs of its accolades, this seasonal bakery (open May-October) looks like a gimmick from miles away; however, this bakery and hot lunch spot/Montreal-style deli does make their own baked goods and sweet treats. Yes, they are a little on the pricey side, but what else could you expect from something on the way to Peggys Cove?

Nevertheless, from their selection of cookies, scones, and pies and tarts, there were two items that really stood out: the sugar pie ($4-something) and the salted caramel cream puff ($3-something). The salted caramel cream puff was pretty good; it couldn't come close to cream puff champion, the matcha variety, but it had good texture and flavour, though it was incredibly messy. As pretty as it looks, I'm not sure how you're supposed to tackle this one...

 For the sugar pie, this was actually my first time trying this Canadian classic... or was it? I think it was -- unbelievable! Maybe I shouldn't even be admitting that. Defending myself a bit, these aren't very common and even I, 700 bakeries later, can recall seeing them barely a handful of times, even when travelling through Quebec. A bit sad, really. This cousin to the butter tart had a thinner more delicate shell and was filling with a sweet, slightly grainy filling. To be quite honest with you, I wasn't a fan the first few bite, but it got better and better as I ate it. In the end, it was pretty good.

So I guess it wasn't entirely a gimmick and they can now stick a giant, homemade poster outside: "Recommended by Mimi's Cake Tour". ;) 

Rating: ***

Ratio Coffee & Pastry

Bakery: Ratio Coffee & Pastry 
Address: 3101 29th St, Vernon BC
Website: https://ratiocoffee.ca/
Style: Canadian, North American 
Price: $$$ 

Located inside Vernon's old train station is the bright, spacious Ratio Coffee, a coffee shop selling its own pastries and baked goods. Given their small counter area and limited selection, different baked goods are available depending on what day of the week it is: Wednesday is cake day, Friday belongs to the mighty doughnut. Of course, there are a few, very few items that seem to be sold in addition to the daily special. When I was there, there were a few macarons and some cookies.

Coming there on a Saturday -- sticky bun day -- I was, however, a little confused to find a whole display case of day-old doughnuts and none of the aforementioned sticky buns. Did they sell out? Where were they? These doughnuts were being sold at half-off and I was very unsure. After all, I'm the first to tell you to never buy day-old doughnuts. It just won't be the same. But they looked so pretty and it was either that or not getting anything -- I certainly wasn't in the mood for macarons and I found the lack of prices disconcerting, especially when I knew they'd be up there.

 After countless moments of deliberation, I caved. Yes, I went for the doughnut. The "spring bouquet" doughnut, to be exact ($1.95; "50% off" $3.95). Definitely points for presentation with a lovely bouquet of fruit erupting from the centre, though the cherry went a little haywire and tried to make an escape, and sitting on a bed of tangy lemon icing. The dough was light and airy, pretty good, though as always, I would have liked for there to be something unique with the dough as well. Naturally, it must have been a lot better fresh, but it wasn't bad. I just think that it wasn't *that* good for it to be worth the full price. $4 for a doughnut is a little much, in my opinion....

Rating: ***

Cranewood Bakery

Bakery: Cranewood Bakery 
Address: 113 Main St, Sackville NB
Website: http://www.cranewoodonmain.com/
Style: Canadian
Price: $$$

This little gem of an organic bakery is located inside an old manor; in some ways, you feel like you're entering a museum or someone's private home. People were even picnicking on the front lawn! So while it may be a little unusual, it was definitely a unique, fun experience. Inside, the selection wasn't that unique or extensive. Maybe I was even hoping for it to be a little more... old-fashioned (other than the pies). I recall brownies, pies, and muffins, and despite it being a very nice place to sit and have something sweet with your coffee and tea, the focus is on breads and lunch items. *scowl*  Perhaps due to the focus on those lunch items, the line can get very slow... at least, I was waiting a long time for my treat.

In the end, I opted for probably the most intriguing, exciting item available: the Watergate cake. This was a slice of pistachio cake with a thick layer of fluffy icing sprinkled with chunks of pistachio and sponge cake bottom. The dough had good texture and the flavour of the pistachio was delicate, not over the top. Just right. A nice dessert that's as memorable as the lovely bakery it came from. :)

Rating: ***

Okanagan Bakehouse

Bakery: Okanagan Bakehouse
Address: 1800 Kalamalka Rd, Vernon BC
Website: facebook 
Style: German, European 
Price: $$  

A day trip to Vernon turned into getting quite a few bakeries in town. Rather, I think this pretty much will cover it. I'm always so proud of myself when this happens.

Anyways, the first of the day was Okanagan Bakehouse, a German-style bakery specializing in organic sourdough and other types of bread. In fact, their bread can be found throughout the area; at least I've seen them in various Farm Market stores in Kelowna. No baked goods though. That requires a dedicated trip to the store itself. As is the case with most "bread bakeries", the selection of sweets is limited. Actually, I found it quite limited and with the exception of a few whole cakes in the display, I was having a difficult time deciding on what I wanted. Not to mention nothing is either labelled or priced, which is always a little frustrating to see.

However, just when I was getting to ready, I stepped up to the counter and spotted two poppy seed buns. A bit hard to see they were indeed poppy seed buns under all that crumble, but who doesn't love crumble? At any rate, I love crumble and this poppy seed bun ($2.95) was downright slathered in it. Underneath, plenty of poppy seed mass rolled round in a soft and fluffy, cinnamon bun-like dough; on top, a drizzle of icing. Delicious -- and my favourite bakery in Vernon!!

Rating: ***1/2

Tony's Bistro & Patisserie

Bakery: Tony's Bistro & Patisserie 
Address: 137 McLaughlin Rd, Moncton NB 
Website: http://www.tonysbistro.ca/
Style: French, European
Price: $$-$$$ 

The last time I was in Moncton, this place was recommended to me by my Airbnb hosts and I can't understand why I didn't manage to go. It was one of those late arrival and early departure kind of trips, but surely I could not have left before 8a.m. (hah, no chance!) to have missed it opening. What was wrong with me!? Thankfully, it was the first place I remembered this time around and Tony's has finally been done; it's a good thing it has!

Tony's is partly a patisserie, partly a light restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. In previous cases, the term "bistro" attached to any of my reviewed bakeries has ended up not being that great, but Tony's is  an exception to almost every rule. Even the statement on their website, "one of the finest bakery and pastry showcases in Atlantic Canada", would usually send off warning signs. Those are big words and big words need proof. And the proof is in the (French) pudding! :D

There was a bit of deliberation in store: try the cake slice for around $6 or keep it simple and take the chausson aux pommes ($2.75). Naturally, everyone knows that a good way to gauge a French bakery is by how buttery and flaky their dough is and Tony's was phenomenal. I can't remember the last time I had such a delicious chausson! Look at that golden top and middle bursting with apples. It's not blackened or totally empty inside like I've had in other places. It was... perfect. One of the very few 4-star bakeries in the Maritimes.

Rating: ****

Illichmann's

Bakery: Illichmann's 
Address: 1937 Gordon Dr, Kelowna BC
Website: http://illichmanns.com/
Style: German, European
Price: $$ 

Illichmann's is probably one of the my favourite places to shop for food in Kelowna. The store is split into two parts, with one part being a German/European deli with imported products, good cheese, and homemade sausages and cold cuts (the best in town), and the other dedicated to hot food and lunch specials along with a bakery. That being said, most bakery products do come from another local institution and pending bakery review: Specialty Bakery. Having come first, I did assume everything came from Specialty Bakery, but having seen the latter's lacklustre selection, I know that many baked goods are made by them or made exclusively for them.

So, in addition to the shelves of bread behind the counter, Illichmann's features a corner of individual baked goods ranging from sweet cheese danishes, doughnuts, to cookies and then has larger coffee cakes here and there, available in a couple of varieties. Not too shabby.

On my first trip, I took two items. The apple fritter ($1.65), along with the Kelownut, are from Specialty and actually turned into the redeeming factor... big slab of fried dough interspersed with chunks of apples (could have more) and covered in a thin layer of icing. Fresh, with a slight crunch on the outside and a soft, somewhat chewy inside. Pretty good!

I did excited about the poppy seed danish ($1.70). It's always hard to resist, but biting into it, I found it lacking in poppy seeds. They seem to have been carefully arranged on top, since it was just plain, rather generic, slightly flaky dough. It didn't really have any flavour and there weren't enough poppy seeds to help it out. Same thing happened with the big poppy seed ring ($8.99). I ate this over the course of a few days and by day two, I was sick of it. Again, it looks so generous on the poppy seed mass, but cutting into it, it was just plain sweet yeast dough, a bit dense and not that tasty. I mean, you can eat plain sweet bread if it's good, but I really struggled. I can't even understand why!

In the end, I stick to the deli (and my butter cheese!). 

Rating: **

Titus Bakery

Bakery: Titus Bakery 
Address: 15 Prince Edward St, Saint John NB 
Website: n/a 
Style: Canadian
Price: $-$$ 

In my travels throughout Canada, I've discovered that there are cities you can consider bakery cities and others that are clearly not. In general, I've found to my relative surprise that the Maritimes fall into this latter category and it's easier to actually find a good bakery in a small town than in the larger cities. Saint John, I think, definitely fits this rule. Of course it didn't help coming in on Sunday evening and leaving Monday morning, but even with extensive bakery research -- which I now always do before even setting foot in a destination -- I couldn't find that many options, much less that many good options.

And so there was Titus, a teeny tiny bakery sandwiched between two bigger buildings; the effect is adorable. Yes, it was one of the options that was open. It also happened to be one of the more highly-rated bakeries in the city. Essentially, Titus is a homestyle bakery with bread and simple treats and baked goods. This is certainly not a bad thing, but this time, I had a hard time picking something out and in the end went for the cinnamon bun ($1-something).

This was fresh, soft and doughy with a drier cinnamon mass and a dollop of icing right in the middle. It was good to rip apart, but I would have liked it to have a little more flavour, more... punch. But I did end up with one bakery in Saint John and this is certainly worth celebrating! :)

Rating: **1/2

Matterhorn Bakery [RIP]

Bakery: Matterhorn Bakery
Address: 3640 Gosset Rd, West Kelowna BC
Website: facebook 
Style: Canadian
Price: $$

 There are only two dedicated bakeries in West Kelowna: Bliss and Matterhorn. Tucked into one obscure corner of an otherwise not too exciting plaza, the name and mountain cabin vibes of their interior (though I was a bit disenchanted when I found it's really just one wall) screamed Swiss bakery, and me, always fond of European baked goods, was really excited to give it a try. Stepping in, I did find it a little... lacking in selection and not quite as Swiss as I would have liked it to be. Rather, there was nothing Swiss about what they had for sale, this being limited to cinnamon buns, muffins, cookies, and one cheesecake. I didn't come so late either! Perhaps it's more of a lunch place or everyone snatches everything up early? I'm not quite sure.

 However way you look at it, I decided to try their mammoth cinnamon buns ($3.49 each). More in terms of height than width, but still a pretty hefty piece of dough. This dough was airy and fluffy, interspersed with cinnamon deposits and rising up with snow-capped peaks of delicious icing (ha ha ha, hopefully you see where I'm going with this :P). A bit pricey for what it is, but still good.

I also scored a 6-pack of day-old cookies priced at half off (50% off 6/$6, so $3 for the pack). Being cookies, they weren't worse for wear and I could enjoy some melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies with jam and chocolate chip. Yummy! It's so hard to find shortbread that's actually light and delicate in both texture and taste. Personally, I think I liked the cookies more than the cinnamon bun.

Despite the lack of selection, Matterhorn is my favourite of the two (though Kekuli's bannock "doughnuts" are still the best ^^) on the west bank.

Rating: ***

Tripke Bakery

Bakery: Tripke Bakery 
Address: 538 Yates Rd, Kelowna BC
Website: http://tripkebakery.com/
Style: German, European 
Price: $$

While spending a few weeks in Kelowna, I managed to do some fairly extensive bakery research and sampling (all for the sake of the Cake Tour, of course), and came to the conclusion that Tripke Bakery is the best bakery in Kelowna. Yes, I start with that. Tripke was actually the first bakery I did and so it really turned into no one managing to beat it. Some came close, but this long-running family business still came out on top. For one, it's their ample selection of classic German and European cakes and baked goods. Then it's the fact those baked goods are delicious... and, well yes, they make fantastic poppy seed buns. :P

 Of course you know what I was taking. As a matter of fact, I did the fairly rare thing of just looking at the baked good, the price, and went ahead and ordered two before even trying it. Two poppy seed buns ($1.70/each; this is one in the photo!) it was. Big buns with a nice fluffy dough that freezes well and lots of delicious German-style poppy seed mass: a little grainy, but too much -- just the kind I like. Top that off with plenty of icing. Mmmm... so good!

Along with this, I tried their apple strudel ($2.25). Personally, I would have liked it a little more authentic with thinner, flakier dough instead of more of a turnover/standard strudel dough, but it was still tasty with yummy apple and raisin filling, as it should be.

I know of one bakery I still need to try in Kelowna (possibly two just to play it safe) but I think dethroning Tripke is next to impossible!

Rating: ***1/2

Nancy's Shoppe

Bakery: Nancy's Shoppe 
Address: @ Farmer's Market, Gyro Park, Grand Forks BC
Website: market facebook
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

So, after passing through a few towns when it was still too early for the bakery to be open, I arrived in Grand Forks a little bit after nine. No excuse for the bakery in town to be closed. Except that it opened at 11. What bakery opens at 11!? As a last-ditch effort, I went back to the busy farmer's market, recalling that one of the flags advertised baking.

The Farmer's Market was certainly a happening place, though it would be revealed that the "baking" flag essentially applied to only one vendor, and that was Nancy's Shoppe. Nancy's main focus is art and the baking seems to be a bit of a side project, but there was nonetheless a table of three or four different items, all freshly baked (so she assured me) and ready packed.

I was set on the big, fluffy cinnamon bun when I decided to just make the market detour more worthwhile by getting the butter tarts as well. The cinnamon bun ($2.50) was the kind that's baked in a pan and then cut into big, hearty squares. However, many buns in this style are simply too gooey and sweet, but this was nice, with a glaze on top and rip-apart, soft and airy dough with cinnamon throughout.

The butter tarts ($2.50 for a pack of two), if I recall correctly, came in two varieties: nut and raisin. Is that it? All these Cake Tours are getting me confused.. Anyways, I did take the one with chunks of walnuts mixed in with the buttery filling, all inside a hand-folded, flaky shell. Great texture, good taste. So, Grand Forks wasn't a bust after all!

Rating: ***

Copper Eagle Bakery

Bakery: Copper Eagle Bakery
Address: 325 S Copper, Greenwood BC 
Website: facebook
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

On my road trip from Toronto to Kelowna, I actually spent one night in Nelson. A bit of a detour, and a detour that would have looked great on my Cake Tour map if it hadn't been for the fact that we needed to arrive in Kelowna by noon and all the bakeries were still closed when leaving Nelson and were closed when we arrived the previous evening. Nooo! To somewhat make up for it, I did get some bakeries along the route from Nelson to Kelowna. Would have liked more, since Castlegar was also still closed, but I snagged some uncharted ones. And that includes Copper Eagle!

Copper Eagle is along the main street of historic Greenwood. I loved the atmosphere of this little town; it's like stepping into a mountain Western. It was the first place I've seen where I thought: this would be the perfect place for my little teahouse! Located right next to the saloon (yes), however, is Copper Eagle. Gorgeous building, friendly staff, and a selection of slightly homey, slightly artisan baked goods that looked delicious. Would I go for the pie? Or the cinnamon buns? All labelled and priced, with taxes included, and featuring a little bit for everyone (including some items for those with diet restrictions). I was even considering getting the Detroit (was it Detroit?) pizza... it looked so good!

Finally, though, I couldn't resist the puffed wheat square ($2.25). It was the first puffed wheat square I'd seen (not including Petro Canada convenience stores) in the longest, longest of times! Maybe puffed wheat squares are a Western thing? I don't know. I had, saw, and enjoyed them regularly when I was kid and never spotted them again after we moved. I don't know why they're not universally loved; I love puffed wheat squares and these looked so good!

Instead of a syrupy cocoa topping, this was made using real milk chocolate, and plenty of it, so that the puffed wheat is more coated and glazed in a rich, creamy mass. Oh yeah! What a great idea and it was so nice to have some puffed wheat squares again! :)

Rating: ***

Creston Valley Bakery

Bakery: Creston Valley Bakery
Address: 113 10 Ave, Creston BC
Website: n/a
Style: Canadian, Eastern European
Price: $$ 

The other bakery in Creston, Creston Valley is located in a pretty vast space spanning one street corner. While most of that space is dedicated to seating, they do feature a lengthy counter with European breads, and then a whole bunch of good stuff: doughnuts, cakes, squares, baked goods. Coming in around half an hour before closing, I was a little stunned at just how fully stocked it was. Will they sell all of that? O.O I was left even more stunned when I spotted a shelf of poppy seed buns -- so much so that I really don't remember what else they had! They're not the most common sight, I can certainly say that and a bakery with poppy seed baked goods must always be celebrated for that point alone.

Yes, I took the poppy seed bun ($2.62). Naturally. This was rolled up like a cinnamon bun and featured a similar fluffy, somewhat airy dough that was filled with a black, finely ground mass of poppy seed. "Russian" style, as I like to call it, and my personal favourite. Yum! Lots of poppy seeds here and then it was generously glazed too -- what a perfect combination!

In addition to this, I decided to take a nice, big apple fritter ($2.62) Again, a nice dose of delicious, more runny glaze on top of a fluffy, perfectly fried dough with a nice amount of apples throughout. Wow, Creston, you're lucky -- two recommended bakeries! ;)

Rating: ***1/2

The Golden Flour Bakery

Bakery: The Golden Flour Bakery
Address: 1025 Canyon St, Creston BC
Website: http://www.thegoldenflourbakery.com/
Style: Canadian
Price: $

Given how long ago I made the announcement below, this review is a bit overdue, though, to be fair, I have been going in order. So, here it is:

Golden Flour is one of two bakeries in walking distance to each other. Did I mention they both have poppy seed baked goods? Yes, I noticed the poppy ring too late, but it was nonetheless there. Besides that, they had a large, downright overwhelming selection of yummy items. Apple fritters, muffins, cakes, pastries, etc. Pair that up with the other one in town and you could have a different treat for a whole month!

 With so much selection, a variety had to be tried. Three items, to be exact. The first was a bag of doughnut holes ($2.50). Soft sponge-like cake doughnuts with no sugar or glaze, nor is it really needed to appreciate the moist, sponge-like, bite-size dough. While cake doughnuts aren't my favourite and one sampler called them too boring, I liked these simple treats and they seem perfect after you've kind of... overindulged; they're almost good for you. ;D

Speaking of almost good for you: the sticky carrot muffin ($0.95). For a muffin this cheap, the first thing you'd expect is just run-of-the-mill batter poured into muffin tins. These were, however, amazing muffins. Loaded, literally overstuffed with carrots and coated in this sticky glaze that kept the inside moist and still didn't manage to veer towards being too sweet and cake-like. One of the best muffins ever tested!

Last but not least, there was the rum roll ($1.85), a thin nutty pastry roll stuffed with a rum-infused cream and drizzled with chocolate. Now, there was nothing healthy about this one, ha ha ha! Delicious cream, nice crunchy pastry -- a tasty combination.

Rating: ***