Patisserie La Cigogne

Bakery: Patisserie La Cigogne 

Address: 1419 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON

Website: http://patisserielacigogne.com/

Style: French

Price: $$$$ 

Back when I used to comb through best-of lists to see if I'd missed out on any highly rated or must-visit bakeries, I recall seeing La Cigogne. At any rate, it's been on my list for awhile, but as the location is a bit inconvenient and I really have no reason to be in the area, I never got around to it. Finally, however, the opportunity presented itself. La Cigogne aims to serve as thoroughly French pastries, cake and savoury items as possible. Expect buttery baked goods and many varieties of elegant mousse and chocolate creations (they even have a full-colour catalogue for the latter). 

Seeing as they seem to be known/specialize in those pretty cakes, I decided to try two: the Dream of China and the Bacarra (both $7.95 each). The first... certainly didn't look like that in store. ;__; I was actually a little frustrated because this isn't the first time I went to a fancy patisserie and opened the box to find total collapse because there was a collision with the other cake in the box. For the price you pay, items should always be packed separately - you don't order two dishes for takeout and get them in one container. Nevertheless, the (Shattered) Dream was almost entirely strawberry mousse with a bit of passion fruit in the middle; the half-macarons used as garnish were mentioned in the description, but I personally found they didn't match the airy delicacy of the cake itself and simply got in the way. 

In contrast, I preferred the Bacarra: pistachio cake with caramel cream, a thin layer of apricot jam and what is described as a "dark chocolate ganache" but what was in reality two brittle pieces of chocolate bark on both ends of the cake. As with the macarons, you had the soft, spongy and creamy cake that was at odds with the chocolate, which couldn't be cut or chunked off so you could enjoy it with every piece. In both cases, I felt that given the number of components the cakes should have had a more complex, sophisticated taste and melt-in-your-mouth texture.

 Actually, for roughly half the price, the one thing that was truly excellent was the pistachio pastry. Had I known, I would have skipped the cake altogether. Delectably buttery, flaky and made even more chewy thanks to that delicious chopped pistachio filling. Just grab two instead of one cake: you won't regret it! 

Rating: ***