Friday 5: Toronto Treats

It’s that time of year again. Valentine’s Day! Love it or hate it, it’s a great excuse to eat decadent treats. Today’s Friday 5 is a list of places for sweet treats in Toronto. 

Chocolate and red velvet mini cupcakes from Bunner's 

Soma

443 King Street West | 32 Tank House Lane

There are two locations in the city, but the one in the Distillery District is my favorite. It’s a romantic, historic part of Toronto full of boutiques and restaurants.

Soma has wonderful chocolates and treats for the everyday, but they are offering four layers of goodies in a beautiful stainless Tiffin Box for Valentine’s Day. According to their website the layers include: amaretti with kirsch & brandy soaked cherries, chocolate caramel sable, heart shaped ginger snaps, 5 berry pop (white chocolate bark with popcorns strawberries, cranberries, blueberries, cherries and raspberries), 10 truffles, and a Cosmic Heart (filled with hazelnut raspberry butter and surrounded by white chocolate covered pumpkin seeds). I don’t think I could say no to any of those things. Plus, the tiffin box looks so pretty and, besides, it's reusable!

The Chocolateria

361 Roncesvalles Avenue

S and I took a wonderful winter walk the other weekend just so we could try The Chocolateria for the first time. We picked up some chocolate covered Oreos, chocolate covered Twizzlers and chocolate covered quinoa cookies (gotta get those healthy whole grains in, right?). Everything was so delicious that we’re going to make it a little ritual to walk down every so often and refill our apartment with goodies. Next time with bags and bags of their famous chocolate covered potato chips! 

We have some leftover oreos and quinoa cookies. It's taking all of my willpower not to eat them all right now. I love this place!

Stubbe

653 Dupont Street

A tiny but pretty little shop tucked away from the hubbub of downtown. I’m very much in love with their sea salt dark chocolate bar. They also have a beautiful selection of truffles, tortes and cakes. Check out their chocolate champagne bottle for Valentine's Day. 

Bunner’s 

3054 Dundas Street West (The Junction) | 244 Augusta Avenue (Kensington Market)

A gluten-free, vegan bakery located in Kensington Market and the Junction. I had one of their muffins for breakfast Thursday morning and a mini chocolate and mini red velvet cupcake for a post-lunch/post-run snack. Yum! Those little cupcakes are fantastic! 

I’ve been searching for great vegan options in the city since I’ve cut out dairy. I generally only eat homemade treats now, but I’ve had a much harder time giving up chocolate (as evidenced above by my newfound love of The Chocolateria). I will definitely be making a trip back to Bunner’s for their cinnamon buns, full sized cupcakes and what looked like incredible chocolate filled chocolate “pophearts” (like a poptart/handpie). Check out their menu here!

MoRoCo

99 Yorkville Avenue

A fun shop for pretty macarons and other treats. They aren't quite Pierre Hermé or Ladurée level macarons, but I always really enjoy them. You can check out their Valentine's and everyday offerings online here. I haven't had it myself, but my friends loves their drinking chocolate. 

Beyond the retail space, there's a cute restaurant for brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner. It would be a fun date night spot, but I think it leans more girly than romantic. I often go with my best friend when she’s in town for lunch and a big pot of tea. The walls are lined with pictures of celebrities and their handprints in chocolate, so it’s fun wander around and see who has stopped by. The meals are nice and portions are small enough that you generally have enough room for dessert, which is good because it's where they excel. They even had a dairy-free flourless chocolate cake that was to die for when I was there last. 

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That's it for today. There are many more chocolate and treat shops to explore in this city. I've only touched on the tip of the iceberg. I will make sure to come back with a new list in the future! 

In the meantime, I hope you have a warm, lovely, and sweet Valentine's Day. I'm off to do some baking! 

Sweet Treats from Kelly's Bake Shoppe

UPDATE June 2020: Unfortunately, I no longer recommend Kelly’s Bake Shoppe. On a superficial level, in my recent experience, the quality of their baked goods and customer service have decreased over the years. On a deeper level, their handling of Pride in 2019 and Black Lives Matter in 2020 disappointed me. While I won’t got into all of the details here, I feel that there was a lack of transparency and open communication with their community about valid concerns over whether or not they have a real commitment to supporting these movements.

Now that my Whole30 is over (part 1, part 2), I'm working hard to make healthy food choices while still eating delicious things. So I was excited to stumble on Kelly’s Bake Shoppe in downtown Burlington, Ontario while researching wedding desserts one day. It’s a charming, award-winning bakery run by a mother and daughter entrepreneurial team, Kelly Childs and Erinn Weatherbie.

Erin Weatherbie & Kelly Childs, the daughter and mother team behind Kelly's Bake Shoppe

What's even better is that everything is gluten-free, vegan, peanut-free, and health-conscious. There are no artificial flavors, colors, or sugars here! Sweet relief! 

It didn't take me long to decide that we had to try them. I planned on making a stop soon, but I found out they were looking for bloggers to sample some of their treats. Since I've also been wanting to feature more Ontario food and travel, I emailed them with my fingers crossed.

Luckily, they were happy to set me up with a box full of delicious-looking goodies: one of their famous Mile-High Brownies, a Cookie Dough Cupcake, a Root Beer Float Cupcake, a World Peace Cookie, and a Chocolate Chip Cookie!

I fell in love with the store when I stopped by on Saturday to pick everything up. It's bright, welcoming, and smells divine. Everyone in there was friendly and helpful.

As I waited, I noticed that there was a steady stream of customers from all walks of life. A father and daughter, who must be regulars, waltzed in knowing exactly what they wanted. Meanwhile, an elderly couple happily survey the display of pretty cupcakes. Choices, choices. 

I ogled the collection of cupcakes, cookies, muffins, and loafs, too. They were so tempting that I ended up buying extra treats for S and my family: a Black and White Cupcake, a Dulce de Leche Cupcake, and an extra Mile-High Brownie! Then, I added in a pint of Vanilla-Chocolate Swirl vegan soft serve to make up for the box of ice cream that taunts me in our freezer. Take that, Breyers, I don't even need you anymore!

So, I shouldn't eat them all in one sitting right? In the center is the Mile High Brownie. From left to right: World Peace Cookie, Dulce de Leche Cupcake, Black and White Cupcake, Cookie Dough Cupcake, Root Beer Float Cupcake, and the Chocolate Chip Cookie.

So how was everything? Wonderful. From the customer experience to the treats themselves. Making delicious vegan, gluten-free baked goods is not easy, and Kelly and Erinn knocked it out of the park. 

The Mile High Brownie was incredible. I'll toot my own horn for a second here and say that I make really good brownies. I get requests from family and friends for them all the time. However, I don't like to eat them. Brownies just aren't my thing. But this brownie? So good. Rich, decadent, and teetering perfectly on that line between cakey and fudgey. And the light, airy frostings on top? They balance the decadence of the brownie perfectly. Heaven. 

The cupcakes are as tasty as they are beautiful, too. They are moist, flavorful, and not too sweet. A difficult feat for any baker, let alone gluten-free, vegan bakers. 

Surprisingly, I loved the frosting as much as the cake. Just like I’m not a brownie person, I’m not a frosting person. Even as a kid, I would scrape it off and just eat the cake. Frosting and icing are usually too sweet and too heavy for me. I’m odd, I know, but two giant thumbs up to these for being so light and yet so tasty!

I was really excited to see the Root Beer Float Cupcake in my box. It has such a lovely, mild, natural sassafras flavor--even the top reminded me of that creamy root beer float foam. I loved that the cherry on top was a natural cherry, too!

The Cookie Dough Cupcake definitely comes by its name honestly, and it had a sweet surprise of a cookie dough center. I don’t know how they did that! 

Speaking of cookies, both the World Peace Cookie and the Chocolate Chip Cookie were delicious.

The World Peace Cookie is chock full of good things--oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips. It’s a great “everyday” cookie. I can see myself curled up with a good book, a cup of tea and one of these on any given day of the year at any given time. Since Kelly posted the recipe on her blog, I might have to give these a whirl at home.

I know there’s often a divide in the chocolate chip cookie world between chewy or crispy. I love a chewy chocolate chip cookie and, boy, does their Chocolate Chip Cookie deliver. What really makes it stand out, though, is a lovely, gentle coconut flavor in the background. I had a very hard time not eating the whole thing when I tasted it.

And what did my non-gluten-free, non-vegan family have to say about their treats? Everyone liked the dulce de leche, but it wasn't the biggest hit. They really loved the black and white, though. What can I say? We are chocolate lovers.  

The soft-serve also got good reviews. They were all surprised it was dairy-free/vegan. My dad commented that it was very good but maybe a little “icy.” I agreed, but I suspect that’s from melting a bit on the ride home and then being re-frozen. I had a sample directly from the machine at the shop and it wasn’t icy at all.  

All in all, I highly recommend a visit to Kelly’s Bake Shoppe. As I mentioned before, they also carry muffins, scones, loafs, cakes, cake pops, Sloane Teas (the Heavenly Cream is great!), and more. They even deliver to a large portion of the GTA for a flat fee of $15 with a minimum order of $50. 

While they happen to be vegan, gluten-free, peanut-free, and healthy. . .you don’t have to be any of those things to enjoy their products. They’re just great treats!

I’m so glad I was able to stop in to the shop. I get the sense that Kelly, Erinn, and the staff are really trying to provide a great experience for their customers and make products that are not only delicious but as health-conscious as treats can possibly be.  The prices are a little steep, but that's to be expected for specialty items. Beyond that, they are active and the community and support Halton Women's Place with special events and monthly donations. It's a business I truly felt good supporting and I'm sure I'll be back. 

Location and Information

 

Address: 401 Brant Street, Burlington, Ontario

Phone: 905-333-1400

Email: cupcakes@kellysxo.com

Get Social with Kelly's Bake Shoppe on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest

Note:  As mentioned above, Kelly's Bake Shoppe provided me with some samples for this post. I strongly value transparency and honesty, so my opinion of a product or service is always my own. I make no promises to review a product or service favourably because it was provided to me. For more information, please read my disclosure policy.

Siena's Panforte: Showing Fruitcake Who's Boss Since the Middle Ages

Have you ever eaten something and not particularly liked it upon first bite but developed desire to eat it anyway? It’s as if there’s something about it that you know you could learn to love over time. That’s what panforte, a confection from Siena, does to me. Panforte means “strong bread.” The name comes from the blend of warm spices that go into it, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, and coriander. I think its name is also appropriate because it’s so heavy and dense you could probably use it as a mild weapon if necessary.

Something along these lines: “Don’t mess with me now, I’m just back from the pastry shop and I’ve got strong bread in this bag.”

Most people compare panforte to fruitcake. I admit, there are some similarities. They’re both substantial cakes full of nuts and dried/candied fruits. They are both traditionally Christmas cakes, although panforte is now available year-round in Siena, Tuscany, and I’ve even seen some in Umbria.

The glaring difference to me, however, is that fruitcake is almost universally disgusting to me. I’ve had a single bite of one that I didn’t mind but, other than that, I loathe most of them with the fire of a thousand burning suns.

In my strong, but humble opinion, it’s the quality of the ingredients that take panforte out of the realm of fruitcake and into the realm of delicacy. How many times have you seen a fruitcake and it has those neon-green and fire-engine red, toxic-looking “cherries” peering out at you like demented eyes? And green cherries? That’s just unnatural. I do not want them in my mouth. Ever.

Panforte? Recipes differ, of course, and there are two main types. Panforte Nero has bitter almonds and cocoa which give it a deep, dark color. Panforte Margherita is lighter and a little less intensely flavored. They’re both full of good, natural stuff like warm, deep spices, honey, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, figs, dates, and candied fruits like lemon, orange peel, and even melon.

A thick, sticky dough is made by mixing the chopped fruits, nuts, and a bit of flour with a boiled honey and sugar mixture. It is then spread evenly over wax paper in a springform pan and baked. The final product is dusted with confectioner’s sugar and then cut into wedges. What you get in the end is rich and thick; a cake that leans toward candy territory. It’s sweet, spicy, nutty, and sometimes a little bitter.

Throughout Siena, shops lure you to their windows with stacks of these cakes, made using their special recipe, showing off the bounty of ingredients they’ve packed into a single slice. I think this is where my strange attraction to panforte comes into play. I get to Siena, I’m surrounded by remarkable medieval architecture, I’m lulled into a happy historical stupor, and, then, unique, historic desserts start winking at me through all of these windows. How can I not get a slice?

Panforte, you see, has a long historical connection to Siena. I have a great book about Italian food and its history called Culinaria Italy. It says that the first mention of panforte shows up in a document from 1205, so it has been around in one form or another for a long time.

The book recounts a legend about the creation of panforte. As the story goes, a young man named Nicoló de Salimbeni got sick of his indulgent ways and gave up all of his worldly possessions to a nun named Sister Berta. These possessions included a bag of spices, which were very dear in those days, and a recipe for a sweetmeat of apples, flour, and dried fruits called melatello. Sister Berta made the recipe but decided it was too extravagant for nuns to eat, so she passed it on to a bishop. The recipe continued to pass from person to person until it reached the hands of a famous cook named Ubaldino, who was so well-known that Dante wrote about him in the Divine Comedy. Ubaldino changed the recipe a bit and, essentially, created the first panforte. Panforte then became one of Siena’s exports and was thought to be an aphrodisiac because of the amount of exotic spices used in the recipes. It appeared in Venice around 1370. (Culinaria Italy, ed. Claudia Piras (h.f.ullmann, 2008), 245.)

So if you’re ever in Siena, grab a slice and wander the medieval streets while pondering history and/or trying to discern any aphrodisiac effects.

If you can’t make it to Siena, you can always try making panforte at home. I haven’t made one yet and there are lots of recipes strewn around the web, but these are the ones I’ve been looking at so far: Davina Cucina and Bon Appetit. When I do make one, I’ll be sure to do a post on it.

If you make or have made one in the past, feel free to leave a comment about your experience!

Oh, and although I really, really hate fruitcake, I'm always willing to give them a taste. If you have any tried, true, beloved, delicious, and neon fruit-free recipes, feel free to let me know!