Vidafine’s Dessert Tasting Tour I

Throughout the recent cold days of winter, I had a craving for something sweet. So I managed to head out on a rather mild day for my first dessert tasting tour around mid-town Toronto! I made three stops.

(t-b: Ba-Ba au Rhum, Treasure Island)

1. La Patesserie Cigogne- 1626 Bayview Avenue Toronto, Ontario. M4G 3B7
Started by a pastry chef who has apprenticed in Strasbourg, France and taught various pastry classes at George Brown College here in Toronto. This elegant little shop reminded me of a quaint cafe in Paris. Bustling with customers eager to try out their mini cakes and purchasing larger cakes to bring home to their friends and family, here I got to taste the Ba-Ba au Rhum (not too sweet, soft spongy cake with heavy rum flavour) and Treasure Island (a mango mousse cake filled inside a dark chocolate shell with a fresh piece of mango right in the centre of it all). Both were delicious!

( The Pompadour)

2. Rahier- 1586 Bayview Avenue Toronto, Ontario. M4G 3C1
Just a few blocks away from La Patesserie Cigogne, I came across Rahier. At this joint, I tasted not only their dessert but also their quiche! The ham and mushroom quiche tasted great, but was nothing special that I couldn’t find elsewhere. The Pompadour (which was a layering of pistachio buttercream, praline buttercream, pistachio dacquoise & chocolate praline crunch) had a creamy texture but also had a nice crunch in every bite. I found however, there wasn’t much pistachio flavour with this cake.

(The colourful assortment of pastries and desserts)

3. La Bamboche- 4 Manor Road East Toronto, Ontario. M4S 1P8
By the time we made our way to our last stop, the skies were starting to darken. Either way, we managed to head on inside to get a taste of what they had to offer! French trained Japanese pastry chef wow’d me with the assortment of goodies on display! There were way too many to choose from, I finally decided on two. The Mont Blanc (which was made up of chestnut cream, negrita rum and dacquoise chocolate) and the Vanille Fromage (made up of vanilla, cheese, fresh cream, raspberry jelly and genoise). Though both were presented very very nicely, I found them to be a bit sweet for my liking. I didn’t get a chance to try their macarons yet, but maybe next time!