Amy's Food Adventures

Another visit to my all-time favourite patisserie, La Bamboche :) I ordered two macarons; chocolate and green tea mango, at $2.50 each. I also had a roast beef sandwich ($6.95) and a De Luxe au Caramel et Yuzu ($5.95).

Thick pieces of roast beef piled on top of a half-inch thick of Brie, toppled with several arugula leaves, sat in between two crisp slices of baguette. I think their sandwiches are made with Pain Viennois, a softer and sweeter bread, but I couldn’t tell. The roast beef although dry was okay with me because as I bit into the sandwich, the Brie began to soften and ooze out. It helped to make up for the lack of sauce and the hint of saltiness in the Brie enhanced the overall flavour of the sandwich. It was a nice treat composed of delicious ingredients presented simply as they were; untouched and nothing to overpower their natural flavours.

The De Luxe au Caramel et Yuzu was delicate and light; just the way I like my cakes. The yuzu crème chiboust on top was sponge-like and had a subtle bitterness to it. Yuzu is a citrus fruit commonly used in both Japan and Korea to make sauce, marmalade, and its zest to garnish dishes. The caramel cream was rich and smooth, which balanced out the bit of bitterness I tasted in the yuzu. The chocolate biscuit (cake) brought the layers together beautifully and the chocolate rice cereal feuilletine at the bottom added a crispy texture to the overall cake.

For the first time, I was a little disappointed in La Bamboche. I’m not sure if it had to due with the fact that I brought the macarons home to consume later, but it just wasn’t as fresh as I anticipated. I’ve always brought macarons home so I’m not really sure. The mango purée/cream inside didn’t taste as good as I remembered. It was the last one on display so perhaps that says something.

Dufflet, a place well-known for their birthday cakes and other delightful pastries, can be found in the midst of numerous patisseries and bakeries in the Yonge & Eglinton area. For those who have been to Dufflet before, I’m sure you know that they don’t have labels nor prices in front of their cakes. It’s a little troublesome to ask the staff about their wide array of pastries because it can get pretty frustrating for both parties. I selected a dacquoise ($4) which is a cake usually built with layers of almond and hazelnut meringue and buttercream to hold the layers together. Dacquoise can also be used to describe the nut meringue layer itself. It is extremely light, airy, chewy, and separates easily. The top layer of dacquoise is covered in white chocolate with a swirl of caramel. The layers of dacquoise are bound together with coffee buttercream that complemented the sweetness of the dacquoise and white chocolate. The rich buttercream along with the nutty meringue was just heavenly.

Addresses:

La Bamboche Patisserie
4 Manor Road East
Toronto, Ontario
M4S 1P8

Dufflet
2638 Yonge Street
Toronto (416) 484-9080