Amy's Food Adventures

The intoxicating smell of freshly baked pastries in the morning is indescribable – so profound, pleasant, and pleasurable, yet elusive at the same time. Bakery air has the ability to linger on us throughout the day, and the thought of crisp buttery croissants, crunchy baguettes, and delectable french cakes inevitably draws a smile onto our faces. Fresh out of the oven french pastries; a guilty pleasure for some, and a sweet escape for many others.

Located in the heart of Leslieville, Bobbette & Belle is an elegant bakery shop that creates astounding wedding cakes, french macarons, fruit tarts, and whoopie pies that look and taste remarkable. Although the interior may look intimidating, the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful – you won’t feel at the least uncomfortable. I thought I was in paradise when I walked into this lovely and spacious shop. I loved their tall windows, earthy tones, long wooden tables, and rows of beautiful wedding cakes and artisanal treats. You definitely don’t see many bakeries/pâtisseries as stunning as Bobbette & Belle, and that’s where their uniqueness shines through.

I’m a self-proclaimed pastry lover who simply can’t get enough of anything. I ordered a few items and taste-tested what seemed to be the most divine delights ever known to my tummy :) It’s definitely disappointing to see a lovely presentation only to be underwhelmed when we bite into it. Rest assured as Bobbette & Belle won’t allow your fantasies to be shattered by reality – their goods taste as impressive as they look.

With an array of croissants ranging from the classic, to almond, to ham & cheese, I couldn’t resist but to order the Almond Croissant ($2.25). I have a very loving relationship with almond croissants and they always seem to call my name whenever I lay my eyes on them ;) Crispy exterior, flakey layers, perfect level of sweetness to the almond paste – my heart melted. I’ve had croissants that were too soft, dry, with no crunch at other bakeries; they were obviously not fresh. It should be a crime selling food with such poor quality. But then, these mediocre places only make you appreciate the good stuff even more ;)

The Red Velvet Whoopie Pie ($2.15) was soft and fluffy with a nice layer of cream in between. Perfect texture, wonderful taste, and a mouth-watering presentation; it didn’t fall short in any of the categories.

Macarons are magical. Bobbette & Belle offers delightful flavours such as mango passion fruit, pistachio, lemon, raspberry, and chocolate. Not only do they look pretty with pastel colours, they’re also very fragile and incredibly difficult to bake. It requires a high level of skill to create the right macaron, and I’ve done nothing but failed at baking them :) Even if a macaron looks like the real deal, the truth is revealed through its texture when you bite into it. I had the Pistachio ($2) and the Vanilla flavours. They had a crisp and thin shell, with a soft and chewy interior. There was a nice “foot” to them as well (the area where the meringue biscuit meets the filling). The flavours were apparent and the filling not too sweet. It’s easy to distinguish between a good macaron from a bad one once you’ve had enough of them. Stale, hard, and too candy-like is not the way to go. Although macarons are made with tons of sugar, I don’t find them to be overly sweet at all. If anything, sweetness is where my heart is ;D

Karen, Janet, and I each had an Ice Cream Sandwich ($3.20) because the sight of it already won us over :D When you check in on Foursquare, you receive a free scoop of ice cream! The three of us promptly checked in on our phones and to our surprise, not only did we receive free ice cream, but a complimentary macaron ice cream sandwich! Hooray! Additonally, Bobbette & Belle also has Whoopie Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches but of course, we opted for the macaron version instead ;) I paired the cassis macaron with a large scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream. In all honestly, I chose this combination all for the sake of the gorgeous colours, haha.  Cassis is a black currant flavour but there was only a hint of it, so I didn’t mind at all. I liked how the macaron was able to withstand the ice cream and it didn’t fall apart in a mess. The chewiness of the macaron with the cold, creamy ice cream was a match made in heaven.

After reading this post, I’m sure it’s quite evident that I would be back to Bobbette & Belle in a heart beat. In fact, I already have! ;) I revisited during the past weekend and my experience on that will be posted in the near future :) Owners Sarah Bell and Allyson Meredith are both really talented and creative ladies who definitely know what they’re doing (Find bio here). If you’re also a lover of cakes, macarons, cupcakes, and pies, then Bobbette & Belle is a must-visit destination for you!

Address

1121 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON M4M 1K9
(416) 466-8800