Portugese/Canadian Bakery

Portugese Bakery

5304 118 Avenue

Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Saturday 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

780 413 4056

Bom Dia!! Welcome to one of the Portugese/Canadian Bakeries in Edmonton.

I came across this place a couple of years ago when I needed to buy some buns for my home made hamburgers. I walked in and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Not only is it a Bakery, but it also sells imports from Portugal; canned goods, chocolates, pasta, soups, etc. It has a few fridges stuffed with salted cod, which I think is great, albeit I have only ever used it once in my cooking (boil down the fish and make it into patties with potatoes, green onions and pepper then pan fry). They also sell lunch-type food: empanadas filled with chicken, beef, or spinach; sole croquettes, basil and tomato strudel....really great if you are in a hurry and just need some smart snacking.

This is not one of the bakeries where I have tried many sweets, I come here for their buns. They do not look like a typical "Canadian" hamburger bun, but they are so much better. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, they also freeze well. I have not had a chance to try any of their breads, but just like their buns they have that same look: large and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I noticed some sweet bread the other day which will be my next buy.

Picking two pastries for this special noon-time occasion I decided to try the portugese tart, or Pastel de bata. It is an egg tart that is soft and creamy on the inside, like custard, with a flaky crust on the outside. I took some advice from my sister and warmed it up in the toaster oven for about 2 minutes. Although it was tasty, this type of treat is definantly not something I would consider eating for dessert very often, my tastebuds did not jump with joy.

Also, a coffee cake. This three hundred and twenty-five layer cake was amazing, creamy, sweet, and full of a rich coffee flavour. Other treats I noticed: turnovers, brownies, donuts, cream horns, eclairs and some cookies. Note: there are not that many layers, just a whole lot of them. Enjoy.

Bakery # 5: Vienna Bakery

Vienna Bakery

10207 63 Avenue

Tuesday to Friday 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturdays 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

780 489 4142

The marble cookie

A little history lesson on Vienna Bakery: Once located on the west end it was sold to Bridgett and Bernie, a couple from Germany, later they sold it to their son Brian. Brian, now the owner of the bakery, decided to bake strictly in the wholesale market. Little did he know that people would come banging on his doors in the middle of the night for him to open up a front of house for the public. People shouted, "we want your rye bread!!" and "without your poppyseed strudel I will wither and die!!" Finally, Brian listened and a couple of years ago opened a retail location once again and started to sell all the marvellous baked goods that makes Vienna Bakery one of my favourite bakeries in this city.

I can tell you about each and every pastry, bread and bun in this place. Why? I have tasted every single thing they sell here. Yes. Every single item; heavy rye, medium rye, light rye; whole wheat bread, white; Kaiser buns, German buns, rye buns, poppyseed buns; marble cookies, chocolate chip cookies; nut strudel, apple strudel......you name it. I've eaten it. Don't judge me. 

This place has all types of european pastries you will be begging to come back for and the owners don't pretend to be european, they really are.

My top three favourites from Vienna Bakery: poppyseed strudel (the one made with potato dough), medium rye, and the marble cookie. Although cookies are simple, inexpensive, and very abundant, I have not been able to master the marble cookie at home. It just melts in your mouth with the right hint of cocoa and vanilla. The medium rye is to die for with some butter, or cheese and meat, or even peanut butter and hazelnut spread (toasted of course). The poppyseed strudel is an addiction of mine, made with real potatoes and so soft and succulent.....dear strudel! I could describe everything in this bakery with intense detail, but I won't and let other pallets describe the goodness only found here.....okay only one more!

The B52 torte. The old owner Bernie used to make this for me. It is a 6 layer cake of which 3 layers are cake and 3 layers are buttercream and each layer is infused with a type of alcohol: Grand Marnier, Kahlua, and Baileys. You will have to phone and ask if they still make it as I have not ordered it in about a year, but if you get a chance to try it you will not be disappointed.

Bliss Baked Goods - Kosher Bakery

Bliss Baked Goods
14208 118 Avenue
Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
780 453 0101

Bliss Baked Goods is a specialty bakery. They cator to those that have special diets, as they are nut free and dairy free. They also carry a large selection of vegan products and saving our little animal friends is always a bonus, awesome!

So lets talk about taste. One thing I have always noticed when baking without certain ingredients, like eggs or milk, is that my baked goods come out of the oven looking different, either flat or unbaked, and tasting funny, by that I simply mean they don't taste well at all. Not so with the brownie from Baked Bliss Goods, something I can easily identify judging from taste if it comes out of a box, or is made from scratch. It had a thick, rich, and chocolatey bottom and a gooey icing that although tasted heavily of icing sugar was delicious! The strawberry crumble, on the other hand, had a mediocre flavour which was too heavy for me while the strawberry filling reminded me of canned fruit, which I absolutely loath. Why can fruit!?

This bakery has plenty of other goodies; bread, rolls, cinnamon buns, all kinds of squares, donuts (it was featured in Edmonton's very own Avenue Magazine as having the best cinnamon and sugar doughnuts in 2013). The staff are friendly and the owner herself always serves the customers. She is always more than delighted to tell you about the products, the concept of the bakery, her religious background (did I mention everything in here is Kosher), and her husbands fantastic new editions to the place; soups, spreads, and dips. Although there is only about 2x6 feet of walking space, it is not exhausting and it definitely does not feel awkward to be in the spotlight. As the ladies in the background roll out dough and answer telephone calls, the smells of sugar, yeast and flour are a nice change to the fake fumes of air conditioning and the noisy background of a crying baby, oops I left the baby in the car!!.... just kidding.

Keep in mind that the hours of this bakery are not typical, they are open monday to friday and closed on the weekend.

Cedar Sweets

Cedar Sweets

10710 134 Avenue

Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Open weekends

780 479 2292

Next on my list of "Bakeries in Edmonton" is Cedar Sweets, a Bakery which supplies Edmontonians with sweet and delectable arabic and lebanese goodies. 

Some of these goodies are Baklava, sweet phyllo pastries filled with either pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, or cashews. They are a goodie that is enjoyed world wide with origins in Istanbul, Turkey. Diabetics should be weary of this treat as it is usually smothered in honey or some other sweet syrup...non diabetics should also be weary as it might get your little ones to bounce out of their seat on the car ride home. Please note: parents can put this this dessert to good use to make children clean houses, cut grass and do all the dirty work.

Baklava isn't the only treat sold at Cedar sweets. There are cookies whose names I don't know of; jamaican patty look-alikes, but smothered in syrup and filled with walnuts; cream triangles, which I am told are heavenly, with the cream hand whipped in the store. I also saw wedding cakes and pastries in a different area of the shop, which I have yet to try. Don't worry, Ill be back.

This bakery is located in a strip mall next to another popular bakery of which I will only make a note of, Sunpita Bakery. Although delightful and very inexpensive, it is more of a lunch spot with pita pizzas, shwarma and halal meats. I highly recommend this spot; $5 gets you a great lunch which can be eaten on the go (just get them to fold your pizza in half). Don't worry about the police, they come here all the time too.....shhhhhhhh.

Take 5 - Donut Shop

Take 5

11801 48 Street

Open 5:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m. most days

780 471 6037

The cream supreme donut. 

Doesn't it look sensual? Doesn't it call out to you? Come to me, eat me; the creaminess inside, the soft dough surrounding it and just a hint of oh so sweet chocolate glaze that melts in your mouth as you give in to your guiltiest fantasy?

Well, maybe I'm just crazy, but when Tim Hortons got rid of their cream supreme donut a lot of people were miserable. Some of the dearest people in my heart cried out loud when it disappeared. "How could they get rid of their tastiest donut?!" "I am never coming here again!" It swept the nation with disaster, a true tragedy. Why truly did they get rid of it? I don't know, but what I do know is that they left a little hole in my heart that had to be filled.

This is where Take 5 comes in. The second bakery on my list. Albeit being a cafe I treat it as a bakery since I never sit down and eat here. I would rather get my donuts, run home and eat at least two of them before my husband comes home. Hey, at least I'm honest.

I am guessing Take 5 has been around for a long time because when you look inside, most of its customers are between the ages of 55 and 100. The customers come from an era where doughnuts were as poplar as milkshakes so these people know the good from the bad.

The cream supreme is one of their biggest sellers, along with its older cousin, the eclair. Others include apple and blueberry fritters, walnut crunch, and apple spice. I swear on my next batch of donuts these are irresistible.

Bakeries in and around Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

My love for Bakeries is not abnormal, not within my standards anyways. It is not an obsession, it is a love, a calling; a world of sweet butter croissants and poppyseed cakes, rye bread and plum jam doughnuts. They are marvellous.

De Fazio Gourmet

12853 52 Street

Monday to Friday 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

780 452 8960

The first bakery on my list is one that is owned by my brother Kris and his wife Carla. A wonderful European owned Bakery with Biscotti, tortes, pastries and whatever new items they come up with (ham and cheese croissants anyone?)

This is "The Nest." Its base is a wheat free chocolate sponge cake, then its topped with rich, delicate and creamy mousse, a vanilla creme centre, a caramel crunch filling followed by more mousse and lastly a wonderful chocolate glaze. It is truly a creation worth trying.....enjoy.

http://www.btedmonton.ca/videos/3442091489001/

De Fazio Gourmet was on Breakfast Television demonstrating how the cake is made.

As a local Bakery I highly recommend trying their goods, not only because I know the owners personally, but because the ingredients they use are always fresh and of top notch quality. Callebaut chocolate anyone?