mont blanc – Michael Eats

Location: 476 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://steventranchocolates.com/

Steven Tran Chocolatier Pâtissier (that just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) is clearly doing pretty well. When I visited just after 1:00pm on a recent Saturday, the place was pretty much cleared out, with just a handful of pastries remaining.

I don’t know if I would have tried the salted caramel brownie if it weren’t one of the only things in stock, but wow, I’m glad I did.

This might have been one of the best brownies I’ve ever had? It has a perfect chewy texture and a delightfully intense chocolatey flavour. That’s not to mention the salted caramel on top, which is borderline burnt in all the best ways, with a slight bitterness that balances out its sweetness.

After I finished it, I was extremely tempted to walk back into the store and order another one, which basically never happens. Seriously, seriously good.

I should note that I actually went back a couple of weeks later and ordered the brownie again, and it was just as good. If I’ve ever eaten a better brownie, I certainly can’t remember it.

Because I’m a glutton, I also tried the mont blanc, and yeah, that was stellar, too, with a nice creamy/crispy contrast from the cream and the crispy meringue, a satisfying chestnut flavour, and some nice fruitiness from the sauce (blackberry?) in the middle.

I went back one more time and tried the canele, and like everything else, it was stellar. Perfect light crispy exterior, and the interior is delightfully custardy. So, so good.

Location: 160 Baldwin Street, Toronto
Website: http://little-pebbles.com/

I was still hungry after the horrifying abomination I was served at Kiss the Tiramisu; I couldn’t eat more than a third of it. So I went a couple of stores down to Little Pebbles, a great little Japanese cafe in Kensington Market.

They have the usual assortment of coffees to pick from, as well as a variety of French/Japanese-inspired baked goods. I went with the Strawberry Sakura Mont Blanc, which features an almond-infused crust, pastry cream, a whole strawberry, and strawberry mont blanc cream.

Maybe I was just happy to eat something that wasn’t disgusting, but I really enjoyed this. The nutty crust was tasty, the whole strawberry was sweet and ripe, and the mont blanc cream did a really great job of balancing the chestnut flavour you’d expect with something a bit fruitier.

The whole thing was quite subdued in its flavours, but it all worked really well. I’d definitely like to come back here and try some of their other offerings, because everything looked really good.

Tag: mont blanc

Outstanding Pastries at Steven Tran Chocolatier Pâtissier

Tasty Pastries at Little Pebbles Cafe