sweet – Page 9 – Michael Eats

Hot and Fresh Mochi Doughnuts at LaMochi

Published on July 7, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3272 Midland Avenue, Scarborough
Website: https://lamochisweets.com/

Though I’ve had a decent amount of mochi doughnuts in my life, I don’t think I’ve ever had one that was hot and fresh out of the fryer like they serve at LaMochi, and let me tell you: it was delightful.

I ordered the black sesame doughnut, which comes with a decent amount of a sweet, mildly nutty sesame glaze. It complemented the slightly chewy doughnut quite well. But the freshness of the doughnut was the star of the show.

I don’t know if they always serve them this way or if I just got lucky, but it was so good. You can’t go wrong with basically anything that’s freshly fried, and that’s definitely true here. The exterior was lightly crispy from the fryer, and the inside was fluffy and warm. The distinctive chewiness was there, but a bit less pronounced than your standard mochi doughnut (I’m guessing the mochi’s chew-factor becomes more pronounced as it cools).

Quick Bites: Apricot Tree Cafe, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Gouter

Published on July 1, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Apricot Breakfast from the Apricot Tree Cafe

The Apricot Tree Cafe seems to be quite well regarded, so maybe it’s just not my thing, but I got the Apricot Breakfast (“Smoked salmon, poached eggs, dill sour cream, Apricot Tree salad, toast”) and it mostly left me puzzled. Nothing on the plate was bad — in fact, the smoked salmon was actually quite good, and the eggs were well prepared, with a nice runny yolk. But none of the individual flavours particularly cohered in any meaningful way, so it basically just felt like random stuff on a plate. Also: the toast came unbuttered (with no butter on the side, either!), and get out of here with that.

Classic vanilla bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes

True to their name, Nothing Bundt Cakes sells bundt cakes, bundt cakes, and more bundt cakes. They’re available in various flavours like chocolate, lemon, and red velvet (among many others), and they’re all topped with cream cheese icing. They have full-sized cakes, but their specialty seems to be smaller versions that are about the size of a very big cupcake. I went simple with the classic vanilla, and it was tasty enough. This place is apparently a chain with hundreds of locations, and yeah, that tracks. It basically tastes like if Little Debbie came out with a line of bundt cakes. I have a soft spot for junky treats like that, so I enjoyed it — but at about seven bucks per individual cake, it might be a bit overpriced for what it is.

Blueberry tart from Gouter

I had a raspberry croissant that I really did not care for the last time I visited Gouter; however, I just tried a blueberry tart from their Etobicoke location, and I think maybe they’re better than I gave them credit for, because the tart was quite good. The shortbread crust was buttery and had a nice texture, the custard filling was creamy and not too sweet, and the blueberries and crumble topping were thoroughly tasty.

Delightful Mochi Doughnuts at Marry Me Mochi

Published on June 19, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://www.marrymemochi.ca/

Mochi doughnuts are one of those things that were basically impossible to find in the city just a few years ago, and I wouldn’t say they’re everywhere now, but they’re certainly available. It may be basically impossible to live affordably in the GTA, but on the other hand… mochi doughnuts? You win some, you lose some.

Marry Me Mochi features an assortment of permanent flavours, as well as a rotating menu of specials; I went with one of the permanent varieties, creme brulee, which the menu says is their most popular.

The doughnut gets all its flavour from the frosting on top — there’s no custard filling here — but still manages to do a pretty impressive job of replicating the taste of creme brulee. It actually does have a custardy flavour, and while it’s not crispy on top, it is torched, which helps it to land that flavour.

It’s also delightfully restrained in its sweetness. A lot of doughnuts like this are both glazed and then frosted, which makes them a bit of a sugar bomb. The sweetness here is just in the frosting, which lets you taste the doughnut itself and doesn’t overwhelm.

And, of course, it’s a mochi doughnut, so it has that pleasant springiness (but without being overly chewy). It’s a great doughnut.

A Tasty Cardamom Bun at French Corner Bakery Patisserie

Published on May 22, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1224 Dundas Street West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/frenchcornerpatisserie/

French Corner Bakery Patisserie (the word “bakery” is a bit odd there, isn’t it? Patisserie is basically just a French word for bakery, so it’s the French Corner Bakery Bakery) has a whole bunch of very tasty looking pastries.

I was actually planning on ordering the almond croissant, but then I saw the cardamom bun and couldn’t resist. I have a hard time saying no to a good cardamom bun, especially since they’re not exactly super common in the GTA.

And yeah, it’s a good one. The bready pastry is dense without being overly tough, the cardamom flavour is unmistakable, and the level of sweetness is delightfully restrained. It’s has a decent amount of sticky syrup on its exterior (not to mention the pearl sugar on top, which adds a great crunch that contrasts nicely with the toothsome pastry), but is otherwise not particularly sweet.

Clearly, I’m going to have to go back to try the almond croissant (and more!) because they know what they’re doing.

Delicious Cakes at Tokyo Cheesecake Cafe

Published on May 20, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 257 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/tokyocheesecakecafe.ca/

Tokyo Cheesecake Cafe was actually a really delightful surprise. I went in thinking I’d just check the place out, and wasn’t necessarily planning on buying anything. Nothing really caught my eye (I was hoping they’d have a Japanese-style strawberry shortcake; they did not), but the store was empty and I felt bad leaving without buying anything, so I got a slice of the original cheesecake.

I figured this would be a fluffy, eggy, soufflé-style cheesecake like you can get at Uncle Tetsu’s. I like that style of cheesecake, but it’s not my favourite.

This actually turned out to be completely different from that, with two layers on a chocolatey crust. The top layer is light and super creamy, and the bottom layer is much more dense, with more of a traditional cheesecake flavour and texture. There’s also a bit of a lemony flavour (lemon zest, maybe?) that complements it quite well. And the chocolate crust has a mild bitterness that does a great job of offsetting the sweetness of the cheesecake.

It’s a seriously delicious dessert. The silky top layer, the rich bottom layer, and the chocolate crust are a boffo combination. They also had a bunch of other flavours of cheesecake, and I (and you!) need to try them all ASAP.

Also: as it happened, I went back a couple of weeks later, and they actually had the Japanese strawberry shortcake I was craving on my first visit. I tried it, of course, and it was just as delicious as the cheesecake, with the cake itself being maybe the lightest, fluffiest cake I’ve ever had.