Cooking Demo from Chef Lori Baker, Banker & Baker

On Saturdays, along with shopping at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, I often attend cooking demos,  either at the Ferry Building, Macy's, or Williams-Sonoma.  Each venue has a different focus, but all host excellent local chefs, or chefs in town on book tours.

I don't often write up posts on the demos, but this one was particularly amazing, so it warranted a post!

This week, Williams-Sonoma hosted chef Lori Baker, the pastry chef from Baker & Banker.  I've been to the restaurant a number of times, once for an awesome dinner about 2 years ago, once for one of the best brunches of my life, once for a good, but not as amazing, brunch, and once for some pâté that I really can't stop thinking about.  I've also really enjoyed some treats from their adjoining bakery.

It should come as no surprise then that I was very excited for this demo, as I know chef Baker's work, and know that she makes incredible baked goods.  And ... the description of the item she' d be preparing sounded absolutely amazing (or, potentially horrible, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt!): Candied Bacon Doughnuts with Bourbon Cheesecake Filling and Maple Glaze Dipping Sauce.  ZOMG.

Chef Baker was a good speaker, and provided a number of tips naturally throughout her presentation.  I loved how adaptable the recipe was, as she encouraged that you could fill the donuts with whatever you wanted, or even use the cheesecake filling recipe to make a regular cheesecake, flavored however you wanted.  I've tried several varieties of her stuffed donuts at brunch in the restaurant, so I know she experiments with these adaptations herself.

I also had a few minutes to chat with her husband, the savory chef from the restaurant, as he was there in the audience.  He delivered some amazing news: since he can no longer serve his signature foie gras and shiitake sticky rice (which I greatly enjoyed on my first visit), he's replaced the foie gras with the next best thing, another passion of mine: uni!  I think that sounds potentially even better, as I could see the uni going really well with the cod that makes up the primary component of the dish.

I can't wait to get back to Baker & Banker.  I can't decide if my next visit will be for dinner for the new cod and uni dish, or if it will be for brunch, since they serve the best french toast I've ever had.  Decisions, decisions!

Candied Bacon Doughnut with Bourbon Cheesecake Filling and Maple Glaze Dipping Sauce.

Just reading the description of this causes the mind to race.  These are all amazing things - bacon!  doughnut! bourbon! cheesecake!  maple syrup!  But ... could they possibly all come together, into a single little magical bite?  Spoiler: Yes, yes they could.  And was this a breakfast item, or a dessert?

I was a little bit skeptical, as it sounded like too much awesomeness to pack into a donut hole, with too many competing strong flavors.  And bacon, while it can make everything better, can also just be a gimmick.  But, this totally worked.

The donut itself was studded with the chunks of candied bacon.  They added a crunch which I really enjoyed, but also some saltiness which balanced the entire dish.  The samples were given to us fresh out of the frier, so it was piping hot, and just downright amazing.  I liked this much more than the donut holes I'd tried at the restaurant, partially just because of how fresh it was.  There really is nothing like a donut fresh out of the frier.  It was also rolled in sugar, which of course, just makes a donut hole that much better :)

The filling was the bourbon cheesecake.  There was no guessing if there was liqueur in there!  There were some children in the row behind me, I'm curious if they liked this, as the flavor was intense.  I thought it went really well with all of the other flavors.  It didn't really taste like cheesecake however, more just like creamy bourbon filling.  But I'm not complaining.

And then, as if that wasn't enough, there was a maple syrup based glaze to dip the donut into.  It wasn't necessary, but just added to creating the perfect bite.  I've always dipped my bacon in maple syrup, so I found this pairing spot on.

I just saw that these are currently on the menu at the restaurant.  If these ingredients all sound awesome to you, I highly recommend checking them out!

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Donut Savant

Have I mentioned that I love donuts?  Yeah, I love donuts.  I'm always look for an excuse to try out a new donut shop.

One place I heard great things about is Donut Savant, known mostly for the size of their donuts.  And no, not because they are huge.  Instead, they are known for having actually reasonable size donuts.  The donut holes are bigger than a standard donut hole (probably twice the size of a Munchkin, for you Dunkin' Donuts folks), a bit bigger than a golf ball.  Really, the perfect size to be able to try a few different donuts (which you know you always want to do anyway).  They also make bars that are slightly bigger, rolls that are a bit bigger still, fritters that are bigger yet, and some full size cronuts and jelly donuts.  But none are monsters.  The story goes that the owners wanted to solve the problem of having folks always hacking up donuts and leaving behind a box of carnage so they could try multiples / take less.

Since I like to try all the things, this sounded great to me.  Plus, the donuts are supposed to be excellent.  The only problem?  Um, Donut Savant is in Oakland.  Luckily, they deliver to SF!  But ... only if you order $50 of donuts.  Which, for some places, (ahem, Dynamo), is easy.  But at Donut Savant, each donut is ~$1 (even less when you buy them in person, basic holes are only $0.50!).  I needed a reason to order 50 donuts.  I finally got one, when I organized a large event for my team.  We obviously needed donuts for our morning break, right?

Ordering online and delivery were easy.  But, honestly, I didn't love the donuts (except for the fritters!).  For the most part, they were fine, but, really nothing special.  Maybe I went into it with too high of expectations?  That said, the size really was great, and the fritter was one of the best I've ever had.  I'd eat them again, but, I'll be seeking out somewhere else to try next time ...

Baker's Choice Dozen. $12.50.

"Baker's choice of a dozen assorted cake donuts plus one free specialty donut."

To make decision making easy, I opted for several boxes of Baker's Choice Dozen, which come with 12 of the donut holes, plus an extra large special one thrown in.  Our boxes of dozens included all their standard offerings: chocolate glazed, vanilla glazed, salted maple glazed, chocolate dusted, maple pecan, coconut dream, and cronuts for the extras.

From this box, I tried a donut hole, the chocolate dust (center near the top, below the pecan topped one).

Chocolate Dust Hole: "Buttermilk cake with a dark chocolate cocoa and sugar dusting."  I tried only one of the holes, since I had my eye on the specialty donuts.  It was a standard cake donut, not too dense, and coated in cocoa and sugar.  It was what it was.  Not particularly interesting, and I didn't really taste that much cocoa.

Delivered, the dozen is $12.50, pickup is $10.

Chocolate Bars - $1. Sufganiyot - $2.50. Chocolate Glazed Cronut - $2.50.

I mostly ordered boxes of the Baker's Choice Dozens, but, I did also pick out a few specific special ones.

Chocolate Bar: "Raised dough with dark chocolate frosting."

I ordered a bunch of the chocolate glazed bars, since I knew they'd bit a hit with my crowd.  They were about double the size of the holes, yet still only $1.  I didn't try one, but I'm assuming it was the same dark chocolate frosting as the others, which was fantastic.

Chocolate Glazed Cronut: "A labor of love which blends the best of a donut and a croissant. Our raised donut dough is rolled and folded like a croissant. The result: a unique combination that tastes like a donut with the flaky, layered texture of a croissant. We call this creation 'The Cron't' (rhymes with “don’t”)."

Ojan wanted a cronut, and selected the chocolate glaze.  I stole a bite before delivering it to him.  It wasn't like other cronuts I've had, in that it wasn't really layered and laminated like a croissant.  I think they used the same regular raised donut dough and just folded it differently, rather than frying a laminated dough?  It was kinda chewy.  So it wasn't really a croissant, and it wasn't really a donut.  Honestly, I wasn't impressed with the texture at all.  The chocolate ganache on top however was great, very thick, very rich, great chocolate flavor.  Cronuts are the most expensive items at $2.50 ($2 at the store), and are basically regular size donuts.

Sufganiyot: Inside.  $2.50.

"Raised dough filled with strawberry raspberry jam and dusted with cane sugar. "

This donut was the reason I was excited for Donut Savant.  I really, really love a good jelly donut.  I didn't know anything about Donut Savant's jelly donuts in particular, I just know they are my favorite donuts, so I couldn't wait to try one from a donut shop that was supposed to be all around great.

Sadly, it was the most disappointing donut I tried.  It was just a basic mediocre raised dough donut.  The dough didn't seem special in any way, not slightly sweet, and, almost even a bit stale and chewy.  It was nicely coated in sugar.

The filling ... also not great.  And there wasn't that much of it.  Really, everything about this was mediocre.

It was a standard full size donut size, and the most expensive item (besides cronuts) at $2.50.  I wouldn't get again.

Cinnamon Rolls. $1. 007 Sean Pecan-ery. $1.25.

One of my co-workers loves cinnamon rolls, so, I also got a ton of these.

Cinnamon Roll: "Raised dough cinnamon roll."

I started with a basic cinnamon roll.  These were slightly bigger than the smaller donuts, but still much smaller than any other cinnamon rolls I've seen.

It was ... fine.  The defining characteristic was the amount of cinnamon, very generous between the folds.  Nicely glazed.  Overall, solid I guess, but not particularly distinct from other cinnamon rolls, besides the smaller size.

007 Sean Pecan-ery: "Raised dough cinnamon roll with buttercream frosting & toasted pecans."

Of course, I really had my eye on the 007.  Why have just a glazed cinnamon roll when you can add frosting and pecans?  I liked the addition of the sweet frosting and crunchy pecans, and this was a far more exciting option than the plain cinnamon roll.

Apple Fritter. $1.25.

And finally, fritters.  Because, although I said I love a good jelly donut, I adore a good fritter.  I'm a sucker for fritters.

"Raised dough with granny smith apples and cinnamon."

And these delivered.  This was basically the best apple fritter ever.  For multiple reasons.

First, let's start with the apple part.  They actually had chunks of apple.  I know most fritters have some little bits of apple here or there, but in these, you could actually find the chunks, and they were good.  And I don't even really care for apple!

The dough was slightly sweet, moist inside, slightly crisp outside, nicely glazed.  Very solid.

Next, the size.  These were the second largest donuts (besides the cronuts and full size jelly donuts), about twice the size of the small ones, a little bigger than the cinnamon rolls.  Literally the most perfect size.  Plenty big enough to satisfy, but not pushing you towards feeling gross at all, which can really happen with standard super sized fritters (seriously, why are fritters always so crazy big?).  I had one after lunch (yes, after having 3 different donuts that morning), and it still didn't feel like "too much".

I really enjoyed this fritter, and would gladly get another.  Hands down favorite item I tried.

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My First Dinner @ Baker and Banker

My first visit to Baker and Banker was Jan 18, 2011.  It was one of my best meals that year.  Back then, I didn't take photos, but I did write up a short review.  Re-posting here so I can keep a record of it.
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I just had an amazing meal, start to finish, at Baker & Banker!  I highly recommend, and totally see why it has been getting such amazing reviews.  The decor of the place was really nice as well - elegant yet casual at the same time, felt very comfortable.

* Bread basket: fresh bread from the adjacent bakery. Today's basket was a rosemary focaccia and honey whole wheat. Both were fantastic. I didn't know that sandwich bread (the honey whole wheat) could be that good! I've taken to kinda skimping on bread at restaurants lately, but this is not to missed. One diner said this was the highlight of his meal, and that he could eat this bread for dessert.
* Diver scallops, Dungeness crab, Sardinian couscous, Pernod-saffron sauce, Satsuma mandarin salad. I love scallops, I love crab, so I liked this. Flavorful sauce. This wasn't a blow your socks off sort of dish, but quality ingredients, well prepared.
* Soy and mirin braised black cod, foie gras-shitake sticky rice, charred bok choy. This one was a blow your socks off dish. The sauce on this was phenomenal. And the foie gras complimented the sticky rice and the fish so amazingly well. A bite with the foie, cod, and rice all in it was perfection. I didn't know I could like foie gras so much! Another diner and I were supposed to be sharing this dish, but I probably had 75% of it.
* Pink lady apple crisp, brown sugar-pecan streusel, white cheddar ice cream. I'm a sucker for warm crisp and ice cream. But I grew up eating apple pie topped with melted cheddar cheese. This was all of these things, in one! My dining companions each took about one bite and deemed it weird. I eagerly finished the whole thing (note, it was not small!)
* XXX triple layer chocolate cake: flourless chocolate cake, chocolate cheesecake and devil’s food cake, covered in ganache. This was pretty much exactly what it sounded like. Huge, decadent, rich, but with all the different layers it wasn't ever too much. At least, not for me ... everyone else gave up after a few bites. Again, I finished it.
* Meyer lemon ice box pie, black olives, candied thyme. Definitely the strange one of the evening. It was a very sweet yet tart lemony custard, over pie crust, with macerated black olives and candied thyme. The savory ingredients were definitely strange. My least favorite dish of the evening, but everyone was letting it go to waste ...

In summary, everything was great. This is quality food, cooked very well. Go there, and bring me with you! I haven't overeaten to these extremes in ages, and it was soooo worth it.

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Dinner @ Baker & Banker

I've been to Baker & Banker a handful of times, once for an awesome dinner about 2 years ago, once for one of the best brunches of my life, and once for a good, but not as amazing, brunch.  It is owned by a husband, executive chef Baker, and wife, chef Banker, who runs the pastry program and the adjacent bakery (aww, so cute!).  The signature dish is a mirin and soy braised black cod, with foie gras-shiitake sticky rice, and charred bok choy.  I got this the first time I went, long before I was obsessed with foie, and it was amazing.  I'd been meaning to go back to enjoy it again, and as the dish will have to be removed from the menu as of July 1, I needed to do it urgently!

I'm also always looking for good Sunday night dining options, and they are one of few places open, so last Sunday night, we headed to Baker & Banker with the primary goal of getting the cod dish.  Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my memories or expectations, but the foie gras and duck liver pâté we got as a starter was one of the best cold foie preparations I've had.

Service was fine, but like the rest of the food, forgettable.  There was a very long lag after we received our starters and before our mains.

The space is light, bright, and comfortable.  There is a tiny 6 seat bar, complete with purse hooks, available for walk ins, and the rest of the restaurant is reservation based.  Presentation isn't much, but matches the casual vibe and neighborhood feel of the restaurant.  

The highlight of the meal happened after we left the restaurant.  With the bill, the waitress brought us each a box with two random baked goods in it, explaining that it was a slow day at the bakery, so they had leftovers.  I adore baked goods, and have wanted to check out the bakery for ages, so this was awesome.  The items we received are not necessarily the things I would have picked, but they turned out to be pretty great.  I've reviewed those sepratately.

Overall, everything was decent, and I have no major criticisms, but besides the pâté, nothing made me eager to return.  I'll go back if someone else wants to, but I won't seek it out.  (Although, the bakery is another story all together!)

Sourdough bread, butter, salt.

I rarely care much about bread at restaurants, as it is usually not very good and not worth filling up on, but I fondly remembered the bread basket from my first trip to Baker & Banker.  As they also run a bakery, it makes sense that they would have high quality bread.  Last time, it was fantastic, definitely one of the highlights of the meal, and featured several varieties of interesting breads to choose from.  This time however, there was only one type of bread, a standard sourdough.  And being the horrible San Franciscan that I am, I don't like sourdough.  I was very disappointed :(

The bread was served warm, it was crusty, and good enough I guess, but, it was sourdough.  The butter had some large crystals of rock salt on top, and there was additional salt available on the table.

Foie gras and duck liver pâté with rhubarb and vanilla compote, served with grilled country bread from the bakery.  $18.

This arrived, not looking like much.  Just a jar of pâté, with some compote on the side, and bread.  Pretty standard.  I guess I was just feeling very let down after the bread basket, and all the mediocre cold foie preparations I've had lately, so I dug into this without much gusto.  It only took half a bite for my mind to be blown!

The pâté was actually two layers, one of the duck liver and one of the foie gras.  We didn't realize this at first, assuming it was mixed already, so my dining companion, who dug into it first, had his first few bites of the top layer only.  Whoops!  Both layers were amazingly creamy and smooth, really rich, and perfectly seasoned with the right amount of saltiness to compliment the richness of the livers and enhance the flavors.  Surprisingly, I preferred the duck liver over the foie, as it had even more flavor.  The foie layer was certainly good, but the foie flavor wasn't that intense.  Either layer was good on its own, but mixing the two together was also really good.

The compote was sweet, yet tart from the rhubarb.  It was really quite good, and I could imagine just enjoying it on toast on its own.  It paired wonderfully with the pâté.

The bread was a french country bread.  It was hearty tasting, with an amazing flavor from being grilled.  I think it had some sourdough in it, but it was mild, so I didn't mind too much.  It was served warm from the grill, causing the pâté to melt into the bread when you spread it on, like butter.  Since the bread was sliced fairly thick, it allowed the bread to soak up tons of the melted pâté.  I greatly preferred this to a more common crostini, which even if toasted and warm, just doesn't soak up the foie in the same way.  It reminded me of the waffles with foie gras at Spruce.  The bread was an integral part of this dish, but there wasn't enough of it.  We had to use some of the then cold table bread to finish the pâté, and really wasn't nearly as good.  The bread was also a little too oily for my liking.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been really down on cold foie preparations lately, but this dish made it clear to me what my preferences are for a cold foie preparation. The key elements, for me:

1. Creamy, flavorful foie (torchon, pâté, mousse, terrine, etc, I don't particularly care).
2. Seasoning.  It needs salt!
3. Bread-like vehicle on which to spread it (can be a waffle or any sort of bread).  This has to be served warm so that the foie will melt into it, and it must be substantial enough to soak up the foie juices.
4. Sweet component to pair with it (jams, compotes, reductions, syrups, fresh fruit, etc).

Obviously, there are cold preparations that I have also enjoyed that do not have these components (liked a shaved torchon served as part of a salad), but this seems to be a winning formula.  The ones I have disliked the most are ones that are in this style, but miss one of these marks (like being served with cold crostini).

This was the dish of the evening for me, far and away.  $18 was a fair price for a good amount of pâté.  One dining companion, who is totally sick of foie gras and didn't particularly want this, happily consumed more than he expected to.  I'd return in a heartbeat for this dish alone, but unfortunately, it is no longer on the menu.  It has been replaced (obviously for the next few days only), with a foie gras torchon, served with stone fruit compote and grilled brioche, which I must admit, does sound pretty awesome.  If you go in the next few days, please get this, and let me know how it was!

I paired the pâté with a recommended glass of reisling.  At $10, it was a decent pour, and a great value.  I liked it, and enjoyed the sweetness paired with the foie.

Our vegetarian dining companion had a salad of County Line greens, strawberries, sheep's milk feta, smoked almonds, with Banyuls vinaigrette ($13).  It looked fresh and crisp, and he seemed to enjoy it.

Mirin and soy braised black cod, foie gras-shiitake sticky rice, charred bok choy.  $33.

This was the dish we were there for, as I  thought it was downright amazing when I had it before.  Tonight however, it wasn't very good at all.

The major issue was the execution of the fish.  It was mushy.  Served with the skin on, which was slimy.  I had a number of pin bones in my piece.  It also tasted a little fishy.  However, the mirin and soy glaze was sweet and delicious as expected.

The rice wasn't really sticky rice, more just kinda mushy as well.  It was really oily.  I didn't taste any foie.

The bok choy was grilled, and like the bread from the pâté, had a great charred flavor.

This could have been a good dish, but things did not come out well tonight.  And at $33, I really expected a higher level of execution than this.

My vegetarian dining companion had a goat ravioli, which didn't seem particularly noteworthy.

Plum and white nectarine crisp, brandysnap ice cream.  $10.

I was looking forward to dessert, before even seeing the menu, since I knew the pastry department was strong here, and I'm a bit of a dessert-o-holic.  And then when I saw warm fruit crisp with ice cream being delivered to tables around us all evening, I got even more excited.  If you read my blog, you know that I absolutely adore warm desserts paired with ice cream.  And I love summer fruits (stone fruits, berries, etc).

The crisp was indeed served piping hot out of the oven.  Major points for this.  But overall, it wasn't a very good crisp.  The fruit was overcooked and mushy.  It was also way too sweet.  Good fruit doesn't need that much sugar added to it, and the added sugar just masked the flavor completely.  The crisp layer was made up of oats with a great cinnamon flavor, and was quite delicious, but this layer was much too thick.  There was way more crisp than fruit.  It was perfectly cooked however, really crispy.

The brandysnap ice cream was really good.  It was creamy, had a good flavor, and paired perfectly with the crisp.  It melted into the crisp nicely.

There was also a very sugary tuile, which was kinda soft, had a strange mouthfeel, and wasn't very great.  And a random garnish of mint, which added nothing to the dish.

The $10 price seemed a little high when I saw it, but this was a huge portion of both the crisp and the ice cream.  Even if you love this style of dessert, you'll probably want to share this.  This dish was almost awesome.  There were enough great things here - served hot, amazing crisp layer, good ice cream - that I'd order another fruit crisp here in the future, and hope for better execution of the fruit component of it.

XXX - triple dark chocolate layer cake.  $10.

This is their signature dessert, and has been on the menu for ages.  We had it last time too.  3 different chocolate cake layers, covered in even more chocolate ganache, with chocolate drizzle on the plate.  It is chocolate overload!

Served with a scoop of cream on the side, which I mistakenly thought was ice cream, and took a huge spoonful of.  Whoops!  And another random mint sprig.

The bottom layer is a flourless chocolate cake.  It had a good chocolate flavor.  The middle layer is a chocolate cheesecake.  It had a great cream cheese flavor, and was my favorite of the layers.  Finally, the top is a devil's food cake.  It was very moist and incredibly dark.

None of this was bad, but I don't really get the hype.  Perhaps this just isn't my kind of dessert.  I found it pretty forgettable.  Like the crisp, at $10 it seemed a little high, but this thing was massive.  Truly massive.  Seriously, even I need to share the desserts here.

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Jessica Little Fu

Update Review, April 2026

Back in November, I attended an event run by the tea club at my office where they ordered a selection of desserts from a local home baker, Jessica Little Fu, to pair with the teas.  The desserts were exceptional.  Truly, exceptional.  Flawless execution, complex and interesting flavors, everything.  My mind was blown.  And I lamented the fact that this was not a very accessible option to get to try more things from again, and she only does catering and some pop-ups.

And then the host of the tea club ordered from her again, about 6 months later.  To say I was excited when I saw the placards introducing the lineup was an understatement.  I couldn't wait to try more items from this clearly extremely talented baker.  And the best part?  Our host had selected all new items (one was a different flavor of something we had before, but the rest were all new), including two cakes, and one pie, 5 items total.

And again.  Just, wow.  Seriously, seek this baker out any chance you get!

Strawberry Daifuku.

"Ichigo Farms Albion strawberry wrapped in white bean paste and house made mochi."

In the interests of picking my first two choices only to be polite, I skipped the daifuku initially.  It was the simplest of all the items after all.

When I returned for a second pass, after everyone had their initial fill, alas, they were all gone.  I really was interested to try it, the white bean paste in particular sounded unique, but, everyone else grabbed them.  Alas.

Strawberry Mochi Mousse Cake.

"Mochi, strawberry mousse, roasted strawberries, whipped cream and vanilla chiffon."

The one item that was a slight repeat from the previous event was the mochi mousse cake, however this time it was strawberry.  I skipped this my initial pass too, since I had something similar before, but I was thrilled when there was a tiny piece left when I went back for my second round.  When I had it last time in passionfruit form I was blown away by the passionfruit mousse, and I was curious how the more common strawberry would compare.

It was a delicious creation yet again.  The soft pliable mochi wrapping it, the flavorful insanely fluffy mousse ... yep, no words.  The flavor was a bit more "boring" compared to the passionfruit, but I still really quite enjoyed it, and gladly would have another and another and another of these.  I need more homemade mochi wrapped cream items in my life!  4.5/5.  My favorite of the items I tried.

Yuzu Blueberry Meringue Pie.

"Flaky butter pie shell filled with blueberry compote, yuzu curd and torched meringue and makrut lime leaf whipped cream."

I also skipped the pie offering, yuzu blueberry meringue, in my first venture up to the dessert table, even though I had *adored* the pie we had last time (black sesame banana cream pie), and in particular I adored the crust, but I tend to not like lemon/citrus curd and again, wanted to be polite and not take everything, even though I still loved the sound of the blueberry, the meringue, and the crust.  And honestly, if any baker was going to have me like a citrus curd, it could very well be her!

Alas, when I went back, this pie was also gone, except for a shard of crust.  I did snag that shard of crust, and it was just as flawless as last time: soooo crispy, soooo flaky, soooo buttery, just, perfect.  Five star crust, but I can't review the rest.  What I had though, was my second favorite bite.

Pineapple Earl Grey Cake.

"Three layers of vanilla chiffon, earl grey white chocolate whipped ganache, pineapple lemongrass curd."

The cakes were where I focused initially. The first cake was the tea inspired offering, perfect for the event, with earl grey and a fascinating sounding pineapple lemongrass curd.  The decoration was extremely classy, it gave wedding adjacent vibes. 

Pineapple Early Grey Cake: Inside.

The layers were well constructed, with light simple vanilla chiffon, all equal size layers, with an appropriate ratio of the earl grey white chocolate ganache, and thin layers of the curd.

The chiffon was again just soooo light and truly what chiffon should be, although still not a favorite cake style for me.  The cake needed a base though, and any other style of cake would be too heavy for these fillings, so, it makes sense.

The earl grey white chocolate ganache was thick, rich, and had enough earl grey to taste it, but it wasn't overly strong.  The sweetness level was low for white chocolate that is so often overly sweet, but still sweeter than many Asian style desserts.  The curd was slightly tangy, slightly tropical.

It was all well made, delicate flavors, that worked well together, but none are flavors I necessarily gravitate towards, so it didn't wow me.  3.5/5 because I can appreciate how well done it was, even if it wasn't the item for me.  My least favorite, only due to preferences.

Black Sesame Strawberry Cake.

"Three layers of vanilla chiffon, black sesame pastry cream, strawberries, roasted strawberries and whipped cream."

And lastly, the one I was most excited for, the black sesame strawberry cake!  I was excited for every single element of this.

It too was beautifully decorated, with gold shimmer for a touch a class, and brilliantly juicy strawberries that drew me in immediately.

Black Sesame Strawberry Cake: Inside.

The layers of this were expertly crafted as well: even layers of cake, plentiful black sesame cream and whipped cream, large hunks of berries embedded within.

The cake was essentially the same, light, the right style for this kind of cake, but not my preferred kind of cake.  The berries were perfectly ripe and vibrant.  Eating these made me lament a bit more than I missed out on the strawberry daifuku.  The whipped cream was fresh and not overly sweetened.  These are all simple elements, but, done exactly right.

And then of course, the black sesame pastry cream!  It reminded me of the black sesame mousseline from the black sesame banana cream pie, just a bit less firm, which makes sense for a cake filling compared to a pie filling that needed to retain structure for slices.  It was delightfully nutty, and a great combination with the berries.  So put it all together?  Yep, no edits really.  5/5 execution, 4.5/5 for my own enjoyment.

Original Review, December 2025

It is rare for me to really be impressed with a baked good or dessert these days.  I was spoiled by years of having an ex-Michelin star pastry chef creating nightly desserts for my group at work (and a succession of equally talented pastry chefs before/after that) and by having a couple years of doing extensive fine dining.  That is all in my past, but more recently, I've spent my last three summers in New York City, where I've made eating top notch pastries and baked goods a priority.  So most things I encounter in everyday life in San Francisco just don't really wow me.  Sure, there are some that stand out (e.g. yes, Arsicault), but most, even if good, I'm not like "ZOMG" about.

So I had no expectations when I recently attended a tea and dessert event featuring a popup vendor I'd never heard of: Jessica Little Fu.  Let me tell you: um, you should pay attention to this pastry chef.

Jessica Little Fu is a pastry chef and baking instructor, and hails from a background working at the Michelin starred restaurants State Bird Provisions and The Progress (and later, Stonehill Matcha).  She now sells at popups, and special orders from her website.  I know little else about her, besides that, well, she's crazy talented.  

"Today, I can be found at occasional pop ups around the bay area, working on passion projects and teaching what I have learned to baking enthusiasts. My pastries showcase California seasonal produce and often have a touch of Chinese pastry nostalgia."

She's sorta low profile, just doing her thing it seems.  Her work features a lot of Asian flavor profiles, but modern unique creations, with high level of mastery of technique.  She incorporates a lot creams, fruits, cakes, and flavored whipped creams.  Mmm, all things I love.

Our event had 6 items: 1 sheet cake, 2 types of pie, 2 kinds of panna cotta, and one individual sized cake/mousse.  I read through the menu with my eyes getting wider and wider.  I wanted them all.  As a first pass, I selected my top two choices, but when it was clear that there was plenty, and that most people were loading up platters and taking some home, I returned to get more.  In the end, I had 5 of the 6 items, and all were ... flawless?  To say I was impressed is an understatement.

Black Sesame Banana Cream Pie.

"A pie filled with layers of silky black sesame mousseline, malted milk sweet cream and bananas encased in a flaky pie crust with a thin layer of milk chocolate."

The one I went straight for, my first pick to try, was the black sesame banana cream pie.  I love banana cream pie.  I adore black sesame.  This sounded, well, perfect.  I loved that it came pre-sliced into 8 very large slices.  I also loved that other event attendees didn't seem inclined to try to cut them in pieces, so taking a full slice seemed appropriate.

Black Sesame Banana Cream Pie: Close up.

"Flaky butter pie shell brushed with milk chocolate and filled with black sesame mousseline, bananas and malted milk whipped cream."

The pie was a stunning 3 layers of bananas and black sesame mousseline, plus a very generous layer of the malted milk whipped cream, all sprinkled with some black sesame seeds.  I was impressed with the structural integrity as I took a slice.

The crust was everything I want in a crust: super crispy, super flaky, high butter, fantastic.  I suspect the light layer of milk chocolate lining it helped keep it crisp against the filling.  The crust alone had me impressed.

But this pie kept on giving.  It was loaded with bananas, fresh, ripe, not too mushy.  Very strong banana focus, as you can see visually as well.  The bananas were enrobed in the glorious black sesame mousseline.  It was creamy, rich, and sophisticatedly nutty.  As someone who grew up eating a lot of bananas with peanut butter as a snack, this immediately worked for me, and just felt like a grown up spin on a flavor profile that sparked comfort and nostalgia.  And then, the very generous layer of whipped cream on top, which was not just any old whipped cream, but, malted milk whipped cream.  It had just that extra touch of depth and again, sophistication, that felt both familiar and a bit upscale all at once.

Put it all together and you have a very unique and complex spin on what is otherwise a fairly basic nostalgic comfort food pie (banana cream) and childhood snack (nut butter on bananas), melded together into a showstopper.  There is literally nothing I'd suggest be done differently with this, the flavors, textures, and technique just all were top notch.  4.5/5, tied for first place for me in favorites.

Passion Fruit Mochi Mousse Cake.

"Mochi, passion fruit mousse, strawberry sauce, whipped cream and vanilla chiffon."

My second pick when honing in on selecting just two to try to start was the mochi mousse cake.  It was certainly the most unique looking, and I was fascinated by what it might be like inside as well.  The mochi blanket embracing it was so soft and pliable, and really quite pleasant to eat, just a subtle rice taste.

Passion Fruit Mochi Mousse Cake: Inside.

And then, within.  The base was a very light vanilla chiffon.  It was an uninteresting component of the desert, and I'd prefer some other kind of base, but there was nothing wrong with it, and its plainness did offset the intensity of the other elements.

The majority of this was a stunner, a sensational passion fruit mousse.  It was fluffy and creamy, fruity and tropical, slightly sweet and slightly tart, and studded with sooo many passion fruit seeds for lots of crunch.  It never seemed too heavy nor too sweet, and had just the right level of intensity, all from real passionfruit, no fake taste to it.  I adored the mousse.

The whipped cream was a minor component on top, and was nice to balance the mousse a little, but the mousse was so good I barely felt it needed it.  The strawberry sauce turned out to be just that dot on top, none within, so it added a sweet additional fruity burst, but then was gone. 

Overall, such a unique item, and it did all work together well, but I almost think I would have enjoyed it more if it was just mochi filled with passion fruit mousse.  Still, I devoured it, and would get another in a heartbeat. Strong 4/5, the passion fruit mousse though was an easy 5/5.  My second favorite item.

Chestnut Oolong Cake.

"Three layers of vanilla chiffon, Phoenix Honey Orchid oolong tea pastry cream, chestnut whipped cream."

After securing my top two choices, I moved on to take a look at the large format cake.  The cake looked slightly more homemade than professional (obviously by a talented home baker, but it didn't scream out professional at first glance), and at first I thought this might be a different source than the other items.  But then I saw the description, and saw how it fit right in.

While the cake and oolong components, and the less polished look of it didn't quite draw me in, the mention of chestnut is all it took for me to slice off a small piece, to at least give it a try.

Chestnut Oolong Cake: Close up.

The cake had three very equal layers of chiffon, and what seemed to be the same filling (albeit studded with chestnuts) and frosting.  I had somewhat expected the inside to be the oolong tea pastry cream, and outside to be the chestnut whipped cream.

I often comment on how chiffon cake is my least favorite style of cake (I may adore Asian flavors and desserts from around the world, but, American style dense butter cake is still my preferred cake, chiffon, sponge, genoise ... eh).  However this was moist and light as air, and really did seem appropriate with the delicate flavors of the oolong pastry cream.  This was actually the first bite of anything I had (before the previous items), and I was immediately impressed.

Then, the pastry cream / whipped cream.  Light and fluffy.  There was a mild hint of tea that lingered on the finish, but it was very mild, as you'd expect from oolong.  The filling within the layers of cake was studded with little bits of chestnut.  At first I thought they were red bean actually, as the taste and size of the bits immediately connected in my brain as red bean, but actually, this was the chestnut.  It was more ... nutty? Legume-like? than I expected.  It was quite savory, and the pastry cream/whipped cream wasn't very sweetened either, so this really was not a sweet dessert.

Overall this was my least favorite of the items I tried, as I prefer things a bit sweeter, I prefer non-chiffon cake, and I'm not excited about oolong, but it was still a very good cake.  4/5 on execution really.

Hojicha Dulcey Cream Pie.

"Cocoa cookie crumb crust filled with hojicha dulcey chocolate cremeux and caramel whipped cream."

In my initial priority stack rank of items to try, I had this near the middle of the pack, after the cake.  I adore dulcey chocolate, but I'm not really a tea lover (I don't mind it, just, not my top choice of flavor to go for), and the cocoa cookie crumb crust seemed less interesting than the elements of the other desserts.  I still was curious to try it though, given how successful everything else was, so when there was still a bunch of slices of this left, I broke the mold of taking full slices and actually cut one in half, so I could just try it, but not take a full slice (which, totally mangled it, alas).

The cocoa cookie crust was actually pretty good.  Crispy, compressed, deep cocoa flavor, slightly bitter in a good way.  It was a nice thickness to really taste the cocoa, but not too thick to easily break through with a fork.  But as I expected, it just wasn't all that exciting to me on its own (but, I also hate Oreos, so, consider that fact).  When you combined it with the  caramel whipped cream on top though ... brilliant!  There was no denying the fact that it was caramel, so sweet, so intense.  I loved it, and it did indeed go well with that crust, in a way that elevated both elements when consumed together.  I would be happy with just this crust and topping as a pie!

But there was more.  The main body of the pie was actually the hojicha dulcey chocolate cremeux.  Oh, wow.  For all the lack of intensity in the oolong pastry cream in the cake, this one had in spades.  The tea flavor was strong, and really kept drawing me back in.  It was bitter but tempered by the dulcey which gave a hint of caramely sweetness (and of course, it was balanced out with the crust/whip as well if you ate it all together).  The consistency of it was remarkable too - soooo smooth.  It was quite thick, far thicker than the passion fruit mousse, the oolong pastry cream, or the black sesame mousseline, yet velvety smooth.  It really was exceptional, and I found myself wanting more and more of it.

I ended up liking this quite a bit, and would have easily consumed a full slice (perhaps saving half for the next day).  I actually preferred the crust/whip as one dessert, and this cremeux as its own thing, as I felt the flavors were allowed to shine a bit more that way, but, such a surprise hit for me.  Shockingly tied for first place. 4.5/5.

Elderflower Panna Cotta.

"St Germaine panna cotta with fresh berries and passion fruit."

And finally, the last item I grabbed, a panna cotta.  This may come as a surprise that it was the last thing on my priority list, given that my blog has a label dedicated to pudding AND one exclusively for panna cotta, and I do love it, but, I actually just thought it was the least likely to impress compared to the more elaborate items.  Plus, the St. Germaine didn't draw me in.

It came topped with a few berries (raspberries, blueberries) and fresh passionfruit.  

The panna cotta was, as you may have guessed by now, executed flawlessly.  Well set.  Thick.  Rich.  Smooth.  Fresh cream taste, mildly sweet.  The vibrant fruit on top, particularly the passion fruit, offset the slight plainness of the base panna cotta.  As for the St. Germaine, I'll admit I didn't taste it.  But it really was a fantastic panna cotta nonetheless.  If I had one note it is that I would have preferred some additional flavoring, be it the St. Germaine or something like buttermilk, but still, this was very, very good.

This really was textbook execution of panna cotta, you can tell the pastry chef is a master of her craft from this simple dish alone.  4/5.  My third pick, only because the others were more interesting, but, yeah, flawless.

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Baked Goods from Baker & Banker

[ Original Posting: June 26, 2012 ]

At the end of our last trip to Baker & Banker, we were given some parting gifts of random leftover treats from the bakery.  I've been wanting to visit the bakery for a long time, as I love pretty much all baked goods and have heard some great things about theirs, so this was very welcome!  

I don't think I would have necessarily picked these particular items, but they were all really quite good!  We had just consumed a rather insane amount of dessert (the portion sizes on their desserts are a bit outrageous), so I only tried a few bites of each item that night to sample them before they got older, and finished the rest the next day.  It was kinda fun not knowing what any of the items were, since we didn't order them, and weren't given any descriptions!

All of the treats were all insanely decadent, so buttery, and so sugary.  I'm not sure any of them really classified as breakfast food, they were really truly more like desserts, but I really liked them!  I'll definitely be visiting the bakery sometime soon!

Almond Brioche Toast, Fig and Candied Ginger Scone, $3.25.

The scone was a very classic triangle scone, hard-style, and a little crumbly.  It had chunks of dried fig in it and was drizzled with pretty delicious sweet lemon icing.  This was decent, but not particularly noteworthy.  My least favorite of the bakery items, also the most traditional and least decadent and sweet.

Since we didn't order it, I had no idea what the toast-like thing was.  I had a few bites of it that night and thought it wasn't very good, and didn't seem to be holding up well at all.  It was kinda spongy and weird, and a little oily.  It seemed to be a very thick slice of bread, topped with some sort of mushy layer, and sliced almonds.  I assumed I'd just throw it out in the morning.

I did however look on their web site to try to determine what it was, and saw "almond brioche toast" as one of their offerings.  This was clearly it.  And then I read a slew of raving reviews about it, including one where someone mentioned warming it up in the toaster oven.  The next morning, I had a few bites of it cold, and like the night before, thought it was pretty gross.  Then … I put it into the toaster oven, and everything changed.

This thing became amazing.  Wowzer.  The bread crisped up nicely.  It was a buttery brioche with a flaky exterior crust, almost croissant-like.  Topped with a very generous layer of almond marzipan, which was sweet and had an incredible almond flavor.  So delicious.  Great flavors, and just really, really good.  So decadent, and a huge slice, but damn, it was really good.  Made for a great "breakfast" paired with nice bitter coffee!  (This falls into the same "breakfast" category as french toast ...).

But even better, was pairing it with peach foie gras mousse.  Yes, you read that correctly.  My parting gift from Chez TJ the night before was a tub of peach foie gras mousse.  I'd been spreading it on all sorts of things over the course of the day, trying all sorts of pairings, but hadn't really found anything that was working.  (The best I'd had was actually just eating the mousse by the spoonful!)  But, I thought, "warm buttery brioche … sounds like a great vehicle for foie to me!"  So … I tried it out, and it was awesome.  The buttery brioche went perfectly with the foie, and the peach and almond flavors worked together really well.  I can't even begin to imagine how incredibly unhealthy this was, but it was really quite delicious.  If you happen to somehow wind up with foie mousse and this toast at the same time, I recommend the pairing :)

The toast was my second favorite of the bakery items we received, and I'd order it again in a heartbeat, and definitely bring it home to warm it up. (Side note: thank you restaurants for sending me home with amazing treats!)

Apricot White Chocolate Pecan Scone, $3.25.  Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp Muffin, $3.50.

The scone, while it looked fairly similar to the fig scone, was a completely different style.  It was also a triangle shape, but was much softer, very biscuit-like.  In fact, I'd really call this a biscuit rather than a scone.  It was incredibly buttery.  Filled with chunks of apricot, white chocolate, and pecans, all of which were flavorful and tasty, and combined together really well.   Not sure I'd get it again as I'm just not that into scones, but it was pretty good, and I enjoyed it.  My third favorite of the baked goods.

The muffin was downright incredible.  I had no idea what to expect, just saw that it was a muffin with a streusel like topping.  What I discovered was one of the most amazing muffins I've ever had.  But let me just say, calling it a "muffin" isn't really accurate.  Yes, it was a muffin shape, but it was a cake.  Or really, a fruit crisp combined with a cake.  There is absolutely no way this thing should be classified as breakfast food.  It was dessert.  It was delicious.

Inside the "muffin"

The streusel top was almost exactly like the topping from the crisp we had the night before.  It was made up of oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Great flavors, and really crispy, which was a nice textural contrast with the cakey part.  Like the crisp, this was a substantial layer, almost too much.

The cake was super moist, but there was very little of it.  I didn't mind the ratio of cake-to-fruit-to-streusel, but it definitely had far less cake than I'd expect.  It was sweet, and was the final step in pushing this into the realm of dessert rather than breakfast.

The rest of the muffin was the strawberry-rhubarb filling.  It was sweet, but the sweetness level was dialed back a little compared to the crisp the night before, perhaps due the tartness of the rhubarb.  Like the crisp, the fruit was mushy, but it worked in this case, since it was part of the muffin, and you wouldn't want the fruit to be at all crispy.

This was my favorite of the baked goods, and I'd get this again any day.  I've really never had anything quite like it before.  I enjoyed it cold as it was, but it was even better when I warmed it up and just went all the way to dessert-vile and served it with ice cream.

---

I finally went back to the bakery to try a cookie.  I was being indecisive about which type to get, and the cashier recommended the chocolate chip, saying it was the best chocolate chip cookie ever.  I couldn't resist a recommendation like that!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie. $3.

This was a huge cookie.  I wish I had a reference point here to show the size.  It wasn't really my style of cookie at all - thin and crisp.  It did have nice big chunks of chocolate and a strong brown butter taste to it.  Ojan liked it more than I, although he thought the butter flavor was too strong.

---

[ Updated May 9, 2013 ]

To thank me for working on a feature for him at work, Emil promised to reward me with "something delicious".  I had no idea what to expect.  Would it be dessert?  Wine?

In fact, it was neither, but instead, baked goods.  It is almost like he knows the best way to bribe me!  I arrived at my desk one morning to find boxes upon boxes of baked goods.  I can do a number on a box of baked goods, but I think he mis-estimated the size of my stomach.  I still managed to try them all out, and of course found others to share them with.

Like last time, since these were a gift, I wasn't able to select the items I wanted most.  Thus, I've still yet to try some of their most amazing sounding and looking treats, specifically, the insane-o sticky buns.  Re-reading my last post however, I do want to go back to the bakery for that almost brioche toast again, and I look forward to some of their seasonal muffins as stone fruits in particular come into season.  This batch was all fun to try, but there weren't any homeruns.

Pecan and Walnut Streusel Muffin, $3.50.

This wasn’t a muffin I’d ever pick.  I like fruit in my muffins, or more complicated, hearty bases like cornmeal or bran.  This was basically just a plain muffin with some chopped nuts in it.  With streusel topping of course :)

Like the other muffins I've had from Baker & Banker, it was again fairly moist.  The streusel on top was the same as the others, crispy, fun to break off into pieces, and it had nice flavor from the oats and brown sugar, but it was a bit hard and burnt.

Overall, the muffin was just kinda boring; it really needed fruit or additional flavoring.  It was much better warmed up.

And like all of their muffins, it was a giant size.

Would not get again.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Streusel Muffin. $3.50.

I've heard that this is their most popular muffin, so I was eager to try it out.  Plus, it looked similar to the amazing strawberry rhubarb streusel muffin I'd loved last time.  I dove into it first.

Alas, it was clearly a different recipe.  It was still very moist, particularly from the pockets of cream cheese, but didn’t have nearly enough blueberries for my taste.  One thing that made the strawberry rhubarb one so spectacular was that it was just bursting with fruit, and this one really had only a few berries.

The streusel on top was, like the nut one I had in this batch, hard and a bit burnt.  The parts that weren’t burnt had really good flavor, I think from brown sugar.  It was still a good muffin, just nothing like the previous one I’d had!

Since I had so many of these, I tried to keep one overnight.  It didn't keep well at all.  Even when re-warmed, it just tasted stale.  The cream cheese chunks kept it moist, but it didn't work out very well overall.  The crisp on top was still tasty.

I'd consider getting this again, if only to see if perhaps this batch and its lack of plentiful blueberries was a fluke.  This muffin *should* have been great!

Apricot White Chocolate Pecan Scone.  $3.25.

I had this one last time as well.  It seemed pretty similar, a large, crumbly scone.  I didn't love it last time, but I recalled the flavors being pretty good.  This time, it just did not have much flavor. The dried apricot was just tough little chunks, I didn’t actually find any white chocolate.  There wasn’t much other flavor.  I tried warming it up, but it was actually worse that way.

Would not get again.

Parmesan and Pink Peppercorn Scone. $3.25.

This was the first savory baked good I had from Baker and Banker.

Unlike the sweet scones, it was round rather than triangular, and very crumbly.  I'd likely call it a biscuit rather than a scone, although, I guess I don't really know the technical difference.

It did indeed have some pepper on the finish, but it was not that cheesy.  It wasn’t bad, but I felt like it needed … something.  Perhaps some additional flavor (rosemary?), some kind of topping (since it was very biscuit like, gravy?), or even better,  turned into a breakfast sandwich with an egg inside.  But alone, it didn’t quite have enough oomph for me.  It was tastier when warmed up, as the cheese melted a bit.

[ No Photo ]

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie. $3.

And, another monster cookie.  Even though I didn't like it last time, I tried it again anyway.  Seriously, I'm incapable of resisting baked goods, even when I'm pretty sure I won't like them!

It was slightly less crispy this time, but still very thin, and just not my type of cookie.  I like gooey cookies.  It was again absolutely loaded up with huge chocolate chunks, and had a very strong brown butter taste.  I totally understand how this cookie has its place, and see how people would love it, but it just isn't for me.

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Jane the Bakery

In 2011, a new cafe opened in Pacific Heights, right on Fillmore St.   I couldn't wait to visit, even though not a convenient location for me.   Knowing me, you likely suspect they had some epic dessert on the menu, or amazing baked goods, but actually, my reason for seeking it out had nothing to do with food.  I know, shocker!  It was actually for the coffee I made my first venture, and more specifically, for a barista that I knew from his previous post, who was now working at Jane.  His obsession with quality and brewing techniques produced some of the best cups of coffee I've ever had, and with Jane offering up a variety of brewing methods, I knew I was in for a treat.

Fast forward a bit.  I went to Jane several times during that first year, always for the coffee, but I remember enjoying some treats as well.  The cafe seemed to flourish, with looong lines, and raving reviews about everything from the coffee to the savory lunch items to the baked goods.  Success was fast, and a second location opened two years later.  And 3 years after that?  A full bakery opened as well.  

"At Jane we bake everything in house - pastries, breads, cookies - if it's baked we bake it. Everything is baked fresh each day."

Let's just say Jane takes the bakery program seriously, with a separate head baker for each specialty (bread, pastry, viennoiserie).  And their products are good.  Very, very good.

At this point, you may suspect that the owner, founder, a baker, someone was named Jane.  The best I can tell, um, no Jane was involved.  I don't understand the name, but I know it stands for quality.

Pastry Boxes.

I got to know Jane very well a few years after those initial visits, when a group in my office added Jane to their regular catering rotation.  Every third week or so, we'd get HUGE boxes of items from Jane.  Boxes and boxes of them, filled to the brim.  Let's just say, over the years, I have had the chance to try nearly every item on Jane's bakery menu.  

Spoiler: some of these are definitely worth going out of your way for.  And if you ever spot a Jane box in your office ... RUN towards it, as fast as you can.

Large Assorted Pastries. $85.

"4 each: cinnamon roll, fruit muffin, bran muffin, citrus brioche, banana bread, chocolate chip coffee cake."

We always had a huge lineup, including assorted muffins (with a separate box of vegan,  gluten-free  offerings), banana bread, coffee cake, brioche, and of course, cinnamon rolls.

Jane also makes scones, croissants, danishes, morning buns, oat cakes, tea cakes, and biscuits, which we often had as well. 

I ... tried everything in this box, and subsequent ones.  And, for the most part, I really liked it all.  The kouign amann are among the best I've ever had, the healthy birdseed muffins and breakfast cookies became my surprise favorites, and the muesli I'm more than willing to go out of my way for.  The muffins, scones, croissants, twists, cakes, etc are always interesting, and a unique aspect is that while the items don't always look, nor sound, particularly remarkable, they all have really nicely done bases, and texture contrasts between the interior and exterior that I really appreciate.  They are items that "eat well" if you know what I mean.  

Even though I got Jane goodies regularly for years, I never grew sick of them, as seasonal offerings kept constant new additions to the lineup.

Muffins

Jane makes a wide variety of muffins, including seasonal fruit muffins (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, cranberry, or mixed berry), hearty muffins, and even vegan, gluten-free options.

I've tried many (yes, even the vegan/gf ones), and was pleased with nearly all of them.

Raspberry Muffin. $4.

Jane always has a fruit muffin on the menu, but it changes with the seasons.  You never know what kind of muffin it is, as they always look the same on the outside, dusted with plenty of powdered sugar.  The first one I tried was raspberry, 

The raspberry muffin was not much of a looker, besides that it was quite large.  No visible fruit on top, and even once I cut into it, I didn't really see fruit.  To be honest, it wasn't a particularly "fruit forward" muffin.

But it was a good muffin.  The top was really crispy in an awesome way, I appreciated the powdered sugar on top, and the base muffin flavor was quite good, even if it had minimal raspberry.

After taking just a slice to try it, I quickly claimed the rest of the muffin.

****.

Cranberry Muffin. $4. (June)

Another morning I eagerly grabbed a whole muffin, after learning that they were good last time.  The muffin looked to be bursting with fruit, I suspected blueberry or other seasonal summer berry (as it was June), but ... it turned out to be cranberry.  Doh.  Not my fav.

The muffin was still good form - crispy top, very moist inside, sweet flavor to the insides, and loaded with juicy berries, but, cranberries are not really what I like.

***+.

Blueberry Muffin. $4. (July)

I never know which variety the muffin will be, until I dig in, as they are never labelled, and never have visible fruit.

As always, the top was crispy, I liked the powdered sugar, and the base flavor was lovely, a slight tang, and very moist and fluffy.  It was certainly a sweet muffin though, almost more trending towards cake, particularly with the additional powdered sugar on top, so it sweet muffins aren't quite your thing, this might not be for you.

Blueberry Muffin: Side Profile.

And what was in it?  

Blueberries.  Juicy little pops, but, like many of the Jane muffins, not really loaded down in berries.  I would like more fruit, but, the fruit that was there is good.

***+.

Blueberry Muffin (August 2019).

I had a blueberry muffin again few weeks later, and loved it just as much, if not more, as before. 

Fabulous crispy top, light moist base with complex flavor, and of course, berries.  I could imagine pairing with fresh berries, and ice cream or whipped cream to easily transform into a dessert item. ****.

Update (September 2019): I had another, and again just loved it.  The flavor to the base, and the crispy top, really set this apart. ****.

Update (November 2019):  Again.  <3.  This is such a great, sweet, fluffy, moist, muffin. ****.

Update (Jan 2020): I think the allure of these is fading.  Still moist, still fluffy, but the flavor isn't very compelling nor complex.  ***.

Update (Feb 2020); Yeah, I'm over these.  They are good, but, not quite what I want for breakfast, if I want sweet, I prefer the iced cinnamon roll, and if I want hearty, I adore the birdseed muffin.  They are good for dessert later in the day, with ice cream or whipped cream, but, I find they don't hold up as well as I expect. ***.

Birdseed Bran Muffin $4.

Eventually, I moved on from the sugar coated fruit muffins, and I tried the "birdseed bran" a smaller, less lofty, far healthier looking muffin.  I'll admit that I was skeptical on this one.

But I really liked it too!  A dense, hearty muffin, nice bran flavor and texture, and a sweetness that clearly came from something other than just sugar ... molasses?  The oats and seeds on top added tons of crunch and interest.

Birdseed Bran Muffin: Inside.

Inside was dried fruit - raisins, both golden and regular, and I believe dried apricot.  The dried fruit was all quite plump, and I liked the texture and sweetness it added.  Yup, I even appreciated the raisins!

I don't always go for the less sweet, heartier muffins, but I enjoyed this quite a bit.  I think it would be great warmed with some jam or butter too, but it was good enough just at room temp.  One of the best healthier muffins I've ever had.

****.

Birdseed Bran Muffin #2.

I'm really glad I discovered these muffins.  Everyone else seems to reject them, always the last to remain, always plenty left even at the end of the day.  I'm happy to take the rejected muffins, as I know just how they good they are.

And, I do enjoy the hearty muffin from time to time.  Warmed up with a touch of butter, they go nicely with a cup of coffee in the morning, on the rare days I'm not craving sweets.  A dollop of jam can accent the dried fruit inside, but isn't needed.  I've also had one sliced and served cold alongside a salad, and it really helped augment the meal.

I'm always happy to take these! ****.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Banana Blueberry Muffin.

After many months of adoring Jane muffins, I finally tried a vegan, gluten-free muffin.

I waited until these were clearly just the rejects, as I am not vegan, gluten-free, nor do I like banana baked goods, so this was not a particularly compelling muffin for me.  These had a very different look from the regular muffins, with pearl sugar replacing the powdered sugar, and big juicy blueberries visible on top

It ... was probably ok, if you like banana.  Which does not describe me.  For me, the banana was far too pronounced, although I'm sure it added moisture.  At least this was not a dry, cardboard-like gluten-free muffin.  The texture wasn't bad, although it did not compare to the regular fruit muffin.

The blueberries were as good as they looked, juicy, lovely pops of flavor, but, the banana just dominated this one too much for me.

**+.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Banana Raspberry Muffin.

I'm not sure why I tried another variety, the next month, featuring raspberry.  I think I like Jane's regular fruit muffins so much I still wanted to give them hope.

But ... again, it tasted like banana.  I don't like banana.  And it was pretty dry.  Did not like anything about it.

**.

Vegan GF Pumpkin Muffin.

When I grabbed this, I thought it was my favorite birdseed muffin, given the pumpkin seeds on top.  I wondered why it was in the special gluten-free box ...

But it turned out to be a vegan, gluten-free, pumpkin muffin.  Not what I was going for, but I still tried a chunk before handing off to a gluten-free friend.

I loved the pumpkin seeds on top, and the muffin was actually pretty good.  It was clearly not a normal muffin ... it was dense, almost like a bran muffin, except that, well, it wasn't bran.  Slight pumpkin flavor.  Crispy top that I liked, not moist exactly, but, not dry.

Overall, a nicely done muffin, and if I didn't have other things (e.g. a kouign amann!) right there, I certainly would finish it.

***.

Poppyseed Muffin (2024).

I got this muffin at an event, where I saw the box of pastries was from Jane the Bakery, and immediately dove for a muffin, not knowing what kind it was exactly.  It looked from a distance like the birdseed muffin that I enjoy so much, but it didn't turn out to be.  Nor was it their regular seasonal fruit muffin.  Instead, it was poppyseed.  Very poppyseed, tons of seeds throughout that added great crunch.  I think I may have detected some almond extract, but I'm not sure if that was just my mind playing tricks on me, as I associate both with poppyseed muffins.  It was a nicely moist muffin, with a lightly crispy almost-struesel top.  Sweet but not too sweet.  

A good muffin, but you need to be really in the mood for poppyseed, which I wasn't really at the time.  ***.

Breakfast Buns / Cakes

Next up, other morning appropriate items, like cinnamon rolls, morning buns, and coffee cakes.  The kind of items that you feel a bit guilty grabbing at 8am as the first thing you eat in a day, but make for a perfect treat around 10am with an additional cup of coffee ... 

These items tend to go fast, clearly they call out to my coworkers as the perfect grabbable treats as they dash between meetings.

Cinnamon Roll.

I started with the item that, looks aside, was most likely to be up my alley: a cinnamon roll.

The cinnamon roll didn't actually look very special.  The glaze looked a bit hard, as did the entire thing, really.

But it was quite good, I ended up liking the crisp exterior, and inside was perfectly moist.  The cinnamon-sugar filling was noticeable but not too spiced, and the sweet glaze complimented everything well.

Overall, a very good cinnamon roll, and I wished I had time to warm it up, as I'm sure it would be even better that way.

***+.

Cinnamon Roll #2.

So, when another box of pastries with cinnamon rolls showed up, I decided to do just that.

It was, as I suspected, even better warmed up, and even better when topped with a scoop of coconut gelato, candied pecans, and drizzled with salted caramel.  Yes, I made myself a fabulous dessert from this!

***+.

Cinnamon Roll #3.

I had another the *next* time they arrived, and did warm it up, but found it not as exciting.  I still liked the glaze, but the base itself was more boring than I remembered.

I've had these again several times since, and the glaze really is my favorite part.  It is, the, uh, "icing on the cake"?

And some days, a big chunk of this, with plenty of icing, is just a lovely treat.  ***.

Citrus Morning Bun.

The morning bun was ... boring in comparison.  The dough didn't have any particular loftiness, there wasn't much flavor to it, and it just seemed kinda dry.

Well coated in cinnamon and sugar though.

I would not get this again.

Update: I tried another batch, when there was an abundance and someone cut a few up, and ... yeah.  Very much not my thing, just kinda dry and boring.

**.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake.

Then it was time to try the coffee cake, never my first choice, but I did have a cup of coffee in my hand ... what choice did I have, but try the breakfast cake?

Jane makes several coffee cakes: plain, fruit, cinnamon streusel, or, as we had, chocolate chip.  The slices are ... generous to say the least.

Much like the cinnamon roll, I wasn't that impressed by the outward appearance of it.  Sure, it had lots of chocolate chips and tons of powdered sugar on top, but it looked like ... well, I guess just kinda boring coffee cake?

But like nearly every item, it was the textures and contrasts that drew me in once I tried a small slice.  I went back to claim a full slice soon after.

The top was crisp, the inside moist.  The streusel and chocolate combination on top was a good one.  The base flavor was good, not quite plain.

Overall, a really quite good slice of coffee cake.  I'm curious to try the fruit versions as well. ****.

Update: I tried this again another time, and wasn't quite as into it.  I did like the chocolate chips on top, but the base was more boring than I remembered. ***.

Blueberry Coffee Cake.

This was a unique coffee cake.  Really, I'd just call it a crumble cake.  Moist, lemon blueberry cake base, much like a muffin, sweeter style than normal for breakfast, but not quite decadent dessert cake.  No spicing to it like a coffee cake, but the lemon was strong, and the blueberries abundant and juicy.   It was also an entirely different form compared to the sliced chocolate chip version.

As I don't care for lemon, the lemon ruined this for me, but I did like the crumble top, and the berries. ***.

Croissant Base: Croissants, Danishes, Tarts, Kouign Amann

Jane's lineup of croissant products is quite extensive, and are well regarded among those who rate "the best" croissants in the city.  All use traditional laminated croissant dough, but they come filled with many things.  Jane makes the standard offerings of chocolate, twice-baked almond, and ham & cheese croissants, but they also have a Louisiana hotlink croissant if ham & cheese is a bit boring, a buckwheat chocolate croissant to jazz up the standard chocolate croissant, a buckwheat almond croissant to up the ante on the regular almond croissant, etc, and then a slew of fascinating savory options, like a "brunch croissant" with a fried egg on top, and a smoked salmon and everything spice version.  Seriously, the croissant line up is pretty impressive.

In addition to croissants, Jane offers danishes, tarts, twists, and kouign amann, all of which use the same croissant pastry base.  I've tried many of these.

This is where Jane's goodies really shine, in both quality and uniqueness, particularly of some of the unexpected savory items.

Traditional Croissant. $3.50.

The traditional croissant is a fairly standard execution, flaky messy exterior, moist, well laminated layered interior.  Not particularly outstanding, but certainly not bad.

***.

Almond Twice Baked Croissant. $5.

Next up, the almond twice baked croissant.

I have this problem with twice baked almond croissants.  I always think I like them, and then ... rarely do.  I need to get it out of my head that I like these.

I think it was a fine pastry, exactly as intended.  Topped with frangipane and sliced almonds, powdered sugar, crispy on top and crispy on the edges, as it was twice baked.  Kinda spongy inside, but generously filled with frangipane.

I've realized I just don't like the twice baked style though, so this isn't Jane's fault, it is mine.

**+.

Ham & Cheese Croissant.

I moved on to the fairly standard ham & cheese croissant, the perfect pairing alongside a light salad for a lunch.

The croissant was decent, like the others, flaky enough (e.g. messy), and was quite sizable.  The herbs on top added a further savory element.

Ham & Cheese Croissant: Inside.

The inside was the interesting part, well filled.  Seemingly decent quality ham, and I could taste both it and the cheese easily.

A decent ham & cheese croissant, but not particularly remarkable.

***.

Spinach & Feta Scroll. $5.

I moved on to more creative offerings, like the Spinach & Feta.

This one certainly looked exciting, although I knew that savory pastries and danishes aren't usually my favorite, I didn't know what this one was when I tried it.  I was drawn in by the scroll design.

It turned out to be filled with spinach and feta, which, was a pretty big strike for me, as I don't really care for feta.  Ooops.

I liked the sprinkle of sesame seeds on top, it was nicely made, but, not for me.  My partner loves these.

** for me, ***+ from him.

Savory Vegetable Flat. $4.

The savory vegetable flat was very lovely, but I didn't try it, knowing it was unlikely to be for me.  Kudos to Jane on the presentation though.

Seasonal Special: Cranberry Mascarpone (?). January 2020.

I moved on to sweet options.

I took this one with NO CLUE what it was, but, it was a new shape, and certainly looked like a sweet danish, so I was eager to try.

The pastry was similar to the croissants and savory danishes I had tried - good quality, layered, nicely laminated, crispy.  Not the best I've ever had, but solid.

I liked the icing drizzle too, sweet and satisfying.

Seasonal Cranberry Mascarpone (?): Inside.

But of course, I cared about the fillings.  I could see a berry filling, that turned out to be a generous amount of cranberry compote.  It was tart, but sweet, and a lovely seasonal offering.

The sweet fruit was balanced nicely by the layer under it - it seemed to be mascarpone perhaps?  It might have just been a cream cheese custard, but the flavor seemed more unique.

I really liked both fillings, and they complimented each other nicely.

Overall, a nice pastry.  Not something I'd go seeking out in particular, but quite satisfying.

***+.

Seasonal Twist: Vietnamese Coffee. $5.

This one was a looker as well!  I had no idea what kind it was, just labelled "seasonal twist", but it turned out to be Vietnamese Coffee, twirls of croissant dough wrapped with a cold brew filling, complete with bits of coffee beans for crunch, and topped with pearl sugar.

Not being one for coffee flavored items (I really like coffee, just not coffee flavored things, not really sure why), I handed this off to a friend once I identified the flavor (not chocolate or black sesame as I hoped!), but it was a fairly stunning item.

***.

Seasonal Twist: Olive Tapenade (November 2019). $5.

Uh ... this one took me by surprise.  I thought it was a sweet item.  It was not.  It was savory.

Imagine my surprise when I bit in to something that I thought was chocolate, cherry, and pistachio, to find ... olives and olive tapenade.  Doh.

The pastry was flaky and decent, but it is hard for me to really give this a ringing endorsement, as I really don't care for the strong taste of olives, particularly when it was so unexpected.  But if you like olives ...

**+.

Seasonal Twist: Passionfruit Chocolate Popcorn? (December 2019). $5.

Another month, another ridiculous seasonal twist, and another one I had no idea what it was when I grabbed it.  All I knew is that I saw caramel corn on top (YES!!!) and what were clearly little chocolate pearls, so at least I knew it was certainly a sweet option.  It also turned out to be a total surprise ... uh, it was passionfruit!

I did love the sticky, sweet caramel corn, and of course, I snatched up all the extra caramel corn in the box that fell off the others.  I appreciated the chocolate, and the slight crunch from the crispearls.

Underlying all that though was kinda mediocre croissant pastry, and ... yeah, passionfruit goo.  Chocolate and passionfruit were a really odd combo for me, and the caramel corn made no sense with it either.

I warmed it up and enjoyed the pastry more than way, but I certainly wouldn't get this again.

*** for uniqueness?

Meyer Lemon Poppy Turnover. (February 2020).

"Layers of pastry filled with Meyer Lemon Marmalade and topped with Poppy Seeds."

Yes, yes, I don't like lemon pastries, but this was a new item, and I like to try #allTheThings.  Plus, someone cut one open, so I didn't need to feel wasteful, just taking a small chunk.

The turnover exterior was good, flaky, buttery, above average, better than the croissants.  I did actually really like the crunch from the poppy seed crust.

Meyer Lemon Poppy Turnover: Inside.

And inside, yup, the part I didn't care for, the meyer lemon marmalade, which I liked more than a lemon curd for sure, but was still more citrusy than I prefer.

A unique, well done item, for citrus lovers.

***.

Kouign Amann. $4.

And then ... behold, the mighty kouign amann.  These are also formed from the same base croissant dough, and then ... just transformed into the king of all pastries.  Imho.

I was excited, but still cautious, as I dove in for one of these.  I adore a good kouign amann, but sometimes ... they just slightly disappoint.

This was a good kouign amann.  A very good kouign amann.

The exterior was perfectly flaky and messy, in all the right ways.  Well laminated moist layers within.  Crispy pearl sugar on top.

Kouign Amann: Bottom.

But the beauty of course lay in the caramelization of the base.  Here you can see the bottom, just ... as caramelized as it gets!

This was truly a fabulous kouign amann, and I place only b. Patisserie above it in my rankings.

****+.

Kouign Amann (August 2019).

I got a chance to have another a few months later, and even though I went into it with high expectations, it was just as good as the first.

So crispy and caramelized, it looked quite dark, a few moments longer and it would have been burnt, but it wasn't, it was just caramelized goodness.

Jane has nailed these.

****+.

Kouign Amann: Bottom (August 2019).

I mean, really.  Look at the bottom of this thing.  Perfection.

Kouign Amann (September 2019).

Another month, another perfect kouign amann.

I mean really.  The caramelization.  The flaky layers.  A++.

****+.

Seasonal Kouign Amann: Kumquat Pecan (February 2020).

Um.  Jane's Kouign Amann are already life changing.  And I adore pecans.  So when I saw the pecan on top of this I was already drawn in, but realizing it was stuffed with kumquat nearly made me exclaim with glee.  I had no idea how this would possibly work, but, I was in.

The pastry, as expected, was just insane.  Buttery, sugary, caramelized, flaky, decadent, top notch.  Seriously.  So so very unhealthy, and so very very well done.  And yes, I loved the sugared pecan on top.  Because, you know, a pastry with a fully caramelized bottom, that is coated in sugar on top, clearly *needs* more sugar elements.

 Kumquat Pecan Kouign Amann : Half Section.

And then inside, a fascinating pecan kumquat marmalade like substance.  A bit hard to describe, but, basically tons of cooked down kumquat and chunks of pecan, in a jam-like base.  I kinda loved it, but I kinda didn't like it at the same time.  I liked the kumquat, and I loved the pecan, but it didn't feel quite right inside my kouign amann.  It almost detracted from the glory that was the flaky caramelized layers, and didn't seem to compliment it that well.

I ended up eating the kouign amann around it, and then eating the filling with some ice cream later, and enjoyed it that way, but, I wouldn't want this filling again given a choice.

***+.

Brioche

The brioches are equally impressive as the croissant based items, offered in a huge range, savory and sweet, and often seasonal.

Don't get me started on how much I want to try the salted caramel twist or matcha knot ... but alas, our boxes have never contained these.  Still, I've tried many, many of the brioches, although they tend to look better than they taste.

Citrus Brioche. $4.50.

The first brioche I tried was the citrus brioche, which I didn't know what it was until I read the label on the box.

Well, it looked great, but, I don't tend to like citrus baked goods.

This was actually good, but, the citrus aspect of it, as I expected, wasn't quite for me.  But the item itself was unique, again, crispy exterior, although a bit gooey too from moist sugar, with folds of more moist sweetness (citrus flavored), and a slightly caramelized exterior.  As with all the other items, I found the base flavor good, and I liked the crispy, sticky, sweet combo.   I just wish it didn't taste like citrus.

**+.

Update: I did try a chunk anther time when they showed up, and, knowing it was citrus, I was able to appreciate it much more.  I still would prefer that it not have the citrus, but the crispy caramelized exterior was fabulous, and I almost appreciated the soft citrus insides.

***.

Seasonal Brioche (November 2019).

This was a seasonal item in November, and I'm not quite sure what name Jane has given it, but it was the same signature brioche roll, same shape and style as the citrus, with a plain base.  A bit dry for me, and not particularly special.

Between the rolls was what seemed to be a pumpkin seed spread, and it was garnished with more pumpkin seeds and icing.

I enjoyed the very top, with all the sweet icing and pumpkin seeds, but the rest, like most of the brioche rolls, was just a bit too ... boring.

**+.

Raspberry Brioche.

The next brioche I tried was an entirely different looking item.  It was labelled, so I knew it was a brioche, otherwise I would have never realized it from looks alone.

This was the seasonal raspberry brioche, a brioche round, filled with pastry cream, raspberry jam, fresh glazed raspberries, raspberry powder, and lemon zest, with a ring of streusel around the edges, and a dusting of superfine powdered sugar over it all.

Um, yeah, that is a lot to take in, and I loved the attention to detail this item had.  You got the light fluffy brioche dough, the creamy pastry cream in the center, the raspberry 3 ways (fresh glazed, jam, powder), the balance of the tiny hit of lemon zest, the crunchy streusel ... it had nearly everything.

That said, I found this item only ok.  The brioche was fine, the streusel was crisp and sweet and enjoyable, the fruit was fresh and sweet but ... I somehow wanted it to add up to more than it was.  I found myself actually just wanting more of everything - more cream! More streusel! More fruit!  I think the having it all approach actually took away slightly for me.

Still good, but not my favorite.

***.

Raspberry Brioche (September 2019).

I tried it again a month later, again drawn in by the beauty.

I again liked the crunch from the streusel.  But everything else just fell short.  A boring item, which makes no sense, given the complexity.

***.

Raspberry Brioche (January 2020).

I tried one more time, again drawn in by the looks, but, besides the juicy berries in the center (which I really do love!), this item just isn't for me.

**+.

Nutella Filled Brioche.

Next up, another brioche, and another one that looked entirely different.

At first glance, it kinda looked like a muffin or coffee cake, but luckily it was labelled so I knew it was not only a brioche base, but also that it had Nutella hiding inside.  On top was a full cap of the same streusel and powdered sugar that the fruit brioche had around the edges.

This was my favorite brioche - the larger brioche form factor allowed the light fluffy brioche to shine, and I liked ripping off pieces of it.  So much lighter than a muffin, which is what you want sometime, but more exciting than just a slice of brioche.   It reminded me a little of panettone.  At least to me.

I adored the streusel, crispy, sweet, fabulous, and since the entire thing was coated with it, I was able to enjoy it more.  I liked the contrast of the brioche itself and the crispy top.

And inside, a generous portion of soft Nutella.  Classic Nutella, which is never the most exciting thing to me, but is nice alongside coffee in the morning.

****.

Update: I had another a few weeks later, and was less into it.  The brioche was just ... light fluffy bread, and I was in "eh, I don't like Nutella" mode, so that wasn't interesting to me either. ***.

Perfect Brioche Bite.

Of course, I'm not one to settle for a pastry without whipped cream, so I set about acquiring some whipped cream to really create my "perfect bite" - brioche, Nutella, whip.

This was better, 'natch. ***+.

Seasonal Brioche (December 2019).

Another month, the seasonal brioche was kinda crazy looking, so ... against my better judgement, just given how blah I find these in general, I still tried it.

The dough was again light, fluffy and bo-ring.  The few bits of blackberry didn't really help much to liven it up.

Note to self: it doesn't matter what they look like, you aren't into brioches :)

**+.

Scones

Jane makes a savory and a sweet scone at all times, rotating with the seasons.  Sometimes they are square, sometimes triangle, but always a harder style, not soft biscuits.

The scones I've tried are all fine, above average, but aren't really signature, go-to items.

Sweet Scone: Currant. $3.50.

The seasonal sweet scone the first time I had a chance to try one was ... currant.  Boo.  I dislike raisins and currants for the most part.  Alas, it was winter, not berry season, so, currants it was.

The scone was decent, a crumbly texture, a bit of tang to the base, but not much.  I actually prefer a buttermilk base scone, just so the base is more interesting.  The currants were well distributed, and there weren't too many, so they didn't take over, but did at least provide something quasi-interesting inside, and they weren't too hard, but still ... not my thing.

I loved the generous pearl sugar on top, and these were perfectly cooked, not a burnt edge in sight (soooo often the edges of scones, even from reputable bakeries, are burnt!).

Overall, certainly above average, just not a variety I was excited about.  I spread it generously with clotted cream and jam, and appreciated it much more that way.

***.

I never got to try the citrus scone that came next.

Savory Scone: Cheddar Togarashi. $3.50.

The savory one looked even more exciting.

I took it, not knowing what kind it was, but assuming it was savory, and spying what looked like one of my favorite things: furikake on top!

It turned out to be togarashi, spicy with a kick!  A bit of legit heat to it, in addition to the sesame seeds and seaweed.  Flavorful topping, no question.

The scone itself was savory, cheddar, cheesy but not overwhelming, and studded with spicy togarashi as well.  More kick.  It was a crumbly harder style much like the sweet scone.

Overall this was good, fine for something different, but I prefer Jane's savory biscuit to the savory scone (keep reading!).

***.

Savory Olive (?) Scone (Feb 2020).

Next up, another savory version.  These seemed to be ... olive?  Fine, but not really great.  Not flavors I go for.  I'd love to catch the mushroom gruyere when it is offered again.

**+.

Tea Cakes / Breads

Jane makes all the standard tea cakes (banana, lemon, pumpkin, carrot), plus a gluten-free banana version.  Not generally my thing, so it took me a long time to try them, but I'm glad I finally did.

Banana Bread. $4.

The regular banana bread was ... well, banana bread.

Super thick slices, moist.  But, banana bread is just not something I love anymore (which is sad, I used to love it, I grew up eating it warm with butter or cream cheese melting in, and always really liked it.  And some of my favorite San Francisco brunch memories are of the warn banana bread and cream cheese topping at Universal Cafe ... ).

But these days, just not for me, but I admit this was a quality banana bread.

***.

Gluten Free Banana Bread. $4.

I did try a tiny bite of the gluten-free one as well, and it was actually a bit better than the regular, even more moist.  So if banana bread is your thing and you are gluten-free, this could be for you!

One of my gluten-free colleagues adores this.

***+.

Carrot Bread. $4.

The carrot bread was a nice surprise.

Again, huge, thick slices, quite moist.

It was loaded with shredded carrot for extra moisture, and plenty of nuts to ensure crunch in every bite.  It was sweet, and honestly, was just like carrot cake .... without cream cheese frosting.

It was flavorful enough to eat just as it was, but it also transformed perfectly into carrot cake, when I created a topping of cream cheese mixed with whipped cream - cream cheese frosting in a pinch!

****+.

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Blueberry Pound Cake

After actually liking the other cakes, and after I had a really good blueberry pound cake from elsewhere a few days prior, and so I was drawn in immediately when I saw the blueberry pound cake, even though in general, pound cakes are not my thing.

It was rich, the berries were fine, but, yeah, it was still pound cake ...  still not for me.

***.

Other

Jane makes a slew of other fabulous items, that I'm just calling, um, "other".

Cheddar & Chive Biscuit.

This was a very solid (as in good, not too hard!) biscuit.

Good crumb to it, slight tang to the base, and really quite savory, loaded with plenty of herbs, and plenty of cheese.  

Flavorful enough to just nibble on on its own, but I think it would make an awesome base for a breakfast sandwich with sausage and egg inside, and would be great with gravy ...

***+.

Gluten Free Honey Hemp Bar. $4.

This sorta looked like a healthy granola bar, so I tried to cut off a chunk to try it.  I couldn't.  Literally, I could not cut it.  It was rock solid.  Seriously, rock solid.  Not even a real knife could get through this thing.

So I took a full one, and tried to bite it.  Um, rock solid!  I was worried for my teeth.

It also didn't really seem very sweet (where was that promised honey?) and didn't please me in any way.

This was a real fail for me.

*.

Cookie. (November 2019).

One day, there were cookies in our breakfast assortment.  Cookies.  For breakfast.

I was not opposed.

And honestly, this *was* fitting for a breakfast cookie.  It seemed to be the cookie version of the birdseed muffin, studded with pumpkin seeds and bits of dried fruit, apricot in particular.  It was not a very sweet cookie, nor a very soft cookie, and would never satisfy me for a "real" dessert or treat, but, for a breakfast item, it actually totally worked.  Kinda like a harder, thinner, scone?

I found myself craving these for breakfast, perfect alongside a coffee, and have gotten them many times since that initial discovery, and I enjoy them every time.

****, and a really unique item I didn't even know I needed in my life!

Tomato and Cheddar Quiche.  $6/slice.

Yes, quiche.

I'm definitely not a quiche girl, at all, so I didn't try the quiche itself (it looked lovely, cheese layer was legit!), but I tried the crust.  Because, after all, I do love good pastry!

It was very good crust ... for a quiche.  Quality pie crust, just not sweet like a dessert pie.  If only I liked quiche, Jane makes a variety of flavors, and I think I would likely enjoy it.

**** for the crust only ...

Super Berry Muesli.

"Steel cut oats, cashews, almond meal, flax seed meal, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, millet, chia seeds, salt, cinnamon, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, barberries, goji berries, mulberries."

Jane makes muesli, normally part of their catering setup with yogurt and fresh fruit, or available as a component in their chia pudding parfait in the cafe.  I was thrilled we got it one morning.

This, simply put, was fabulous muesli.  It had a lot going on, no question, and all very healthy items, but I adore it.   Yup, chia seeds, flax seed, almond meal, goji berries ... I mean, really, who *am* I?  

This stuff is fantastic though.  I love the play of textures (so crispy! bits of chewy fruit!), I love the healthy taste even.  It goes fabulously with yogurt and honey and fresh fruit in a parfait, but I find I like it equally well with milk as a breakfast cereal, or even added on top of an ice cream sundae for crunch.  It works well, every way I have tried it.

****+, some of the best muesli I've ever had.  Jane also makes a granola, and I'd love to try that sometime too.

Protip: I discovered that it freezes beautifully, so I can always have a jar on hand in the freezer ...

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