Update Reviews, 2015-2024

This is a review that has been a loooong time coming. I've known about, and been a fan of, Three Babes Bakeshop for more than 10 years. I first discovered them at a small cooking demo at the Ferry Plaza farmer's market, and then regularly frequented their stand at the same market on Saturdays. Then, I watched them start doing some wholesale business, eventually partnering with my office for our catered events, and then our daily desserts, and then our breakfast pastries ... and from there, they just took off. They even now have a physical store. I've really enjoyed watching from the sidelines as the small local business really found its way.

"We are but two humble(ish) babes with a great love for pie and produce. Once upon a time, not so long ago we launched our own pop-up pie shop out of a little shipping container in the Mission. By some miracle, it worked! We've kept going since then and mostly, it's been a pretty good time. "

They source as much as possibly locally, such as nuts from Old Dog Ranch, chocolate from Guittard, dairy from Straus, fruit from a slew of different local farmers such as Frog Hollow Farm (stone fruit), Yerena Farm (strawberries), Nana Mae’s Organics (apples), Hidden Star Orchards (blueberries, cherries), and more. Nearly everything is organic.

Farmer's Market Stand.

Three Babes now has an actual storefront in the Mission, but I always visit their stand at the Ferry Plaza farmer's market, or enjoy their products at my office.

This set of reviews is very long, and encompasses 10 years (!) of tastings. Clearly quite tardy.

Pies

Three Babes changes out their pie menu seasonally, but they seem to generally carry their signature Salty Honey Walnut pie, a lattice topped fruit pie (classic apple, cherry, etc), a crumble topped fruit pie or two (Strawberry-Rhubarb, Peach-Raspberry, etc), a gluten-free Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan pie, plus another nut pie, a cream pie (chocolate, banana, coconut), and cheesecake or other custard pie (like pumpkin). They add in specials from time to time, and collaborate with other local artisans, such as Dandelion chocolate, for special limited items too.

I've had their pies many, many times, so I'm consolidating all my separate reviews here.

In general, I find Three Babes a bit inconsistent. I think they make some of the best crust I've ever had (so buttery! so flaky!), but sometimes it tastes stale or is really hard. I don't know if some of it is freshness issues? It breaks my heart every time, because when they do good crust, its seriously, seriously good! I do wonder if some of my tribulations have been due to ordering on high volume days like Pi Day, when they make them in advance and I think freeze? Anyway, when their pie is good, it is great, and thus, I keep ordering from them regardless of the inconsistencies.

March 2017 - Pi Day

The first time I did a large order of Three Babes pies was for Pi Day, in 2017.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan, Classic Apple,
Salty Honey Walnut, Blueberry Crumble, Bourbon Pecan..

The menu when I ordered featured their classics (apple, chocolate pecan, salty honey walnut), plus bourbon pecan, blueberry crumble for the other fruit option, and key lime for the cream/custard option.

Since cream pies would require more care (aka, immediate refrigeration), I decided to skip those, and got all 5 others. Plus, I don't really care for key lime all that much.

I actually had also ordered strawberry rhubarb, but, alas, the crazy rain that winter ruined local strawberry crops, and they weren't able to get local berries, and had to drop it from the menu.

I tried all the pies, of course.

Box.

Each pie came in a very sturdy Three Babes box. They had different height boxes for the more lofty pies (hello, apple!) and the shorter pies (like the nut pies). Pies are baked in disposable aluminum pie pans.

Fresh Organic Straus Whipped Cream. $8/qt.

Since I wanted to offer whipped cream with my pies, I also asked if Three Babes could provide whipped cream, since I know they make cream topped pies. They were happy to sell it by the quart.

The whipped cream was not anything special, just, whipped cream, I believe unsweetened. It did taste like quality cream though, if that makes any sense, which, it was, organic Straus.

$8/qt seemed a bit steep though.

March 2018 - Pi Day

The following year, I was in for a treat. I didn't need to order all the pies myself. My entire office had Three Babes pies, supplied in the cafes at lunch and dinner!

Blackberry Crumble, Classic Apple,
Salty Honey Walnut, Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan, Bourbon Pecan.

Our lineup was nearly identical to what I had ordered: the same three nut pies (salty honey walnut, bourbon pecan, bittersweet chocolate pecan) and the classic apple, with blackberry crumble instead of blueberry from the previous year.

I tried all but one that year.

Nut Pies ($45)

Three Babes made a name for themselves due to their distinctive signature pie: Salty Honey Walnut. They also often carry a variation of a classic pecan pie (bourbon pecan) and a gluten-free chocolate pecan pie with a graham cracker crust too.

The nut pies can all last for a week in the fridge or a couple months in the freezer, making them excellent to stock up on, if, uh, you do that sort of thing. Which of course I do.

Salty Honey Walnut (2017).

"Our signature pie! We start with organic butter & eggs, fresh vanilla bean, and raw sweet clover honey from Bay Area Bee Company before folding in toasted, organic walnuts from Old Dog Ranch (Rancher Roger Sitkin is our best friend’s dad!). We finish the pie with Maldon sea salt. This pie has been described as “baklava in pie form”, “addictively good”, and “one of a kind.” We hope you’ll agree!"

I started with their signature pie, Salty Honey Walnut. It glistened with large flakes of sea salt on top. Since I love pecan pies, I was excited to try this variation, using a different type of nut, and a more sophisticated sweetness from honey rather than corn syrup or brown sugar. I expected basically a sweet gooey custard (a la chess pie) with walnuts on top, and of course, the salt. Maybe something like the Honey Caramel & Triple Nut Tart With Fleur De Sel from Tout Sweet (sweet sticky honey blossom caramel, a mix of nuts (hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios) and a beautiful salt on the finish. I recommend.)?

Salted Honey Walnut: Side View.

As you can see from the side profile, that is exactly what it was.

The crust was clearly hand made and shaped, beautifully fluted. It was a bit dry though, not really flaky, not really buttery. It did come cleanly out of the pan (which was not true for some other pies, stay tuned). It was ok crust, but, not nearly as good as I expected, or had from Three Babes in the past.

The filling was a bit sweet, with a subtle honey flavor. Certainly more interesting than classic pecan pie goo or chess pie. A thicker consistency too, almost more the texture of a pumpkin pie.

The walnuts though ... were rather harsh. I like walnuts, but sometimes they can be harsh. I thought fresh walnuts were supposed to be less harsh, or I know you can soak them, but these just didn't have the edge taken off them, if you know what I mean.

I loved the huge salt flakes on top, they really amped up the flavor and tied everything together.

I wanted to like this pie, since it is their signature pie, but, alas, the kinda dry crust and harsh nuts detracted from the experience. Tied for 3rd place for me that day. Others had similar comments - they loved the salt, but, this didn't quite do it for them. It made one pie-eater wonder about putting salt on a pecan pie.

I suspect that ordering it at another time of year would yield a better product.

**+.

Salted Honey Walnut Pie Sample (April 2017).

I didn't need to wait long to try it again. Just a month later, I attended a cooking demo at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market by both the bakers and the farmer's daughter who grows the walnuts (also a vendor at the market). And what did they make? Yup, this signature pie.

They also told the story about their relationship with the farmer's daughter, whom they have actually known since pre-school! The friendship of all three ladies was evident, and this is part of why the salted honey walnut was their first pie when they went into business.

Although I only had a sample, it was still a generous sized piece, and enough for me to evaluate. It is clear to me now that the pie I had on Pi Day was just not a good example of their pies. The real difference was the complexity to the overall flavor, it really all came together much better here. The honey was a bit stronger, and a lovely compliment to the nuts. And swoon, that salt just pushes it over the top. And while I still didn't really like the walnut, the nuts weren't as harsh this time. The custard was also better, a nicer consistency. I only had a little bottom crust, so I wasn't able to evaluate the crust very well.

Overall, much better, but not the pie I'll pick. ***.

Salty Honey Walnut (March 2018).

The following year for Pi Day, I again tried the salty honey walnut.

My conclusion remains about the same. I almost like the goo-like filling, but the honey element isn't quite what I personally like. I know it is more interesting than corn syrup, but ... not the sweetness I prefer. The walnuts were again too harsh. It was also lacking the essential salt component.

The crust however was great, classic Three Babes crust I enjoy.

***.

Bourbon Pecan. (March 2017).

"Toasted organic pecans, organic sweet cream butter, brown sugar, eggs and a healthy splash of bourbon make this pie an unforgettable take on an old favorite! (As an FYI, we never use corn syrup!)"

Next I moved on to the (bourbon) pecan.

Pecan pie has long been one of my favorite pies. I grew up with classic Karo syrup pecan pie, made for every single holiday by my mother. Pecan was also always the pie that held up the longest, so post-holidays we saved it for last, and ate the custard and fruit pies first. By the time we got to the pecan, everyone else was sick of pie but me. So I always got lots of pecan pie. And it freezes perfectly. I often freeze extra slices and eat them after just defrosting for an hour or so while I make and eat dinner, or if I'm impatient I warm it up and serve it with vanilla ice cream. It is my go to pie.

I'm not necessarily looking for something earth shattering when it comes to pecan pie. My mom's uses a pre-made Pilsbury pie crust and Karo syrup after all. But that doesn't mean that I like all pecan pie. I was disappointed by the pecan pie I got from Downtown Bakery for Thanksgiving. The version from The Flying Goose Pub was awful. Don't get me started on the one from Popeyes. So I guess I do have standards, just not necessarily all that high.

This pie delivered. It was my favorite of the 5 types of pie we ordered that first Pi Day.

Pecan: Side View.

The crust was again lovingly hand fluted and shaped, but, alas, dry and not buttery or flaky as I like, although one co-worker praised it for being a great real butter crust.

The filling was great. It was gooey just like pecan pie should be, except, well, it didn't taste like corn syrup. Brown sugar, eggs, and fancy butter really do make a difference. It was sweet, but not just sweet, as some pecan pie filling can be. I also liked the rather generous splash of bourbon. Classic pecan pie is usually what I go for, but, I won't say no to a little bourbon (although I usually prefer it in my whipped cream or creme anglais ...).

My co-workers all raved about this pie. "Wow, this is really good!", one exclaimed after taking his first bite. "This is really high quality pie!" said another. "I could eat an entire pie, it's sooo good!" said a third.

Overall, a good pie, my favorite, and one I was happy to stash leftovers of in my freezer. The crust was again a bit lackluster though. ***.

Bourbon Pecan (March 2018)

We've had the bourbon pecan pie several times since, but, strangely, I haven't enjoyed it as much as that first time. The flavor of the filling is never quite what I want.

And the crust seems often hard and stale.

**.

Bourbon Pecan (Pi Day 2018).

A week later, for Pi Day, the results were the same. I didn't love it. I'm not sure why.

**+.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie (gluten-free). (March 2018)

"We bake our own graham crackers, then grind them up to make our graham cracker crust. We use melted 72% bittersweet chocolate from San Francisco chocolate company Guittard and local pecans from Alfieri Farm in Ripon. And as an added bonus, this pie is gluten-free!"

The final nut pie is also one of their gluten-free options, gluten-free because it uses a graham cracker crust rather than regular pie crust. I'm not normally one for graham cracker crust, nor do I tend to like chocolate in my pecan pie, so, I just took a tiny slice the first time.

It turned out to be my second favorite pie, which was a total shocker to me.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan: Side View.

I think the reason I usually get sad about chocolate pecan pies is I want ooey-gooey pecan pie filling and chocolate pecan never is that, but this chocolate filling was good enough that I didn't mind. It wasn't ooey-gooey, but it was quite tasty, like a moist brownie, really fudgy, a bit chewy even, with pecans sunk into it.

The crust was just a standard graham cracker crumb, not as tasty as regular pie crust for me, but, hey, gluten-free.

This pie made me remember the truly life changing brown sugar chocolate nut pie that Flour & Co used to make for the holidays, with an almost caramel-like custard, deep TCHO chocolate, and a mix of pecans, cashews, and almonds. While it was nothing like the Flour & Co pie, it broke me out of the standard pecan pie mold, and allowed me to accept some chocolate in my pecan pie. It paired particularly nicely with a cup of coffee in the morning and took whipped cream well.

***.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie (gluten-free). (April 2018).

The next year, I eagerly took a slice of the bittersweet chocolate pecan.

It ... was different. The previous year had the pecans visible on top, now they were sunk to the bottom. It just didn't pop or deliver in any way for me this time around.

**+.

Fruit Pies ($45-55)

Three Babes makes two styles of fruit pies: lattice topped or crumble. Lattice topped tend to be the classics, like apple or cherry, and the crumble is where they seem to throw their seasonal creativity, often mixing whatever fruits are in season.

Classic Apple Pie. (March 2017)

"For this all-American favorite we use organic apples from Hidden Star Orchards, organic sweet cream butter, freshly squeezed lemon juice and our own mix of spices to create the perfect apple pie. The lattice top is woven and fluted by hand – we think you’ll agree that the result is a flaky, delicious masterpiece!"

I ordered this pie for everyone else. I don't really like apple pie. There, I said it. Am I still American?

Apple pie is just one with so many places it can go wrong, with really mushy apples, or too crispy apples, and way too much cinnamon or nutmeg ... I dunno, I feel like apple pie is actually just hard to get right, and so often is wrong.

So I ordered apple pie anyway, because I know it is a crowd pleaser.

I'll admit though, this pie looked amazing. Seriously, stunning. Look at that lattice top! It was a lofty pie, and besides looking perhaps a bit darker than intended, it looked like perfection.

Like the nut pies though, the crust was not quite as flaky or buttery as I'd like, and here it mattered more, since this pie is all about that top crust. I loved the sugar crystals on top though, they added a nice sweetness.

Apple Pie: Innards!

The filling was good. The apples (green) were not mushy, nor were they too crisp. They were sliced a good thickness to have substance, without being too much apple. The spicing was good, nothing too dominant. There was just the right amount of juice and goo inside.

The apples were left with the skin on though, which I really didn't like. I didn't like the chew, the texture, nor the bitterness they imparted. If those skins weren't there, I would have liked the pie much more. Maybe they just needed to be cooked down a bit more?

So, actually, for an apple pie, this was good.

One of my co-workers said it was the best apple pie he's ever had. Another said, “wow, that was damn good pie.” Everyone who tried it warmed up agreed it was even better warm.

Still, my least favorite of the pies, but a solid apple pie. My all time favorite apple pie is still the classic apple from Ikedas.

***.

Classic Apple (April 2017).

The next month we had another round of pies, and the winner of the batch was shockingly the apple pie. It still surprised me, again, given that apple is rarely one I care for. But, the apples are well cooked, expertly spiced, and, well, that crust. Sooo good. I liked this much more than on Pi Day. Top choice of the event.

***+.

Classic Apple (March 2018).

We continue to have the classic apple pie frequently.

I generally don't love their apple filling (its ok, but, they leave skin on, which I just don't like), but the crust is great.

This time, another co-worker ditched all his crust (who *are* these people?), so, I gleefully took all his crust, and all the other bits and edges that fell off as people served themselves, and dunked them in whipped cream, and was quite happy. That crust, swoon.

**+ pie, **** crust.

Classic Apple Pie: Pi Day 2018.

The next *week*, for Pi Day, I had it again, and I'm glad I did. It was my favorite of the 8 (!) pies I had that day!

When Three Babes nails their crust, they really nail it. Some of the best I've ever had, and, it was there this day. The double crust gives even more of it. Buttery, flaky, excellent.

The pie didn't necessarily look as good as the year before, not as nice of a lattice, and no large pearl sugar crystals on top, but the crust was so good I didn't care.

The apples were again well prepared, not too mushy nor firm, sliced thin, nicely spiced.

***+.

Classic Apple (April 2018).

A few weeks later. Another apple pie. Another great crust. I love it warm with ice cream.

Apples weren't my favorite this time around, mostly because I just wasn't in the mood for apple pie. But that crust, yes!

Again, **+ filling, **** crust.

Classic Apple (November 2021).

"For this all-American favorite we use organic apples from a variety of Northern California orchards, organic sweet cream butter, freshly squeezed lemon juice and our own mix of spices to create the perfect apple pie. The lattice top is rolled, woven and fluted by hand - we think you'll agree that the result is a flaky, delicious masterpiece!

Throughout the year we source our apples from our friends at Hidden Star Orchards, Hale’s Apple farm, and Smit Ranch. Fun fact: Clazien Smit tells us that her kids were bigger troublemakers than Lenore and Anna were at St. Mary's High School in Stockton, but we find that hard to believe."

It had been years since I last had the Three Babes Classic Apple Pie, but when I had a chance to order a pie of my choice at Thanksgiving, I opted for the classic apple. Why? Well, the crust. Duh. And, just look at it. Three Babes makes incredible crust, and this thing certainly featured the crust.

The crust, as I hoped, was glorious. Buttery, flaky, and on top perfectly crispy and sugary from the pearl sugar on top. Great crust. **** crust.

But ... the filling, sigh. I just don't care for it. The skin on the apples, the spicing ... just not for me. But that crust is so good, particularly when dunked in whipped cream, or when warmed up and served with ice cream.

Classic Apple (March 2022).

Seriously, such great crust.But their apple-sauce flavored filling, nope!

Cherry Lattice (March 2017).

"After years of pitting our cherries in house and offering only a very limited run, we are pleased to announce Cherry Pie all summer long! We’ve partnered with Hidden Star to get our cherries professionally-pitted, allowing us to offer them on our regular menu. Our organic cherries are from the Smit Ranch (Hidden Star Orchards) in Linden."

I wanted to like the cherry more than I did. Local cherries. Real cherries in a cherry pie, not just cherry goo. This should be great. But ... yeah. The filling was whole cherries, soft and sweet, and good, but, the flavor just didn't pop for me.

I did actually really like the crust, it was everything I remember about Three Babes crust. Flaky, buttery, really quite good. Much better than my Pi Day pies, likely because they weren't producing in such crazy volume. I'm glad it was double crusted.

So overall, not one I wanted more of really, but I loved the crust, my second choice overall that day.

***+.

Blueberry Crumble Pie. (March 2017)

"We make this delicious tart pie using Organic Blueberries from Hidden Star Orchards and our famous oat crumble top!

For those of you who have been pining away for a new fruit pie this winter season, we've got great news! Blueberry Crumble pies are here, and they are delicious! As many of you already know, we snapped up most of Hidden Star's blueberry crop at the end of last summer. By prepping and freezing the fruit at the height of its season last year, we've been able to offer you much more exciting pies than ever before in the early months of 2017."

As I mentioned, I ordered Strawberry Rhubarb pies for Pi Day too, but, they were not able to get local strawberries to make the pies, and had to fall back to offering blueberry rhubarb instead. Luckily, they had stockpiled their freezers with some top notch blueberries to make it through the winter season, so still had those available.

I opted for plain blueberry, rather than blueberry rhubarb, given my totally irrational hate of rhubarb that stems from it sneaking into my mom's homemade strawberry jam (I'll spare you the stories here). I've only had blueberry pie a handful of times in my life, as it isn't nearly as common as other types. The only other blueberry pie I even remember was from La Meridiana, where I'm pretty sure it had been frozen.

The crumble pies come topped with oat streusel, which I adored when I had it at one of Three Babes demos before. It was a good mix of oats and brown sugar, with subtle spicing (cinnamon?), a fun, crispy, sweet topping, and one that made me capable of convincing myself that it was totally acceptable to eat this lovely fruit pie for breakfast, since, well, it had oats after all. Oats and fruit are totally breakfast ... right?

Blueberry Crumble: Inside!

Like the other pies, it again had the same fluted crust, a bit dry, too crispy, not flaky. I think someone may have forgotten the spray the pan on this one, because all our blueberry pies stuck to the pan horribly. We were not able to extract the bottom crust from the pan, even with a knife.

Inside was blueberries. A serious amount of blueberries. They were sweet and juicy, super plump, quality fruit. They seemed spiced with something that I wasn't quite a fan of though, it almost seemed like citrus?

Overall, I found it a bit boring, to be honest. Maybe I should have gone for the recommended combination with rhubarb, as it would provide some tartness and other texture? I also think I tasted some citrus hints in it, like orange juice maybe? I wasn't really a fan of that flavor.

Later, I had some warmed up, and served over vanilla ice cream. That was much better.

Still, tied for 3rd overall, but I'd rather try other seasonal fruit offerings.

***.

Blueberry Rhubarb Lattice (August 2018).

"This year we’ve got a lockdown on Hidden Star’s secret, off-menu blueberries! Grab one of these juicy delights while they last!"

The next summer we had the blueberry rhubarb lattice served at an event, so I tried it, hoping to see the difference the rhubarb to balance the blueberry would bring, and, well, I like the crust, so the lattice was appealing.

But ... I didn't care for it. The blueberry I still just didn't care for, and, well, rhubarb. The crust also seemed over-baked, crisp, dried out. Not a winner.

**+.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble (April 2017).

I'm not a rhubarb fan, but, I tried a small piece of the strawberry rhubarb crumble pie anyway. It had the Three Babes signature crumble topping, as always, it was sweet, crumbly, and decent.

The filling was strawberry rhubarb though. Soft, sweet, mushy, tart, just, not my favorite. I didn't like this, but, I very rarely like rhubarb.

**+.

Blackberry Crumble (March 2018);

"Bringing back a popular pie for the holiday season, we use Yerena Farm’s delicious blackberries and top with our classic crumble for a mouthwatering treat."

The next year, blackberry crumble was the fruit crumble pie available on Pi Day.

I didn't really like it, but, this didn't surprise me since I don't like blackberries very much. Lots of seeds.

The crumble top also didn't do it for me this time, not crispy, rather mushy. And the back crust was a bit stale and hard tasting.

**.

Strawberry Blackberry Crumble (April 2018).

"Juicy blackberries from Hidden Star Orchard and delicious strawberries from Yerena Farm, topped with our classic crumble for a mouthwatering treat."

By now you know how I feel about blackberries, but, I had hope that the strawberry would tame them. Plus, the classic combo with strawberry is rhubarb, which I also tend to not like so ... I had some hope.

And .... it was fairly successful.

The strawberries were great, particularly when I warmed this pie up. Sweet and uh, fruity? The blackberries were a nice complimentary flavor, but, I did dislike the seeds. Still, since there was more strawberry than blackberry, I could "deal with it".

Best warm, with ice cream.

***.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble (April 2018).

"Strawberries are finally here! In celebration, we’re pairing Organic Strawberries from Yerena Farms with Organic Rhubarb from Happy Quail Farms and topping the whole thing off with our famous oatmeal cookie crumble top!"

Finally! The elusive strawberry rhubarb!

And ... it was good. It was a bit too sweet actually, the rhubarb somehow didn't manage to balance out the sweet strawberry (or perhaps too much extra sugar was added?). I liked the textures of the berries and rhubarb though, and the crust was great on this one, the crumble the best I've had from Three Babes - sweet, buttery, generous, uh, crumbly?

It just really needed whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to pair with and cut the sweet. Which isn't a bad thing exactly, but, a bit more refinement in sweetness would be better.

***+.

Apricot Blueberry Almond Streusel.

"Juicy apricots from Frog Hollow Farm, which we pair with delicious blueberries and top with our crunchy almond streusel to make one of our favorite pie of the summer."

I love blueberry pie, a recent discovery for me actually, when I had it at La Meridiana restaurant in New Hampshire (now sadly closed), with their wild blueberry pie. So although this had apricots (boo, still a good fruit, but least favorite stone fruit as they are the mushiest), I was still excited.

But ... I think something didn't quite go well in the quality control department. The filling was very gloopy, very heavy on the corn starch I think, with strange gel masses in it. The fruit was fine, but, the consistency was just not.

The crust was standard Three Babes crust I like, and the topping was a new one for me: almond streusel. I liked it much more than their crumb topping, it was well spiced, and I loved the crunch from the almond slivers.

This probably could have been a good pie, but, alas, something went wrong in the prep.

**+.


Peach Raspberry Lattice (Sept 2018)	.

"Juicy organic Balakian Farm’s peaches & Yerena Farm’s raspberries combine forces with delicious results."

This was definitely one of the better Three Babes pies I've had.

Big slices of soft juicy peach inside, and they paired really perfectly with raspberries. Who knew? Apparently the Three Babes did! I really liked the combo.

Crust was double crust, and it came out well this time, nice crispy top with pearl sugar.

A bit too sweet for my mood at the time, and I wanted some whipped cream to balance it, but, overall, good.

***.


Raspberry Blueberry Lattice Pie. (August 2019).

"Organic raspberries from Yerena Farms and organic blueberries from Hidden Star make this lattice-topped pie as beautiful and colorful as it is delicious!"

I did not like this pie!

Well, let me back up. I liked the crust. It was flaky, buttery, quite tasty. Wonderful pearl sugar on top. When I get a clearly fresh Three Babes pie, I really do love the crust, and the double crusted lattice pies give me even more crust goodness.

But the filling? NO! It was too sweet, too filled with seeds, too mushy, too sour ... just totally unbalanced and not a flavor or texture I liked at all.

I'd gladly eat this crust, but the overall pie? Definitely not for me.

* filling, **** crust.

Apricot Blackberry Lattice Pie. June 2020. $6 / slice.

"Organic apricots and juicy blackberries baked to perfection with a woven lattice crust on top!"

Yeah, ok, so I 1) don't really like apricots that much and 2) don't like blackberry seeds. I love all stone fruits, except apricots, as the mushy texture just doesn't do it for me. I'm definitely more on the plum, pluot, nectarine, cherry side of the stone fruit spectrum, dabbling in peaches from time to time ... But apricots? Nope. And don't get me started on seedy blackberries.

But alas, during COVID days, Three Babes was producing a smaller range of pies, and I was not excited by the standard lineup. So when the special was apricot blackberry ... I normally would walk away, but, the style was not the crumble like most of their fruit pies: it was the double crusted lattice pie (like the apple). I *adore* their crust, so, even if I hated the filling, I knew I'd be very excited for this crust.

Obviously not my first choice, but hey, I was getting fresh fruit at the farmer's market, so worst case, I discard the filling, and just do a "deconstructed" pie of my own with their crust, fresh fruit, and whipped cream :)

I dug in. I adored the crust, relieved it was clearly a fresh pie (it *usually* is at the market, but sometimes I've found some that don't seem quite as fresh ...). Really crispy, super sweet, flakey, buttery, awesome. So much love for that top crust, I wish I could purchase just their crust, honestly. The back crust I also love to break off and dunk in whipped cream, its super crisp but not burnt. Yes, yes, yes, to this crust.

The fruit was better than I expected. I didn't actually detect any blackberry seeds (phew!). In fact, there was very little blackberry compared to the apricot anyway. The apricot ... well, it was very tart, but also this is still a pretty sweet pie. They definitely add more sugar than I would. The fruit was soft, stewed down, so the aspects of apricots that I hate from the raw fruits at least weren't there, but, it was still very mushy stewed apricots, very sweet yet very tart, and not what I'd ever pick.

At room temperature it was ok, I love the crust that way, particularly when dunked in whipped cream (and tons of whipped cream helped balance the sweet-tart fruit for me too), but I liked it better warmed up, a la mode AND with whipped cream. Again, the creamy components helped balance out the overly sweet bits for me. And I added fresh blueberries too. Warm pie + ice cream + whipped cream + fresh blueberry really was delicious, and I was quite pleased.

So, I still ate it, it wasn't *bad*, but really, I was just in it for all the crust. Best with copious whipped cream (and warm with ice cream!), no question. Wouldn't pick again, but wasn't upset that I gave it a shot.

***.

Cream & Custard Pies ($45)

Three Babes only regularly offers one cream/custard pie, the key lime, but from time to time they bring out other cream pie classics: chocolate, coconut, banana, and sometimes even specials like eggnog. They also, seasonally, offer custard based pies: classic pumpkin, and sweet potato.

I've tried them all, and continue to do so whenever a new cream or custard pie springs up.

For a short time, they also offered some of these in parfait form, not as standard retail items, but for their wholesale customers, so I tried a bunch at my office. They weren't successful (more on that soon).

Key Lime. $6 / slice.

"We bake our own graham crackers, then grind them up to make our graham cracker crust. We use tangy organic lime juice and fresh organic eggs. This pie is topped with freshly whipped organic cream from Straus. As an added bonus, it’s naturally gluten-free!"

Well, I don't like lime or lemon desserts, but, I still do keep trying.

I would have loved this ... if it wasn't lime. The custard was well set, thick, creamy. But, tangy, and, well, lime flavored. The whipped cream was unremarkable.

The crust sounds like it has an amazing pedigree (house made graham crackers that they then grind up!), but, it did taste like standard graham cracker crust to me.

**+.

Key Lime (2023).

"We make our Key Lime Pies with the juice and zest of fresh organic limes, organic Clover eggs, and organic sweetened condensed milk, baked into a graham cracker shell. (This pie is naturally gluten-free! We bake our own graham crackers from rice flour and use them to make the crust). Key Lime Pies are topped with Straus cream, whipped with vanilla extract we've made ourselves."

After several years, I decided to try the key lime pie again. You see, an amazing thing happened. I had a truly fantastic key lime dessert (a cheesecake, from Fillings & Emulsions in the SLC airport of all places), and suddenly discovered that I could, in fact, like key lime and citrus desserts. This has opened up a new world for me, and I've since been trying them more frequently.

I still didn't love this pie, although I liked it considerably more than last time. The custard was again very good - thick, rich, well set, tangy. Obviously, key lime flavor, which I wasn't thrilled about, but tolerated. I found it tangy, but also a bit too sweet. Great custard, and if you like key lime, likely very good.

The whipped cream on top was lightly sweetened, fresh tasting, good. No qualms there. It helped offset the tang and sweetness from the pie.

The downfall for me was the crust. I just don't care for graham crackers, nor graham cracker crusts, in general, and this was no exception. It looked good - it looked lightly caramelized even, but really, it was just a compressed crust that easily fell apart, and to me, was like sawdust. I didn't care for the texture nor flavor of it.

For me, overall, this was still a low *** or **+, but I think if you like key lime, and don't mind graham cracker crusts, this could easily be more highly rated.

Key Lime (May 2023).

I still try this from time to time, as it shows up about monthly. But, yeah, wow I hate the sawdust crust!

The key lime custard is fairly sweet yet tart, creamy, and occasionally I can be in the mood for it. **+.


Chocolate Cream Pie. (August 2019).

"This pie is filled with delicious chocolate cream made with bittersweet coucher du soleil chocolate from Guittard, and then is topped with fresh Straus whipped cream."

I was so excited when they offered up chocolate cream one summer. It ... was fine.

I was pleased that the chocolate pudding and the whipped cream layers weren't oddly grainy, like the pudding cups and parfaits they used to make (which further convinces me that something odd happens in the production or storage of those items ...).

But it wasn't remarkable in any way, fairly standard thick milk chocolate pudding filling, fairly standard whipped cream on top, classic Three Babes crust. Absolutely fine, but not a variety I wanted more of.

***.

Coconut Cream (Special, February 2020). $6 / slice.

"A special treat! This pie is filled with delicious coconut cream made with organic coconut milk and shredded organic coconut and then is topped with fresh organic Straus whipped cream and fresh toasted organic coconut flakes."

One day at the market, a new pie appeared, alongside the eggnog that was making a surprise February showing. Coconut cream.

I took a very serious gamble ordering this pie, given that I really didn't like it when I had it in parfait form, and, because sometimes I just really don't like coconut. I asked for advice, mentioning I was picking between the eggnog again, or trying this to try something new, and the staff member said, "I hear if you really like coconut, you'll like this. I don't really like coconut, so I haven't tried it." Given that I *don't* really love coconut, you'd think I'd go for the eggnog, given how limited it is in availability.

But I'm glad I tried this one. To start, it came with a regular pie crust, not the graham cracker that I don't like, and the crust was excellent. When Three Babes has fresh quality crust ... wow it is great. Buttery, flaky, and so good. Even the bottom crust was perfectly flaky.

The whipped cream on top was just standard, but good, whipped cream. The coconut cream filling, obviously the main attraction, was super thick, and loaded with coconut. Yes, you could taste coconut, and the coconut texture certainly required you to want it to not be smooth and creamy. But it was good - not too sweet, and no fakeness to it. Clearly, just a very rich custard and tons of coconut milk and shreds.

I savored it, a huge slice, and was glad I got it.

****.

Coconut Cream Pie (April 2021). $7.

I was thrilled to see coconut cream make a comeback the next year. Just for one weekend, as I was told this isn't a popular pie for them, so I prioritized making it to the farmer's market that day.

I liked it again, glad I went out of my way to get it.

The fresh whipped cream on top was thick, rich, real cream. Not particularly special, but well made.

The filling is what this pie is all about, flavorful, thick, rich, strong coconut flavor, lots of texture. Only a single shred of toasted coconut on top though.

As usual, I loved their crust, flaky and decadent. I know a double crust wouldn't make sense on this pie, but I yearned for even more crust!

Overall, quite enjoyable. I savored every bite.

****.

Banana Cream. May 2020. $6 / slice.

"A special treat! This pie is filled with delicious vanilla bean pastry cream and freshly sliced bananas, and then is topped with fresh organic Straus whipped cream and dark chocolate."

And finally, one day, a magic unicorn appeared: the banana cream pie!!! I was so excited to try it, as banana cream is a long time favorite of mine. It came sprinkled with chocolate flakes on top, but no other chocolate component.

It ... actually let me down though. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it.

I still adored the crust. Its just so buttery and flaky and perfect. The bottom crust was *very* soggy though, and I ate it immediately. Still, that crust. <3.

The pastry cream was very thick, very rich, and was actually just too heavy for at least how I was feeling. Not that I want a "light" banana cream pie (what does that even mean?) but this quantity of thick, rich, pastry cream just was too much. It seemed like it would be *perfect* inside a Boston Cream donut, or something like that where you had a small amount of heavy pastry cream, but for the pie, it was hard to eat many bites in a row.

The whipped cream was rich and thick, not too sweet, but didn't help cut the heaviness of the pastry cream. A lighter, fluffier whipped cream could have helped bring balance, but I suspect this heavier style is much better to keep it stable.

And finally, banana. The slices of banana were fine, pretty standard mushy banana slices you find in cream pie. They completed the deal.

I struggled with this because I wanted to love it, and *did* love the crust, and tiny bites. I brought most of my slice home, chopped up some fresh strawberries from the market, and added some lighter whipped cream (from a can, gulp!), and that balanced it out better.

I'd still try this again, perhaps this day was just an outlier. Maybe I just needed to be in a different mood.

***.

Pumpkin (2018).

"Pumpkin season is finally here! Our Pumpkin pie is made with sweet organic pumpkin, fresh organic cream, organic brown sugar, organic sweet cream butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of ginger. This is one of the most delicious treats for this fall season."

I was excited for the seasonal pumpkin pie, since I do like pumpkin pie, but, I wasn't into this pie. too aggressively spiced for my taste, heavy on the nutmeg and ginger.

It was a nice texture though.

**+.

Pumpkin (2021).

I haven't previously loved the Three Babes version of pumpkin pie, as it has been too aggressively spiced for me, but, another year, another round of pumpkin pie, I had to try it.

The pie filling was better than past pies, more delicately spiced, and very, uh, pumpkin forward? It tasted like real pumpkin. It was kinda mushy though, but I think that is due to it being out of fridge for a while before our catering team served it.

The crust, usually a star, was not this time. It was a bit spongy, almost stale. I wonder if these were frozen? Or made in a big batch and a few days old?

Overall, better than before, but I think catering let me down a little on quality.

***.

Pumpkin in a Graham Cracker Crust. (2021).

"Pumpkin season is finally here! Our Pumpkin pie is made with sweet organic pumpkin, fresh organic cream, organic brown sugar, organic sweet cream butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of ginger. We bake our own graham crackers, then grind them up to make our graham cracker crust which is naturally gluten-free! "

For Thanksgiving, I ordered the pumpkin in the graham cracker crust, rather than their amazing regular pie crust, for one reason: I wanted to make sure my pie would serve the gluten-free guests. This was a sacrifice on my part, given that I love Three Babes crust and I generally dislike graham cracker crust, but, I wanted to include everyone in the pie love.

I ... did not care for this pie. But, the crust was actually my favorite part. Sweet, crumbly, and actually pretty satisfying. I guess I was in the mood for it?

But the pie itself was much like previous pies - the spicing just too aggressive for me in the nutmeg department. Sadness. The filling was also fairly mushy. But I did enjoy the crust with whipped cream ...

**.

Sweet Potato in a Graham Cracker Crust. (GF).

"An american classic! Made with organic Garnet sweet potatoes, cream, melted butter, some fresh lemon juice, and just the right amount of spice."

Similar to the pumpkin, we also had the sweet potato, also in the graham crust.

At room temperature, I wasn't that into the sweet potato pie - the texture was a bit mushy, as was the crust, and it, like the pumpkin, was more spiced than I like, just too much nutmeg, again.

But I gave it another try, and warmed it up. That somehow seemed to mellow out the spicing, and, once I added whipped cream on top, balanced it out even more. I enjoyed it more that way. The flavor was fine, very mellow sweet potato, quite similar to pumpkin, as you'd expect. The crust is their standard graham cracker crust, fine, but uninteresting.

**+.

Sweet Potato in a Graham Cracker Crust (GF). (June 2019).

"For once, we have sweet potato pies! These pies are made with roasted sweet potatoes, fresh organic cream, organic brown sugar, organic sweet cream butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and a pinch of salt. We bake our own graham crackers, then grind them up to make our graham cracker crust which is naturally gluten-free! "

A few years later this pie made an appearance and I was excited to have something different. However ... I didn't care for it.

The texture is really what got me. So mushy, the filling and the crust. And I wasn't feeling the spicing. I probably should have warmed it up, per my own prior advice, and added ice cream or something, but, I just didn't have the energy to put in the extra work.

**.

Eggnog (Seasonal Special, December 2019). $6/slice.

"Our eggnog custard pie brings our favorite holiday flavors to the table. A perfectly smooth and spiced organic eggnog custard fills our handmade gluten free graham cracker crust. And to top it all off, a boozy whipped cream and a dusting of fresh nutmeg!"

For the Christmas and New Year's holidays only, Three Babes brought out an eggnog pie. This sounded fascinating - promising and likely to be awful all at once.

The promising? Eggnog custard. I do enjoy the flavors of eggnog, and I do love custard. Also promising? BOOZY whipped cream. These two elements could be great.

The less promising? I've never liked their graham cracker crust. Anything "spiced", particularly when topped with additional nutmeg, runs a high risk of being way too nutmeg forward for me. The Three Babes whipped cream is usually ... just ok. The custards/puddings have a tendency to have strange consistency.

So how was it? It was a combination of good and bad, sorta as I expected.

I really, really, disliked the crust, mushy, sawdust-like graham cracker crust. And this pie had a very, very thick crust. I tried one bite, I tried one more, and threw out the rest of the crust. Luckily, it was the only part that went in the trash.

The whipped cream was good - light, fluffy, sweetened, and it certainly had an interesting flavor, although I didn't taste booze exactly. I wished it didn't have nutmeg on top, but the dusting was mild.

And the key part, the eggnog custard? It too was good. Thick, rich, deep flavor, lots of spicing, booze, and ... well, it tasted like eggnog. The consistency was good, not grainy or odd like some of the others have been. The spicing was aggressive, but that is what made it interesting, and it was all pretty well balanced, so although I'd still prefer less nutmeg, it really wasn't too much, and the whipped cream helped cut the spicing and lighten it up.

Overall I was glad I picked up a slice, and I enjoyed it. It didn't need the crust anyway, I just treated it more like a thick potted custard (e.g. eggnog panna cotta or creme brulee) with whipped cream, and I was pleased. I'd get it again.

****.

Red, White, and Blue Buttermilk. 4th of July Special (2020).

"This patriotic favorite is a tangy and light buttermilk custard. We whip the egg whites separately and then fold them in, along with organic blueberries and raspberries, and the result is divine!"

A super limited offering, just for the 4th of July: the Red, White, and Blue Buttermilk. I re-arranged my day to hit the market early, to ensure I'd get a slice, before they ran out. I've only had a buttermilk pie once before (the *incredible* lemon buttermilk pie from Chile Pies), although I've had a few other similar pies.

For the unfamiliar, it is sorta like a chess pie. A custard pie, but not a cream pie. The top, because of the baking, is slightly more firm, the rest more lightly set. It reminds me a bit of pecan pie filling in the consistency, just, obviously no nuts, and not as cloying sweet (although, this was plenty sweet).

This one was lemon flavored, and, I knew it would be. I don't tend to like lemon desserts, particularly lemon custards (I *loathe* lemon curd), but, the lemon buttermilk pie from Chile Pies was just so good that I was more than happy to overlook my natural tendencies.

I took a bite immediately when getting it, and liked the consistency, but, it was early in the day, only 10am, so I waited to eat the rest until later, popping it in the fridge when I got home.

Fresh from the fridge, I actually didn't like it as much. The lemon flavor was far too strong. It was, well, lemon custard. It was also quite sweet. I liked the crust of course (<3 their crust), but I wasn't feeling the pie in that way. I could have waited for it to come back up to room temp, but decided instead to just lightly warm it in my toaster oven (super quickly, just 325* oven).

I liked it so much more warm - the lemon flavor was muted, and it got a bit softer. I added some fresh blueberries and cherries, and vanilla ice cream and whipped cream (wanted to try both!) and was pleased. A winning bite was warm pie, ice cream, and fresh blueberries. Very tasty.

I really liked the crust, as I usually do, although the bottom crust was fairly soft, and quite oily, I still loved it.

Red, White, and Blue Buttermilk: Side View.

From the side, you can see the fruit inside. Studded with blueberries and raspberries, which was quite holiday appropriate. I appreciated that there were not too many - this is a pie that is all about the texture, and too much soft, juicy fruit would take away from that. Still, I think I might have preferred it without the fruit, as I liked my fresh fruit with it even better.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it. It is a unique pie, was properly celebratory, but I likely would not get it again. Best warm with ice cream, and the crust was really my favorite part.

**+ cold, ***+ warm.

Slab Pies ($110/$115 (vegan), 17"x12")

For large format (aka, catering or wholesale), Three Babes offers up "Slab Pies", which are giant trays of "pie" that can be cut into bars. Sadly, they use a crust style more like puff pastry. My office has these daily. I prefer real pie format, as it tends to be deeper (aka, more filling) and I like Three Babes crust, but, these work better for the purposes of feeding the masses.

Nut Slab Pies

Salty Honey Walnut Slab Pie.

As always, I appreciated elements of the salty honey walnut pie, but, I still don't ever really like it overall.

The salt is wonderful and ties the whole thing together. I like having a gooey layer, and I like a crunchy nut topping. But ... I just don't like the flavor of the gooey layer - the honey is sweet, and more interesting than corn syrup, but never quite what I want. The nuts with the salt are great though.

The crust doesn't get to shine in the slab pie form, so, hard to evaluate that element. **.

Bourbon Pecan Slab Pie.

Even though I'm not generally impressed with the Three Babes slab pies, it was hard to pass up the bourbon pecan, as I had enjoyed the regular pie form so much. Plus, I figured it would be more like a pecan bar, basically the only type of brownie/bar that I ever enjoy.

The crust, like most of the slab pies I've tried, just wasn't very good. Somehow flaky yet soggy. Not buttery. Not very good.

The filling though also didn't shine. I can't quite pinpoint it, but, the depth of flavor wasn't there, and it just generally didn't offer anything special. **.

Bourbon Pecan Bars (September 2017).

Well, hmm.

Something strange is going on.

When our cafe serves the Three Babes slab pies / bars, which is daily, no matter what variety, the crust is kinda stale and soggy. These came from a catering event though. Same Three Babes slab pies. Much better result.

The crust was fresh and flaky. The filling had the rich, deep flavor I remembered, although I wasn't in love with the pecans, they were a bit burnt.

I'm starting to wonder if either 1) our cafe doesn't store them properly or 2) they get batch orders and freeze them? Either way, it makes me really sad, because Three Babes is amazing, and their product doesn't get to shine. These though were much better. ***.

Fruit Slab Pies

Apricot Blueberry Crumble Slab Pie.

These were labelled "Strawberry Rhubarb", so I was a bit surprised by the color and lack of visible strawberry or rhubarb, but I thought that maybe they somehow had found orange rhubarb? But no, the sign was clearly wrong, these were apricot, and I think blueberry.

I didn't really care for this. The crust did not hold up well, I'm not sure if this was the fault of the way it was stored by our cafe team, by it being prepared far in advance by Three Babes, or what, but, it was very stale tasting, soggy, and not flaky. Not a good example of Three Babes quality.

The fruit was fine, soft and sweet, but apricot isn't what I really go for.

The topping was delicious though, their signature oat crumble. *** crumble, ** the rest.

Strawberry Rhubarb Slab Pie.

Another day, actual strawberry rhubarb showed up.

I wasn't very excited for it, because of the rhubarb and lackluster crust on other slab pies, but, I really wanted something sweet so I got a slice anyway.

And I'm glad I did! I adored the sweet crumble topping, quite generous. The crust was again lackluster, not flaky, not buttery, and just not representative of Three Babe's quality crust. The filling, soft, mushy, sweet, tart, a mix of strawberries and rhubarb. Sure, not my favorite, but tasty enough.

I liked this more the most slab pies, but really it is just all about the crumble. **+.

Apricot Berry Slab Pie.

I'm a broken record at this point.

The crust was not flaky, not buttery, kinda soft and soggy. This is a very poor representation of Three Babes crust.

The crumble was sweet, tasty, and well spiced.

The filling was soft and sweet, the fruit really shined in this one.

But that crust. Ugh. * crust, *** filling, ***+ crumble.

Apple Blueberry Crumble.

These might have been the worst so far.

The apple and blueberry were both mushy, and they tasted like ... applesauce. The crumble top was mushy. I just really didn't like these. *+.

Blackberry Crumble. (Aug 2021).

It had been years since I had a Three Babes slab pie, and even though I hadn't really cared for them before, and even though I don't like blackberry ... I still tried this, mostly out of memories of Three Babes actual pie.

And ... well, it was a slab pie. The base crust is not pie crust, it is generic puff pastry. The blackberry layer had seeds, and was just blackberry mush for the most part. The crumble topping was their signature crumble top, but it seemed a bit too heavily spiced this time.

Sadly, not a winner for me. *.

Apple Crumble. (Aug 2021).

Some days, you just want a dessert, and, slab pies are all that are available. And thus, I started getting Three Babes Slab pies again fairly often. And they grew on me, particularly when I got edge pieces with more plentiful crust.

I still greatly prefer full size pies, as I adore their pie crust, and sometimes the slab pie puff pastry is strangely soft, or strangely moist, or otherwise stale, but, if you get a fresh one that has been stored properly, it is flaky and satisfying enough.

This filling was apple, which you may recall I didn't love in the full size pie, and still didn't love (skin on just doesn't do it for me!), but the ratio of filling is much lower here, so it worked better. I still prefer other fruit options, like the peach I had the day before (no photo, sorry!). The crumble top remains polarizing for me - I love the texture, I love the sweetness, and when I'm in the mood for the spicing, it works. But when I'm not in the mood for the spicing, it rubs me the wrong way.

Oh, and it should come as no surprise that I greatly prefer this with whipped cream (or likely warm and a la mode, but, a can of whipped cream is all I bring to the office, not a toaster oven and freezer with my ice cream!).

***.

Other Bars

Over the years, Three Babes has offered a few other types of bars. I've never seen them at their farmer's market stand, but, we've had them in my office.

Chocolate Chess Pie.

Well, our cafe didn't do the best job putting these out on display. This was literally the best looking slice. All were irregularly cut, had crusts falling off, and had something strange going on with the tops.

Anyway. This was a chocolate chess pie on a graham cracker crust, much like their bittersweet chocolate pecan pie. In fact, I think this may have been the same recipe, just, sans pecans.

It wasn't very successful. The graham cracker crust was just dry and gritty, and I didn't like it. The pie filling was fairly fudgey but kinda dry too. I think that there are some quality control issues with catering from Three Babes, and I'm not sure who's side the issues are with ... *+.

Chocolate Coconut Almond Bar.

This was a very homestyle item. As in, the sort of item you'd find at a school bake sale, made by someone's mom or dad who was a decent enough baker.

Shortbread crust, coconut macaron-like layer, thin layer of chocolate, sliced almonds on top. It was ... well, exactly what it sounded like, no more, no less.

A bit boring to me, but, if you are into bars, then, maybe a winner? **+.

Chocolate Coconut Almond Bar. (May 2018).

I actually had entirely forgotten that I had tried this before, and didn't know it until I came to write up this review.

My review isn't much different: homestyle item - sweet buttery shortbread cookie-like base, macaroon like coconut layer, good dark bittersweet chocolate that complimented the coconut really well, almond slices on top.

I actually really liked it this time. The buttery crust + coconut/chocolate combo was a winner. I could do without the almonds actually, and would love to see something like macadamias instead. ***.

Chocolate Coconut Almond Bar. (January 2019).

Well, not sure if the bar changed, or I did, but I really didn't care for it this time.

The base was not sweet and buttery and shortbread-like, rather, it was just hard and too crisp. The coconut layer in the middle dominated, and all I could taste was coconut. It seemed like there was coconut in the base too. Even the dark chocolate on top did not please me.

Will wait another year before trying these again. *+.

Vegan Brownie. (Aug 2021).

The vegan brownie wasn't bad, particularly for a brownie (never my thing really, unless warm and a la mode) and particularly for a vegan item.

It had a good chew, decently deep chocolate flavor, was moist, and I liked the slightly crusty top. However, it tasted fairly strongly of coconut. I assume that coconut milk or coconut oil are used in its vegan-ness, but I wanted just a rich chocolate brownie, not a coconut flavored item. It didn't have any shredded coconut, but, the flavor was quite strong, and stuck with you on the finish.

So, *** for a vegan item ... if you don't mind the coconut.

Valentine's Special: Champagne Cherry Walnut Brownie

For Valentine's Day, Three Babes made a special brownie, and I was certainly drawn in by every element. Champagne! Nuts for crunch! Cherries!

But ... I didn't really care for it. The brownie base was average, not particularly good nor bad, I did like the slight crust on top. The walnuts I did like for crunch, but the cherries, dried chewy ones, I didn't like. I'm not sure what I was expecting, obviously not fresh cherries, but, the dried ones were too much like raisins to me. I didn't detect the champagne, although I'm not sure how that was supposed to come through the chocolate.

So overall, just a kinda "eh" brownie, loaded with cherries and walnuts, but you had to like the cherries.

**+.

Parfaits

Three Babes makes several cream pies (coconut cream, chocolate banana cream, etc), and cream pies obviously don't translate well into slab pie form for catering or large wholesale orders.

So what do you do? Turn them into ... parfaits! I don't think they offered these for long.

Sadly, this format loses the crust/crumble element, which is rather key for me.

Coconut Cream Parfait.

I didn't like this.

The coconut cream layer was mealy and mushy, and just didn't taste great.

The whipped cream on top was good, and I liked the crunch from the toasted coconut since there was no crumble or crust, but, just whipped cream and coconut does not a dessert make. *+.

Chocolate Pudding Parfait.

The chocolate pudding parfait was equally mediocre, sadly.

The pudding was creamy but grainy. Whipped cream fine. I liked the dark chocolate shreds on top. *+.

Banana Chocolate Pudding Parfait.

Banana chocolate sounded great - chocolate pudding topped with a layer of sliced bananas topped with whipped cream topped with chocolate. But ... it was about the same as the others.

The chocolate pudding was ... ok, creamy, not grainy this time, but not very intense chocolate flavor. Bananas were soft and not browned, a good compliment to the chocolate and whipped cream. The whipped cream however this time was grainy. *+.

Chocolate Strawberry.

Another mediocre item.

The chocolate pudding was smooth this time, not grainy, but also not very rich, creamy, nor chocolatey. The strawberries clearly had sat a while, and were soft in a strange way. The whip was deflated, but still tasted good. *.

Tiramisu.

It took me many months before finally trying another parfait, after so many lack luster attempts.

But a tiramisu one showed up on a day when I was really craving pudding, so, I went for it.

It wasn't great.

The base was fine, well soaked soft cake, plenty of coffee flavor. The pastry cream layer was forgettable. The whipped cream though was mealy, and it had far too much cocoa powder on top. **.

Chocolate Cake Parfait.

I don't know why I keep trying. This one I decided to give a try, again, after a few months of avoiding the parfaits, when I saw it had cubes of chocolate cake at the base.

The cake was fine, moist enough. But the pudding? Yup, grainy. The whipped cream? Even worse. I'm starting to be convinced that they do something like freeze these and then defrost, I don't understand how else the texture could be just so ... off. *+.

Apple Pie Parfait.

Well, this one surprised me.

What do you get when you combine ... my least favorite of their pies (apple), in the form I deemed unsuccessful and lackluster (slab pie), and top it with their whipped cream that I've criticized? You get an apple pie parfait ... that I liked.

Yes, laugh away.

Really, I liked it.

The apples were still skin on, and I wished they weren't, but they were nicely cooked, had some bite, and had excellent spicing. The slab pie puff pastry worked well in a parfait, as it added texture and a buttery pastry component, but because it was mixed up with pie filling and topping, it not being perfectly flaky and awesome didn't matter.

Ok, the whipped cream still won't get any accolades from me, and I added vanilla soft serve instead, but overall, this really as enjoyable, my clear favorite of their parfaits. **+.

Cookies ($36/dozen)

Three Babes has been making cookies for quite a while. They only offered them from time to time at their farmer's market stand, or had them available to wholesale customers, but now they are a regular offering. They also offer the chocolate chip cookie dough frozen for you to bake at home.

While I'm not generally all that excited about cookies (to me, they are more of a snack, or component of a dessert, than a real dessert), I still wanted to try them.

The flavor lineup is interesting, with classics like chocolate chip of course, plus some flavors inspired by their nut pies (bittersweet chocolate pecan, salty honey walnut, bourban pecan), and others like snickerdoodles, Mexican wedding cookies, and chocolate "rich gems".

Chocolate Chip.

"These delicious chocolate chip cookies are made with 72% Coucher du Soleil Guittard chocolate and are topped with Maldon Salt. We love them and we think you will too!"

I wouldn't really call this a "chocolate chip" cookie. I'd call this ... chocolate chunks bound together by cookie batter. Which is not a bad thing, just, the chocolate was not "chips" and, uh, there was a lot of it. Chunks, for sure.

I liked it far more than most cookies. The cookie dough base was sweet, buttery, and soft. The chocolate was high quality and dark (always better in my book than milk!). The huge flakes of salt on top added a delightful saltiness.

I got it mostly for a friend, and he enjoyed it too, but of course noted that it had a serious amount of chocolate in it as well.

***+.

Salty Honey Walnut.

"We chop up our Salty Honey Walnut pies, mix them into cookie dough, and top them with Maldon salt. The results are buttery and delightful."

Next, the salty honey walnut pie, turned cookie. Again, a good cookie, for a cookie. Sweet, soft, buttery base, and tons of stuff mixed in. This time, chunks of the salty honey walnut pie.

While I didn't like the salty honey walnut pie all that much (the walnuts were dominant and more bitter than I like), the chunks mixed into here worked much better. The cookie dough was able to mask some of the aspects of the pie I didn't like as much, and, there was just a lot more going on in the cookie than just the walnut filling.

So, overall, better than the salty honey walnut pie, but still a cookie, and not what I gravitate towards.

***.

Bourbon Pecan.

"These scrumptious cookies are made with chopped up bits of our ever popular Bourbon Pecan Pie. We love them and we think you will too!"

Next, bourbon pecan pie, turned cookie.

The story here is about the same as the salty honey walnut cookie, just with pecan pie pieces inside instead of the walnut. Since I like the pecan more than the walnut, I liked this cookie more. ***+.

Banana Walnut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

"Our Banana Chocolate Walnut cookies are full of yummy surprises! They're made with 72% Coucher du Soleil Guittard chocolate, bananas, oats, and Old Dog Ranch walnuts."

The banana walnut oatmeal chocolate chip was a different structure from the previous cookies. Thinner, crispier, but still quite soft. Not as buttery. It looked ... homemade. Which was nice.

I liked that it was loaded with things, but I wasn't really into the banana taste. It wasn't too strong, but, banana flavor in a cookie just isn't for me. I dub this, "Chunky Monkey In-Cookie-Form", if you are familiar with that Ben & Jerry's flavor. **+.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

The oatmeal chocolate chip was much like the banana walnut version, just, without the nuts and banana. It too had a great homemade look to it, was nicely chewy from the oats, had a decadent buttery sweetness to it, and little chunks of quality chocolate. It did however have too much (unexpected!) cinnamon for my taste, rather "Mexican chocolate"-eque.

It was a cookie that "ate well", great texture, and didn't even need a glass of milk (or whipped cream!).

***.

Chocolate Rich Gems.

"Our Chocolate Rich Gems are inspired by a meringue recipe from Anna’s mom. Made with Guittard chocolate and Old Dog Ranch walnuts, they’re a delicious and dairy free twist on your usual meringue!"

What is a chocolate rich gem? Yeah, I don't really know either. I'm going to categorize it as a cookie though.

It was slightly softer than a cookie, with a mild cocoa base, and lots of walnuts. Full size halves of walnuts were within. The walnuts were bitter. There was not much sweetness to the base, which resulted in this being overall a bitter bite. I didn't care for it. Also, I'm still not what was "rich" nor "gem" about it. **+.

Mexican Wedding Cookie.

"Perfectly tender shortbread filled with chopped pecans and dusted with powdered sugar make this cookie a staff favorite. Bet you can't have just one!"

This is a very standard Mexican wedding cookie.

Slightly crumbly sweet cookie, studded with chopped nuts, rolled in powdered sugar.

I always almost like Mexican wedding cookies, as I like the nuts and the sugar coating, but then I'm always let down by the texture. This was no different. A good Mexican wedding cookie, but never the item I'll pick. ***.

Mexican Wedding Cookie. (Aug 2021).

Years later, and Mexican wedding cookies were back.

I felt the same way about it as before, and as I feel about any good Mexican wedding cookie. I like the crumbly, sweet, shortbread cookie. I like the bits of nuts. The sweetness from powdered sugar. It is a good cookie. But ... it is just a cookie. I want to use the cookies to sandwich strawberry buttercream, or I want to crumble them up on top of fresh berries and top with whipped cream ...

But yes, a good version of a cookie that I almost always really like. ***.

Bittersweet Chocolate Nutty Cookie.

This was an ok cookie.

Moist enough, kinda fudgey, studded with nuts, deep chocolate flavor. ***.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Cookie. (Aug 2021).

This was very similar to the buttersweet chocolate nutty cookie I had years prior: it reminded me of a cross between a brownie and a cookie, so fudgy, deep chocolate flavor. Just a few bits of nuts. ***.

Sugar Cookie.

Simple. Classic. Sugar cookie. No frills. Not even pearl sugar on top.

I'll be honest, I love a good sugar cookie, but for me, a "good" sugar cookie is either one that is barely baked, still ooey gooey, or one that is super thick. And yes, generally I want some pearl sugar on top. This wasn't really any of those things, rather, a thin, crispy cookie.

It was sweet, it was buttery, but, not really my thing.

**+.

Coconut Macaroon. (Aug 2021).

I'm not really one for macaroons (nor macarons for that matter), particularly if they aren't dunked in quality dark chocolate, but I wanted to give Three Babes a chance to show me a macaroon can be interesting.

I ... didn't really like it. Yeah, it had a nice chew I guess, and it tasted like coconut, obviously, but, that was it. Just sweet coconut, bound together. Not my thing.

**+.

Cakes (Sheet $100, 17"x 12")

While pies are certainly their focus, and I don't think they offer them for retail, Three Babes has made cakes (round, sheet, cupcake) for years for wholesale, and we've had many. I've had really mixed feelings on them.

Vegan Lemon Cake.

This was a strange cake. Note that it is vegan.

It was very dense. Very, very dense. The cake flavor seemed ... plain? Vanilla? Not lemon.

The icing was kinda hard but tasted good, sweet, good lemon flavor.

I think they are still working on the cake idea. **+.

Update: I had another, and still did not like the cake. But the lemon frosting was really fantastic. * cake, *** frosting.

Vegan Vanilla Cake.

My co-workers keep raving about these vegan cakes, so I finally tried another, vanilla this time.

I still really did not like the cake. So dense and just strange.

The frosting was decent though, strange for sure, but really deep vanilla flavor. Still, I don't want another piece of this cake.

**.

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. $65.

"Triple layer red velvet cake! Topped with homemade cream cheese frosting."

Three Babes added this cake, and this cake only, to their public offerings for a while, but it did require 24 hour notice, and was available by whole 9" diameter, very lofty, cake only. They also sold limited slices at the market. I don't think they still offer it however

The cake comes frosted on top and on the sides with cream cheese frosting, and the edges are covered in red velvet cake crumbs. No additional decoration is added, although you could easily write your own happy birthday message, add candles, etc.

Red Velvet Cake: Side Profile.

The cake is a lofty three layer beauty, with generous cream cheese icing between the layers, and on top, and down the sides. Cream cheese frosting forward, one might say.

And that frosting? De-licious! Seriously, perfectly cream cheesy, smooth, rich. Fabulous fabulous frosting.

The cake itself is moist, has a good crumb, light flavor, just a touch of cocoa to it, classic red velvet.

Overall, a very delightful cake. The ratio of frosting to cake was perfect for me, and I enjoyed it even more with a scoop of ice cream alongside (family tradition, we always had ice cream with our cakes ...). I'd gladly have this again.

****.

Velvet Cake (2021).

A few years later, I had a sheet cake version of velvet cake, and it was glorious too, although less impressive in looks than the layered version. It also was just a "velvet" cake, not a red velvet.

While the cake wasn't red like red velvet, but it had a hint of cocoa flavor, and was quite moist. The frosting is what made it though, soooo smooth, soooo sweet, sooo cream cheesy ... just, excellent!

This cake I've had several more times, and it does always mess with my head a little - it looks like a carrot cake, and with the intense cream cheese icing, it is almost a carrot cake, but then ... it doesn't have carrots, nor nuts, not spicing. I enjoy it still, but generally it just leaves me craving carrot cake.

***+.

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream.

The ratio of buttercream frosting to cake drew me in immediately. Now THAT is how a cake should be frosted!

The cake itself was fine. Decently moist, decent cocoa flavor, fairly standard chocolate cake. Not amazing, but certainly not bad, and likely better than your average grocery store cake.

The frosting was good too - again, a touch above average. Sweet but not cloying, nice and thick, good texture.

Together, a solid, good but not remarkable, cake.

***.

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream. (Oct 2021).

A few years later I had this again.

It ... was strange cake. Very, very dense, almost like a brownie, but not quite. Compressed like a brownie, but with cake structure, if that makes sense. It had a deep cocoa flavor, but the density was just ... odd. I wanted a fluffier cake!

The frosting was average, but again, a bit dense, thick. Sweet.

The entire thing tasted sorta like an Oreo, just, in dense cake form.

**+.

Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
(Feb 2022).

This is a cake my mother would enjoy.

The cake itself was well baked - very light, moist, good ginger flavor. It was fairly simple and plain otherwise though - I craved for some kind of mix-ins, or perhaps an interesting complimentary frosting (lemon?). The cream cheese frosting didn't quite go with it for me, the cream cheese flavor was quite strong, and it dominated the more subtle flavors of the ginger. It was creamy though.

So, overall, a nicely made cake, but not one I found myself excited by. **+.

Pride Cakes! Chocolate, Vanilla, Red Velvet.

For SF Pride one year, my office had Three Babes cakes, and we had not just one giant rainbow cake, but three!

All had the same buttercream (sweet, fluffy, very good), but the bases were different. I, of course, tried all three.

Sheet Cake.

Vanilla: This was good cake. Simple, classic, vanilla cake. Slightly sweet. Moist but with a crispy top. Nothing extraordinary, but good. Nice combination with the very sweet buttercream too. Second favorite. ***.

Chocolate: The chocolate was also good, it wasn't intense ZOMG chocolate, but it was good. My least favorite of the three though. ***.

Red Velvet: The red velvet had the same rainbow plain buttercream, so it wasn't quite as good as the regular red velvet cake that Three Babes makes with the cream cheese frosting, but I still liked it quite a bit. Loved it paired with some ice cream. My favorite of the three. ***+.

Cupcakes

If sheet cakes or full size layer cakes aren't your thing, they also make cupcakes.

Chocolate with Vanilla Buttercream.

The cupcake really seemed about the same as the sheet cake. Fairly average cake, not moist nor dry, just, average. Decently deep chocolate flavor. Frosting generically sweet, approaching cloying but not quite, buttercream.

I didn't particularly like it as served, but once I warmed up and added ice cream, I enjoyed it enough. Very average. ***.

Red Velvet.

The velvet cupcake was about the same as the sheet cake as well. It looks at first glance more like carrot cake, with only a light color to it. Very consistent bake on these, not moist nor dry, just, there. Slight buttermilk tang, slight cocoa tang. Cream cheese frosting sweet but does taste like cream cheese.

Again, just highly average. ***.

Cake Pops

Ever trendy, cake pops can also be made for catering.

Vanilla.

The cake pop ... looked fun. Coated with white chocolate, decorated with bright squiggles.

It did not taste fun.

The shell was good, sweet, creamy white chocolate. It was nicely decorated.

But inside ... mush. Yes, cake pops are usually cake and frosting mushed together into an interesting texture, but I do normally like cake pops, but this I really didn't like. The flavor was odd, just like the vegan cake. I think this was likely made with the vegan cake? And it was so mushy.

I peeled off the shell and discarded the rest. *.

Chocolate.

The chocolate version was the same format, but with chocolate cake inside, and chocolate coating.

The chocolate coating was successful. Thick, snappy, quality chocolate. But the inside? Again, just ... mush. Chocolate mush, but mush all the same.

Did not like. **.

Breakfast Pastries

Three Babes does not offer breakfast baked goods for retail, but, started doing recipe development to partner with my office (yes, so spoiled!) and started offering one kind of fruit scone (blueberry, raspberry, even cranberry), one savory scone (cheddar & chive, smoked tomato and cheddar), one turnover (savory spinach and cheese or pea and ricotta, or sweet fruit fillings), and many kinds of muffins. We had them every day at breakfast for years. I used to be able to resist the breakfast pastries that were on offer in the cafes, and started my day reasonably healthy, but, alas, I could resist these. Some of the best scones I've ever had.

Scones ($36/dozen)

Fruit / Sweet

Blueberry Scone.

Well, Three Babes nailed these. I was shocked to learn that they just started making them, and had started making them just for us. These were some of the best scones I've ever had.

The base flavor had a bit of tang from buttermilk, not plain or boring at all. They are moist inside, buttery but not too rich, with just the right amount of crumble, and pearl sugar on top for some crunch (and sweetness!). Little bursts of flavor from the blueberries, but honestly, even plain these would be fantastic.

I also appreciate the mini size, particularly as they are now part of my morning routine, and, more often than not, I add a little whipped cream on top ...

****.

Pumpkin Cranberry (Fall 2017).

As the seasons switched, berries gave way to everyone's favorite: pumpkin.

This was a nice scone. Good pumpkin flavor, soft texture, subtle spices. Little bits of cranberry inside for bursts of sweetness and tartness, plus a bit of chew.

Not necessarily the type of scone I generally go for, but, a good version of a fall classic.

***+.

Pumpkin Cranberry (Fall 2018).

The next year though, the pumpkin cranberry was entirely different. And not in good ways.

Way to aggressively spiced. Too many hard chewy cranberries. Hard texture.

Not good, not sure why they changed the recipe so dramatically.

**.

Strawberry.

These didn't look like much, looked hard, irregular sizes, inconsistently cooked ... but I like them. Good flavor to that base, nice crumble. Best with whipped cream and treated like a shortcake biscuit.

***+.

Savory

Smoked Tomato and Cheddar Scone.

I loved the sound of these savory scones, but, I think savory just isn't what I actually wanted the morning I grabbed one.

The flavor was intensely savory, great tomato flavor, nice herbs, and just totally not what I wanted for breakfast. I find it hard to evaluate this when what I really wanted was a sticky bun or apple fritter ...

***.

Chive & Sesame Seed.

I really wanted to like the the next savory versions that showed up too. The sesame was an interesting flavor, and I like chives, but, it somehow didn't come together for me.

**+.

Cheddar Corn.

I liked this quite a bit, but, not as a breakfast scone.

It had a nice grit from what I assume was cornmeal, plus actual chunks of roasted corn, and a bit of cheese.

A savory item, nice crumble to it, not quite a biscuit, but, still an enjoyable item.

***+.

Broccoli Cheddar.

Well, this was ... dense. Heavy. Not at all what I think of as a scone. Kinda ... a rock, really.

It did have strong broccoli and cheddar flavors though, the rock form of a broccoli cheddar soup ...

**+.

Turnovers

"Snack-sized pie pockets made from our all-organic, all-butter crust and baked to golden perfection."

Spinach & Cheese Turnover: Inside.

"Spinach and Cheese turnovers are filled with organic spinach, pepper-jack, cheddar, chives & parsley and finished with a sprinkle of fresh ground pepper and kosher salt."

The savory turnovers were filled inside with a mix of green stuff (chopped spinach, chives, parsley) and cheeses (cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream), with pepper baked into the pastry to indicate the savory-ness.

I didn't really like these. The puff pastry was fine, flaky, fresh, but the filling just wasn't for me. **+.

Strawberry.

The sweet one was also unremarkable.

The puff pastry was a bit different than the savory version, thinner. It was fine, but didn't seem much different than pre-made puff pastry you can buy at the grocery store, which made me sad, because Three Babes makes such amazing crust.

The filling was simple strawberry jam it seemed, again, not much different from what I'd pull out of my fridge, and stuff into my extra pie dough or puff pastry myself.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, there just wasn't anything special about this. **+.

Muffins ($36/dozen)

The newest items to the lineup, but, just like the scones, you'd think that they have been making these for years. They really do a nice job with the muffins.

The muffins are standard size, reasonable muffins. Not 600+ calorie monsters from chain "bakeries", not unsatisfying minis. Just right. They look much like what a home baker would make ... if a home baker churned out perfect muffins. They come in tulip style wrappers, rather than muffin tins, for a pretty effect.

They all have perfect tops, in that they are slightly crispy. Yet inside is always moist. No dry bits, no burnt edges, ever. The regular muffins just are textbook. The vegan ones can be hit or miss.

Plain Base

The most basic muffins start with a plain, perhaps vanilla (?) base, lightly colored, slightly sweet.

Orange Cardamom Muffin.

The first I tried was orange cardamom.

This was a very well cooked muffin. It was not dry or overcooked anywhere - the edges, the top, the interior, all moist and perfect.

I personally don't care for citrus or cardamom, so the flavor wasn't quite for me, but, I recognize how well done the muffin was. Several of my co-workers raved about these. **+.

Vanilla Bean.

What is a vanilla bean *muffin* anyway?

To me, it was basically a vanilla cupcake, but, uh, without frosting. Which, is ... quite frankly, boring.

I wanted frosting. But it was a nicely cooked muffin. **+.

Pumpkin Crumble Muffin.

I'm not a fan of what I call "pumpkin spice" season. I'm not a pumpkin spice lover. But this muffin might make me change my mind.

This was my favorite Three Babe's muffin so far. And one of the best muffins I've ever had.

Again, perfectly cooked, moist, tender, nice crumb, not a dry bit in sight. It was pleasantly spiced, but also had an amazing tang to it (buttermilk??!). I loved the sweet crumble on top, and the texture it added.

This was an all time great muffin, and the only suggestion I have is to add pecans ... or some frosting, and call it a cupcake! I expect it would toast nicely with cream cheese too, but, I devoured as is.

****.

Pumpkin Crumble. (Nov 2021).

It had been years since I had a Three Babes muffin, but when I happened to be in the office early on a November morning, I was delighted to see the pumpkin crumble muffins. I had vague memories of really liking them before.

And ... yup, it was a great muffin. Really moist, nice crumb, excellent spicing, subtle pumpkin flavor. The crumble on top was minimal, but that made it more appropriate for a breakfast item, than a dessert-style muffin, although I think you could easily take it that way with a little whipped cream or ice cream.

I was thrilled to discover that it now had a filling - some cream cheese I think! I still think it would be even better with pecans added, but I was pretty happy with it as is.

****.

Pumpkin Sour Cream Muffin.

After the success of the pumpkin crumble muffin, I was very excited for the pumpkin sour cream one.

It was ... underwhelming. A fine muffin, crisp top, moist inside, but I didn't really taste sour cream and it was just a kinda boring pumpkin spiced muffin to me. **+.

Date Nut.

The date nut muffin was fine.

Well executed. I liked the crunch of the chopped nuts on top and throughout. But date isn't really a flavor I love, and, well, this was a date muffin. A bit healthy tasting. **+.

Cinnamon Sugar.

Strangely, this was not a good muffin.

The base wasn't quite plain, it seemed somewhat molasses like.

The muffin was dense and dry, with a sweetness I couldn't pinpoint (again, molasses perhaps?). The top did have cinnamon and sugar, but it was hard and nearly burnt.

Not a good muffin, not up to their standards at all. **.

Fruity

The fruit based muffins change constantly with what is in season.

Cherry Cinnamon.

All was redeemed with the cherry cinnamon muffin though.

Back to the plain base, but cinnamon flavored throughout. Big juicy cherries inside, providing pops of flavor.

I wouldn't think of combining cherries and cinnamon, but, it worked. ***.

Blackberry Oat.

This one was a quasi success. Kinda deflated in a way that made the texture not great, but I liked the flavor of the base.

I didn't care for the blackberries though, because of the seeds, which is just something I don't care for in general. I knew I would likely be disappointed by these. They were juicy and decently plentiful, just, not for me.

The scattering of oats on top was a hearty compliment that worked for me.

Overall, not a good pick for me, and not perfectly executed, but, it had promise. ***.

Chocolate

The chocolate muffins all use a somewhat chocolatey base, in that the color is darker and you can almost tell it has chocolate, absolutely loaded with bits of high quality dark chocolate. The chocolate they use is phenomenal, and they do no skimp on the inclusions. The chocolate bits make these muffins.

Chocolate Raspberry.

Another perfectly cooked muffin. Not a dry bite in sight.

It was loaded up with chocolate bits, which I really liked. Quality chocolate, plenty of it. The raspberry flavor wasn't as pronounced, and I wasn't a fan of the seeds (because I never like raspberry seeds!), but chocolate raspberry is a good combo.

Overall, a good muffin, particularly when you want some chocolate in your morning treat. ***+

Chocolate Peppermint (December 2017 Holiday Special).

This was very similar to the chocolate raspberry. A nicely cooked muffin, crispy top, chunks of quality chocolate throughout. I really liked the crushed bits of candy cane on top.

Overall, not really the muffin for me, as the base didn't really offer anything to me, but, I liked the mint. ***.

Chocolate Pecan (Jan 2018).

Winner, winner.

This was the best chocolate muffin so far. Same base that was vaguely chocolatey and loaded with bits of high quality dark chocolate. It was also studded, and topped with, bits of pecan, which added even more crunch.

My mother makes a chocolate nut pie that I adore, and this reminded me of it. The dark chocolate and nuts combo is an excellent one. ****.

Chocolate Walnut.

The chocolate walnut was basically the same as chocolate pecan, just with walnuts instead of pecans. I still loved the big chunks of quality dark chocolate, and the crunch from the nuts, but, I don't like walnuts nearly as much as pecans, so, that part was less successful for me. ***+.

Chocolate Coconut (Jan 2018).

On the heels of the chocolate pecan came chocolate coconut, my least favorite.

Same base of vaguely chocolate, loaded with chunks of chocolate, but also studded with coconut. The coconut added texture, but not the pleasant kind. It was more like sawdust inside.

I did not like this. *+.

Mexican Chocolate. (July 2021).

After years of not having a Three Babes muffin, I decided to try one, even though "Mexican chocolate", e.g. cinnamon and chocolate, is not a flavor I gravitate towards. I like chocolate, I like cinnamon, but I rarely like them together.

And alas, I did not really care for this. On the plus side, it had little chunks of chocolate, and pearl sugar on top. But, the cinnamon was *very* strong, and dominated, with chocolately undertones, which is entirely what I don't like. The texture was also a bit ...mushy?

*+.

Mocha (Jan 2022).

One day at lunchtime our cafe had some muffins still hanging around, and craving a chocolate dessert, this jumped out, a mocha muffin.

It didn't look great, but I think the pot marks on top were just espresso bits? It was a fine muffin, cake-like, slightly chocolately, slightly bitter from coffee. I wanted some buttercream frosting, and some chocolate chunks in it, and really, I just wanted it to be a cupcake, but, it was a fine muffin.

***.

Hearty Base

I made up this category, but it covers all the muffins with a bit a more to the bases - cornmeal, oats, seeds ...

Honey Cornmeal.

Corn / cornmeal / cornbread muffins. I generally like them, particularly when warm and slathered with honey butter, or my mom's jam.

This wasn't a particularly interesting muffin though. Kinda gritty, but dry, and I didn't quite care for the honey flavor.

**+.

Honey Cornmeal (December 2021).

After several years, I gave the honey cornmeal muffin another try, when I was really craving cornbread. I liked it much more than my previous notes implied I did then.

The honey gives it a unique spin on a regular cornmeal muffin, and makes honey butter not necessarily, although a good slather of butter or blueberry jam still goes great with it! It also makes it a fairly sweet muffin, more appropriate to pair with a meal as you would a slice of cornbread, or, even turn into a dessert with fresh strawberries and cream. A very versatile muffin!

***+.

Cornmeal Strawberry Muffin.

This muffin might have looked a bit sad, but, I assure you, it wasn't. It was a very nostalgic muffin for me.

Yes, it wasn't lofty, and it had fallen, but, it was very tasty.

I'm a sucker for cornmeal, so I loved the grit and texture it added. And my favorite way to eat corn muffins, or cornbread, when I was growing up, was slathered with my mom's homemade strawberry jam (and butter of course). Rather than add on jam afterwards, the jam was baked in here, gooey pockets of sweet strawberry.

Very good, and my favorite, at the time. ****.

Cornmeal Strawberry Muffin (April 2018).

A few months later, we had these again.

This time it again looked fallen, and a bit gummy, but, it hadn't looked great before, so I wasn't worried.

Cornmeal Strawberry Muffin Mush.

But ... it was not properly baked.

Consistency does not seem to be their strength. Maybe they are scaling too fast?

This muffin was just unbaked mush inside. Was it not baked long enough? Too much moisture from the fruit? I'm not sure. It was soggy and just not appealing in looks, nor in taste. **+.

Cornmeal Molasses (January 2018).

Another cornmeal base, but entirely different, a winter offering. Very dense, less moist and fluffy inside than others, but for this style of muffin, that was fine.

I liked the grit from the cornmeal. But ... you really need to like molasses, gingerbread style flavors, to like this. And, well, those aren't my thing. If you like gingerbread, gingerbread cookies, and the like, then, I think this would be a very fun muffin, but for me, it was just too much molasses. **.

Cherry Poppy Seed.

Like the cornmeal strawberry, this one looked a bit deflated. And like the cornmeal strawberry, it had an additional gritty element, this time from the poppy seeds.

But it didn't matter that it was deflated, it was still moist, well cooked, and flavorful. They really have nailed their base muffin batter. I liked the pops of flavor from the cherries too.

I used to love lemon poppy seed muffins, but, it turns out, I like cherry poppy more! ****.

Cherry Poppy Seed (Jan 2018).

Another day, another cherry poppy seed muffin, which, after the success of the previous, I gladly snatched up.

It was again excellent.

I loved the grit from the poppy seeds. I love the moisture level of the muffin, and the plentiful juicy cherries. I liked the flavor and tang to the base. I liked the crunchy top.

Everything about this muffin is just a home run, it continues to be an absolute favorite. ****.

Cherry Poppyseed (May 2018).

I continue to have these regularly, and they generally are quite solid muffins. Well baked, good flavor to the base, nice crunch from the seeds.

The inconsistencies however lay in the fruit. This one had ... exactly one piece of one cherry. Technically a cherry poppyseed muffin, yes, but, it certainly left something to be desired. ***+.

Lemon Poppy Seed.

A few days later, I tried the more classic lemon poppy seed.

It was another great muffin. Crispy top, moist inside. I loved the tang to the base flavor, and the crunch from the poppy seeds. Lemon isn't my favorite, but the brightness worked well here.

Classic, good muffin. ***+.

Lemon Poppyseed. (Aug 2021)

After years of not having a Three Babes muffin, I was drawn in by the lemon poppyseed. I wasn't ever much of a muffin eater growing up, but I always really enjoyed the lemon poppyseed one from Dunkin' Donuts (no longer offered, sadly), particularly when I smothered it in my mom's homemade jam. And so whenever I see a lemon poppyseed muffin, I snatch it up (or, my real fav, the almond poppyseed from Costco - don't judge!)

Anyway, this was a good muffin. It did not have the crispy top, and layer of pearl sugar on top I hoped it would (e.g. trying to make it be my Dunks!), but it was a moist muffin, filled with plenty of poppyseeds for excellent crunch, and even a slight tang. I didn't taste much lemon, but that was fine with me. Really, a decent muffin, and I enjoyed it.

***.

Lemon Poppyseed. (December 2021).

I seem to have forgotten that I didn't particularly like the lemon poppyseed, and gleefully picked one up a few months later. Again, memories of my favorite lemon poppyseed muffins of my youth dashed in my mind, but then ... this was not it. I didn't taste any lemon at all really, and although I liked the crunch from the poppyseeds, besides that, it was pretty boring. Kudos to the sugar top though.

Eh. **+.

Banana Oat.

This was likely a fine muffin, but I took one bite, and realized I really did not want a banana muffin. I just ... wasn't in the mood for banana at all.

That said, I liked the heartiness from the oat, it had a nice crispy top, and was moist inside. **+.

Orange Cinnamon Bran Crumble.

I love bran muffins. Yup, I said it. I know many people find these to be the oatmeal raisin cookie of muffins (you know, the ones last picked, healthy-ish, etc), but, I really like a hearty bran muffin, particularly if I slather it with butter or jam.

I was thrilled to see bran muffins make an appearance, although I can't say I've ever had one with a crumble top before, and I was skeptical of the orange, as not usually what I go for in my baked goods.

It was a decent muffin. I did indeed like the dense, hearty, bran base, good chew to it. The crumble top was a bit odd - I think much better suited to a fruity muffin, but, I'm not going to be sad about a crumble. I did detect a bit of orange which I could do without, and didn't really taste cinnamon.

So, overall, a decent bran muffin, I'd prefer it not orange cinnamon, and good but out of place crumble topping. I'd eat another, but would prefer a slightly different version.

***+.

Savory

Jalapeño Cheddar.

This was ... ok.

Not really what I want for a breakfast muffin, more like a side you'd have with some BBQ ribs, slaw, and the like, instead of a cornbread.

It was a dense, savory muffin, loaded with cheese, herbs, and a decent amount of jalapeño, both chunks inside, and, a slice on top.

Overall a nice item actually, but, it had a bit more kick than I wanted alongside my coffee and breakfast. ***+.

Vegan

The vegan muffins are newer, and, sadly not very successful.

Raspberry.

I wish I had a better photo of this.

This was ... horrible looking? Deflated. Underbaked. Oily. Honestly, quality assurance should have never let this leave their kitchen, nor be put out in our cafe.

Vegan experiment did not work out. *.

Gluten-Free

Gluten-free baked goods are hard, and I was pretty skeptical about the Three Babe's offerings, particularly given how ... bad they looked. I tried out of fascination.

Cardamom Lemon.

Uh. Something went quite wrong here.

The tops were ... disconnected and shattered. A thin crispy thing on top. That said, it was a sweet, lemon and cardamom flavored crust, and I kinda liked it.

Under that, a seriously deflated mass of cooked dough. I'm not calling it a muffin. It had no rise at all. Dense. Gummy. But it was fully cooked, not raw. And it did have nice lemon and cardamom flavors, balanced.

This gluten-free experiment certainly did not work out, but the flavors were there, and I did like the top, strange as it was. **+.

Chocolate Chip (Feb 2019).

I didn't try another Three Babe's gluten-free muffin for at least a year, but one day, the chocolate chip ones really did look good.

However, they let me down as much as the previous one, just, differently.

The top was a nice texture, crispy, studded with pearl sugar. But everything else about this was not good - the texture of the muffin itself, the flavor, and the mouthfeel ... sawdust, really. This was exactly the sort of gluten-free items that gives gluten-free a bad reputation.

Did not like, clearly. **.

GF Coconut Muffin. (Nov 2021).

This was shockingly good. But not what I expected in a muffin.

Dense, moist, loaded with coconut, almost ... mochi like? It was odd, no question, but sorta like a mochi-coconut cake? It had a tang to it as well, almost like buttermilk, but likely from coconut milk? It grew on me quickly.

I am not sure I'd like it as a breakfast pastry, but it worked really well as a dessert, with fresh fruit and cream added, I really liked it.

***+.

GF Coconut Muffin (Nov 2021),

Just a few days later, we had these again, and I immediately grabbed one.

This time, I was prepared with strawberries and whipped cream, and again adored it. I also found it kept well for a day or so, which is a great benefit in a baked good as they usually have such sort shelf life.

***+.

Update Review: These are part of my cafe's regular rotation, and thus, mine too. I have also experimented with warming it up, adding fresh berries (blackberries, blueberry, raspberries, strawberries, all work equally well), and a scoop of lychee, mango, or coconut gelato, and, wow, what wonderful creations ****.

Another Update Review: One morning I decided I wanted to warm up one I had left over, that was a day or two old, so I added a little water to it before wrapping in foil to place in the toaster oven. Or at least, that was my plan, but I accidentally added way too much water. I hoped it would steam out? It didn't, and rather, the muffin totally disintegrated (it was soo strange!), but, that worked too - I just mushed it up, added more hot water and warm milk, and turned it into porridge. Yes, really. Warm coconut breakfast mochi porridge. I topped with fresh fruit and slivered almonds, and, hey, really liked it. So versitle! ***+ like that too.

Coffee Cake

And ... another new product: coffee cakes!

Apple Coffee Cake.

The coffee cake was ... boring.

The base fairly plain and a bit dry. Few slices of apple found. Streusel topping not very generous. Underwhelming. **+.

Blueberry Coffee Cake (Gluten-Free).

The blueberry coffee cake was actually a lot more interesting, even though gluten-free (no offense!)

It had a good distribution of juicy blueberries, which I liked. The cake was boring, but, at least it didn't taste strangely gluten-free?

The topping was the best part. Streusel, crispy, good brown sugar.

Overall, still not a decadent item, and not a dessert, but, a decent little morning coffee cake. ***.

Blueberry Coffee Cake (gluten-free)
March 2022 Version.

Many years later I tried the gluten-free blueberry coffee cake when it returned in an updated sheet cake format.

My review is pretty different, so I suspect it has changed over the years in ways other than the form factor. I found it to have an odd texture, strangely gummy, and it screamed out "I'm gluten-free!". Meh.

**.

Blackberry Coffee cake.

I am never a huge fan of blackberries, but I couldn't resist trying this one, as the crumble top looked excellent, far more generous than the previous versions.

The cake was the best so far, really moist from the juicy berries, but of course I wished they weren't blackberries.

But what I didn't like, strangely, was the topping. Yes, there was a generous crumble, but the flavor of it was spiced in a way I didn't like. **+.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake. August 2021.

After several years, coffee cake came back, this time in a different format: large sheet cake, cut into squares, rather than the individual rounds.

This coffee cake was much more successful: super moist, super fluffy, and loved the slight tang from the sour cream. It was a bit plain (for a dessert) as served, but I added fresh berries and whipped cream and really enjoyed it.

***.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake. (November 2021).

When the sour cream coffee cake showed up again a few months later, I was happy to snag a slice, even though, I still don't consider it a dessert, and that is when my cafe serves it.

It was again beautifully moist, had a nice tang from sour cream, and I liked the streusel on top. This time, I was prepared to turn it into a "real" dessert though, and added berries (from the froyo station) and whipped cream (from the coffee bar), and jazzed it up. I do think that served as is, at room temp, would be great alongside a morning cup of coffee too.

***+, it really is above average coffee cake.

Lemon Coffee Cake. November 2021.

The sour cream coffee cake just haunts me such that I now try all the coffee cakes, this time, lemon.

It was fine, but extremely boring. Moist, but no particular taste to it, very subtle if any lemon. Yay for streusel on top, but not much of it. Eh.

**+.

[ No Photo ]

Banana Coffee Cake. Nov 2021.

A few days later, another coffee cake. I knew it was banana, and I don't tend to care for banana bread, but ... I had such fond memories of the sour cream coffee cake that I couldn't resist.

And ... yeah. Eh. It was moist, and if you like banana bread, it was basically that, crossed with coffee cake. I liked the streusel on top, and wished it had more.

***, as it was a fine coffee cake, just not the one for me.

Salads

Yeah, what? Three Babes makes salads??! Well, no, but they did really briefly for our office.

Italian Salad.

This salad had romaine and radicchio as the base, plus white beans, provolone and salami cubes, and pepperoncini, with a simple vinaigrette.

I was most interested in the salami and cheese, but, neither delivered for me. The "aged Italian provolone" didn't have much flavor, and the salami was the style of porky I don't like. And I never like vinaigrette.

I'm also confused why a bakery is making salad! **.

Original Review, 2015

I love attending cooking demos all over town. I don't generally blog about them however.

On Saturday mornings, I often attend demos at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. The range of chefs, and dishes prepared, is varied. Some are chefs from out of town visiting on cookbook tours. Others are high profile chefs from around town. Some are a bit boring, others are highly entertaining. Most are savory chefs, but every once in a while, we are in for a treat. A sweet treat.

On those days, since I'm a dessert-o-holic, I make extra sure to attend, like when Kara from Kara's Cupcakes does demos, or whenever Yigit Pura pops up around town.

For Valentine's day this year, the ladies behind Three Babes Bakeshop were there demo pie. I obviously had to attend!

As always, the demo was outside in the open demo kitchen that Cuesa, the organization that runs the farmer's market, sets up. The presenters, Anna and Lenore, were so much fun. They are the "babes" who have been friends since childhood and started Three Babes Bakeshop together. They live together, work together, and have known each other for years, and somehow still seem to get along! Amazing. They provided a slew of tips about pie making, and did it with a batch of humor mixed in.

Three Babes does not have a local retail store, but many of their pies are available for delivery via GoodEggs, which I just recently started using. They also have a stand at the weekly Ferry Building Market. They sell mostly whole pies, but you can also purchase just the dough to make your own pies without doing the most daunting step. If you are super ambitious, you can get a 3, 6, or 12 month "pie subscription", which delivers one pie a month! The range of pies available is extensive, including savory pies, nut pies, cream pies, custard pies, and fruit pies, with just about every single type of topping (double crust, lattice, crumble, etc). They also like to throw in some bourbon. I like them already!

February 14, 2015

Apple Crumble Pie.

After the demo, we were all given samples. I wouldn't say that the samples are the ONLY reason I attend the demos, but, they sure don't hurt. And these were not just little tiny sample cups to entice us to go buy a slice from their stand. These were full pieces of pie! Even MY family would consider these full slices. So generous!

The crust was downright amazing. So flaky and buttery. I know butter worked properly into the dough is the secret to a good crust (and perhaps the apple cider vinegar too?), but wow, these ladies have nailed it. Perfect crust. I see why they sell just the crust!

Seriously, I didn't need the rest of the pie, just the crust and I would have been happy.

The filling was classic apple, which they recommend pre-cooking slightly before baking to ensure that the crust and filling are both done at the right time. No undercooked fruit here, nor burning the crust in order to finish the baking of the fruit. They clearly care about getting the details right. And, they were, the apples were perfect, not mushy, not too firm, well spiced. They could probably sell their pie filling too!

And finally, the crumble topping, which was everything I always want a crumble topping to be. Crunchy, sweet, decadent. Butter was likely the key here too, but, if you are having pie, you might as well have GOOD pie.

This was great, and I look forward to trying more of their pies.

Unfortunately, they don't generally sell mini-pies, or slices via Good Eggs, so I'll have to wait until I need a whole pie sometime, or, I supposed I could just get a nut pie and freeze it ...

May 25, 2013

They also did a demo back in May of 2013, and somehow, I took a photo and notes then too. I recall the demo then being just as fun as the recent one!

Bing Cherry Pie.

The sample however was just a small cup, hence why I expected just a small sample at the recent demo.

It was an awesome pie. The crust was buttery and decadent. The cherries were super cooked down and almost caramelized.

I would have loved it warm with ice cream!

May 26, 2012

And ... the previous May too! These ladies give back to their community!

Mixed Berry Rhubarb Crumble Pie.

Like I said, they make a lot of different pies! This was a mixed berry (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry) with rhubarb, and the same great crumble topping.

I don't have notes from way back then though, and again, the sample was just a tiny cup (which is totally normal and expected).

Friday, January 05, 2024

Snacks from Pipsnacks

Mini Popcorn

Thursday, January 04, 2024

Three Babes Bakeshop

Update Reviews, 2015-2024

Pies

March 2017 - Pi Day

March 2018 - Pi Day

Nut Pies ($45)

Fruit Pies ($45-55)

Cream & Custard Pies ($45)

Slab Pies ($110/$115 (vegan), 17"x12")

Nut Slab Pies

Fruit Slab Pies

Other Bars

Parfaits

Cookies ($36/dozen)

Cakes (Sheet $100, 17"x 12")

Cupcakes

Cake Pops

Breakfast Pastries

Scones ($36/dozen)

Fruit / Sweet

Savory

Turnovers

Muffins ($36/dozen)

Plain Base

Fruity

Chocolate

Hearty Base

Savory

Vegan

Gluten-Free

Coffee Cake

Salads

Original Review, 2015

February 14, 2015

May 25, 2013

May 26, 2012