Bluestreet Dessert Cafe

Dessert.  If you read my blog, you know I'm a dessert girl through and through (I eat dessert after every lunch and dinner, without fail, my blog has a label just for desserts and I review exclusively bakeries and ice cream shops on Thursday, etc).  So of course when a new dessert cafe opened in New York this May, I was going to pay attention.

"Coffee • Crepes • Waffles • Desserts. Your day-to-midnight cafe in NYC."

Note though that Bluestreet is a dessert cafe, not a bakery, a point I didn't quite realize until I visited.  The main attraction is their crepes, which they do make there and smother in Instagram worthy sauces, but most of the other desserts from the extensive lineup seem purchased from elsewhere.  Still a cute place, but not where to go if you want homemade desserts (other than the crepes and waffles).

Exterior.

The exterior was quite eye catching, with bright blue color (for "Bluestreet"?) and clear "COFFEE" and "DESSERT" signs.  In the summer, the whole front opens up, making it really quite inviting.

Inside.

Inside has table and long display cases, and an open prep area where you could watch them assemble items like crepes.

Nice Decor.

The place is really pleasantly decorated, is well kept, and clean.  I used the bathroom when I was there, and it too was aesthetically pleasing and clean.

Baked Goods / Chocolate.

The pastries looked decent, relatively glossy and flaky looking croissants, muffins with a homemade look, soft looking cookies.

They also sell several styles of $$ Dubai chocolate bars.

Cakes / Cookies.

On the bottom two rows of this case were cakes that didn't really look housemade.  I can't imagine a bakery making them in house putting in the little paper separators like that.  I suspect these are frozen and thawed, from a wholesale distributor. It was also notable that only one item in this entire case, on the middle row, said homemade (the carrot cake). The top layers were cookies and more cakes.

Mousses / Baklava. 

The most attractive looking items were here, as they carry a bunch of those fruit mousses that are shaped and colored to look like real fruits, and come wiht names like "Strawberry Bliss" (for the strawberry shaped one), "Blueberry Dream" (for the blueberry), etc.  This section also had tons of styles of baklava, and some other cookies and bars.

Dubai Chocolate Cake. $8.90.

"Rich chocolate cake layered with pistachio cream and crispy kadayif, finished with a glossy chocolate coating."

I ordered online in advance, so I didn't realize that the time I was picking something that didn't look homemade.  Yep, I went for the Dubai chocolate trendy cake.  I know, I know, but I really like crispy kadayif, and was in the mood for chocolate, so this sounded promising.

The cake was ok, but not really anything special. The chocolate cake bottom layer was a bit dry, not necessarily the freshest.  But the pistachio cream was sweet and creamy, I loved the texture from the crispy kadaif, and the fudge was fine.  This cake was definitely carried by the toppings, not the cake itself.

I did finish this (part I had with ice cream to balance the rich fudge) and liked it well enough, but I wouldn't get it again, and I doubt they make it in-house.  3/5, higher end.

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Let's Bounce - Powered By Keki

Let's Bounce - Powered By Keki.  That's an awkward mouthful of a business name. I think? it is the evolution of a previous bakery, Keki Modern Cakes.

"After traveling Asia and savoring pastries, founders Moul Kim and Lawrence Wai returned to New York determined to recreate those flavors. Teaming up with Executive Chef Kevin Kim, they founded Keki, sourcing fresh ingredients from Upstate NY and Amish Country, PA.  Chinatown, NYC, with its cherished memories, was the perfect location for their flagship. In April 2017, Keki opened on Mott Street, revitalizing the neighborhood and attracting visitors from near and far."

That's all the info I can find on Keki, of either business name.  These days, they make mostly cheesecakes in several styles, and also cream puffs, which I think were their most popular items from the previous incarnation.

Packaging.

We ordered for delivery. The cakes came attractively boxed up, tied with strings.

Let's Bounce - Powered By Keki makes 3 main styles of cheesecake: bouncy (per their namesake, several flavors), basque (with or without yuzu glaze), and "fancy" (several flavors).  I didn't get to try the basque this time, but tried several of the other styles.

Bouncy Cheesecake

"Hailing from Osaka Japan, Keki’s famous bouncy cheesecakes are light and silky in texture and melt in your mouth! Made with locally sourced fresh ingredients, our cheesecakes feature Organic Grass Fed Milk, Amish Cream Cheese, and Organic Free-Range Eggs. All this fresh goodness makes our cheesecakes bounce and dance with delight!"

Their signature cake, or at least the one they seem to be named after, is the bouncy style cheesecake.  If you are unfamiliar, the name comes from the fact that it jiggles a bit.  It is a lighter style cheesecake, sorta hybrid cheesecake-cake-souffle.  Some people call them souffle cheesecakes.  I first had this style from Uncle Tetsu in Sydney when it was ultra popular (2018), and wasn't quite as wowed by it as some people, but I still wanted to give this a try, as it had been years since I've had this style.  I believe they only make two flavors of the bouncy style, I tried both.

Original Bouncy. $18.

Just like Uncle Tetsu, this came with a nearly burnt looking top, and branding of the bakery name.  

It was fine.  Yes, a sorta lighter, less dense, less decadent, somewhat cakier cake, that still did taste like cheesecake.  Certainly not too sweet.  It made me think of angel food cake, one of my least favorite styles of cake, but, an angel food cake that had been crossed with cheesecake.  I found it kinda underwhelming flavor wise, and needed to add fresh berries and whipped cream to make it really into an appealing dessert.  3/5.

Ube Bouncy. $20.

The ube one actually looked pretty unattractive on top.  Brown does not really draw me in.  But inside was relatively vibrant purple from the ube.  It didn't taste all that ube unfortunately.

I felt basically the same way about this one as the previous.  It was fine, but I'd prefer another style of cheesecake, or another style of cake.  It was just soo cakey of cheesecake, or too dense of cake. 3/5.

Fancy Cheesecake

"Bottom layer of thin sponge cake, middle layer of American-style cheesecake, top layer of mascarpone mousse with a flavor."

Then there are the "fancy" ones.  These really were an adventure with three different distinct layers within.  Interestingly, these cakes are purchased frozen and requires 2-3 hours to defrost.  I actually liked them considerably more not fully defrosted.

The Fancy ones are available in original, green tea, or strawberry flavors, I tried all but the original.

Fancy Strawberry. $45.

First, visually, this didn't seem that actually "fancy".  The layers weren't even at all either.  

I actually had this after only an hour or so of defrosting time because our host didn't realize they needed to defrost for several hours.  It was rather hard to slice, as the strawberry hunks within were still very solid, but I actually liked it considerably more this way compared to once I let it properly fully defrost.

The base cake was whatever, barely noticeable, which was fine with me.  The cheesecake layer, when still pretty frozen, was just like cheesecake ice cream.  I liked it.  But the real draw for me was the strawberry top layer, which I guess was a strawberry mascarpone mousse.  It was sooo bright and fruity, and again, because quasi-frozen, it was sorta like ice cream or semifreddo.  I don't generally like strawberry ice cream, so this surprised me, but I really, really enjoyed this.  4/5 in semi-frozen form.

Once I let my other slice defrost properly, I liked it considerably less.  The mousse was almost too strongly flavored, and just an odd consistency, airy in a strange way.  The cheesecake seemed to almost melt, and didn't hold up like a regular cheesecake, even though they say it is American-style cheesecake.  So properly defrosted (but still chilled), I wasn't really into it, low 3/5.

Fancy Green Tea. $40.

"Total fanciness, now with extra pop. Kick dessert into high-gear with everyone’s favorite Asian pick-me-up and dance-about: matcha."

I also had the matcha version semi-frozen.  It was much the same as the strawberry, although easier to slice since it didn't have the big frozen strawberries within.  The bottom two layers, which made up about 1/3 of the cake, were exactly the same as the previous strawberry cake.  The green tea mousse was really enjoyable as green tea ice cream basically, such strong pure flavor, not too sweet.  I really liked this too.  4/5.   I didn't try this one defrosted properly.

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Seven Grams Caffe

Cookies and ... coffee.  Not quite the normal fill-in-the-blank choice of childhood milk & cookies, but, at least in New York it is a duo with some legit competition.  I don't mean a coffee shop that has some token cookies and mediocre baked goods on hand.  I mean businesses that focus on exactly those two things: coffee and cookies.  Such as Seven Grams, coffee roaster and caffe.

"That’s who we are, and that’s what we do: We roast great coffee, we bake sensational cookies (and cakes, and brownies, but, come on – the cookies), and we take immense pride in being a small, independent business. No investors, no suits, no big corporates. Just a dream, hard work, and a deep passion for what we do."

They have only 3 locations, all in Manhattan.  The name comes from the number of grams of espresso needed for the perfect shot.  I haven't had their coffee, but I did finally get to try one of their cookies, which frequent a slot in various "best chocolate chip cookie in NY" lists.  I rarely see them take the top honor, and they might not be as well known as some of the other common names (e.g. Levain, Culture Espresso - which, yes, is another cookies & coffee only place), but their name comes up enough that I took notice, even as someone who doesn't get particularly excited about cookies.

"Ooey-gooey, hand-crafted, and baked fresh to order. Expect a crunchy exterior, melt-in-your-mouth interior, and the best vegan cookies you've ever tasted. Crowned one of NYC's 5 Best Chocolate Chip Cookies."

They always offer a chocolate chip cookie for everyone: a classic chocolate chip cookie, a gluten-free and vegan dark chocolate chip cookie, and a vegan tahini & olive oil dark chocolate chip cookie. They have seasonal specials like pumpkin spice and apple cider in the fall, plus peanut butter dark chocolate chip and matcha white chocolate chip.  The bakery makes a few breads and scones too.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie.  $6.50.

"Our irresistible signature recipe of ooey-gooey, luscious, ultra-chocolatey cookies, packed-full of premium dark chocolate chips. Hand-crafted using only the finest ingredients and baked fresh to order, these decadent mega cookies have a crunchy exterior, a melt-in-your-mouth interior, and are packed-full of premium dark chocolate chips."

I had the simple classic.

I loved this cookie.

It was a soft cookie, not underbaked style, but trending that way.  It was thick.  It had plenty of chocolate hunks in it, but not so many it detracted from the taste of the base cookie.  I loved the base cookie flavor, butter, sugar, yes.  A cookie for cookie dough lovers. They say it is dark chocolate, but it was a lighter dark chocolate, a creamier, milkier style that I really liked.  

No edits on this one.  I really, really liked it.  My top chocolate chip cookie in NY so far ... 4.5/5.

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Aux Merveilleux de Fred

I thought I knew basically all types of desserts, and then I was in NY and realized I'd never encountered merveilleux before (I still haven't actually, but I learned about them when reading about a bakery I did have other items from: Aux Merveilleux de Fred).  "Fred", in this case, refers to the baker, Frédéric Vaucamps.  And, merveilleux, a specific kind of French dessert made with meringue, cream, and crumble coatings.  While I don't get excited about meringue (French style hard meringue that is), these still seem interesting, and I'd love to try sometime.

Fancy Box.

"Our cakes and pastries are traditionally made in each of our stores before your own eyes. You will love watching our teams in action as they make our Merveilleux cakes, cramiques and waffles. Our specialties are available in different flavors and sizes to suit all occasions and fancies, from our chocolate cramique as an afternoon snack, to our Merveilleux cakes for an unforgettable birthday celebration. Come and discover our know-how and taste our unmissable desserts!"

I did not have the merveilleux, instead I had some pastries and their other signature item, cramique, at a breakfast event at my office. 

Cramique

"A cramique is a Belgian brioche loaf found in Northern France.  Frédéric Vaucamps has reworked the traditional brioche with raisins. He has combined tradition and modernity with his new cramique recipes that include pearl sugar and chocolate chips. Our doughs are all made using traditional methods. From kneading, to shaping, to baking; watch as they come out of the ovens one after the other: hot cramiques baked all day long from breakfast time until late afternoon!"

These are available in plain, raisin, sugar, raisin & sugar, and chocolate varieties.  All but the raisin are round.  All are $4.95, which felt a bit high for just a simple brioche.  I tried a few to compare.

Plain Cramique.

"Plain brioche."

I started with the plain cramique.  It was ... well, a fairly plain, slightly sweet, fluffy bun.  No more, no less.  Not what I wanted to eat just as is, but I could imagine slathering it with something and enjoying it.  3/5 as there was nothing wrong with it, but it certainly wasn't interesting.

Raisin Cramique.

"Brioche with raisins."

Next I cut off a hunk of the raisin one, just to try it.  For some reason, the raison one only is a oblong shape rather than round roll.  But otherwise the same as all the others, studded with raisins.  Eh, raisins.  Not my thing, and it didn't have any additional spicing like a hot cross bun or other yeasted roll with raisins, so it still was  rather plain and simple for my tastes.  2.5/5.

Sugar Cramique.

"Brioche with sugar pearls."

The pearl sugar studded one was considerably more interesting, and I liked the sweetness, but it still was just a plain brioche, not something I can imagine wanting to just eat.  3/5.

[ Not Pictured ]

Chocolate Cramique

"Brioche with chocolate chips."

The one I picked to have a full size of was the chocolate one, which I somehow failed to get a photo of. It was studded with tiny chocolate chips.  I still found it a bit boring, better when I warmed it up so the chocolate got melty, but again not something I'd seek out.  The best of the bunch.  3/5.

Pastries

Aux Merveilleux de Fred doesn't make many other items, but I think they include croissants (and pain au chocolat) as kinda necessary elements of being a French bakery.

Croissant.

"Crispy pastry made from leavened puff pastry with butter. Our pure butter croissants are made in accordance with a traditional recipe and technique: mixing the pastry, incorporating the butter, shaping the croissant... We insist on the delicious, indulgent, authentic French taste of our croissants."

I had really mixed feelings on the croissant.  It ... wasn't flaky at all.  A good French croissant should be messy, it should shatter when you cut/bite into it, right?  And this did not at all.  But the buttery flavor was fantastic.  I think it would be good perhaps as a croissant sandwich bread, filled with meat/cheese, but really let me down as a standalone croissant, and I was surprised it was such a bready style.  3/5, carried only by the robust buttery flavor.

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Huascar & Company Bakeshop, NYC

New York has a lot of bakeries.  I have places I already love, and ridiculous lists of places I want to try.  I have a list targeted for cakes, another for laminated pastries, another for cinnamon rolls, another for cookies, etc, etc.  One category that doesn't get a lot of entries is pudding.  I adore pudding, of all kinds, hence the label on my blog for it.  Simple banana pudding, custards like crème brûlée, panna cotta, or flan, these all count.  I love them all.  So when a place has a few pudding-adjacent items on a menu, I pay attention.

Huascar & Company Bakeshop is primarily a bakery, with a large lineup of baked goods, all of which I'd be happy to try of course, but they aren't particularly at the tops of my lists for any of those items.  Their menu is extensive though, with a slew of flavors of cakes, cupcakes, and entremets.  Yes, like seemingly everywhere these days, they have a mango mousse that looks like a mango, a lemon ganache that looks like a lemon.  Dubai this and that.  They have cheesecakes and flans.  Cookies, brownies, and bars.  Many items incorporate Dominican flair, as the chef is from the Dominican Republic.  He competed on Food Network’s Sweet Genius and even won Food Network’s Cupcake Wars.

But I had my eyes on the pudding adjacent items, of which we ordered a slew for an event at my office.

Cheesecakes, Flans, Custards & Pies

Key Lime. $8.50.

"Graham cracker crust, fresh key lime custard, and whipped cream topped with lime zest and graham cracker crumbs."

Regular readers of my blog know that I tend to dislike lemon/lime desserts, and I downright loathe graham cracker crust / base, so, why on earth am I including a key lime item?

Simple: we had tons of these leftover, and people were taking just a few spoonfuls of each to try, so I was able to easily take a very small portion just to see if I liked it.  Spoiler: I did not, as expected.

Key Lime.

It was a fine item though, if you like these sorts of things.  The base was a layer of graham cracker crumble (not a crust, it was just loose, which is even worse to me, just, gritty sawdust that easily got mixed in).  The majority of the container was the key lime custard, thick, well set, very tangy.  Very not my thing, but the flavor and consistency were good.  The whipped cream was standard, and the zest on top was attractive and made the flavors pop a bit more.

I didn't care for it, but I have no real points of issue with it, just clearly not my preferences.

Passionfruit Coconut Tres Leches. $9. 

"Our tres leche cake, with a twist—soaked in an our virgin coquito mix, topped with homemade passion fruit jam, coconut whipped cream and sprinkled with toasted coconut."

Next up was the tres leches, which is something I like, but rarely love or get excited about in general.  I've had a lot of kinda mediocre tres leches, but rarely really bad tres leches, and rarely really great tres leches.  I think in my head it lives in the constant realm of things I like in theory, but don't ever get wowed by.

This one did come close to wowing me.  It was far better than any tres leches I'd had in several years but ... partially that is because it wasn't just any tres leches.   It was considerably more interesting than a standard tres leches, as coconut and passionfruit were the real attractions.  The basic formula of multiple milk soaked cake and whipped cream still applied, but otherwise, this was a pretty complex and flavorful dessert.  Also, I kinda think calling it a trifle may be more appropriate?  They do also make a more standard tres leches, spiked with rum.

The middle third of this was the cake, soaked not just in the standard three milks, but in coconut based coquito mix, so it was more flavorful than usual on its own (although I didn't really taste the booziness?). It was very moist, and the ratio of 1/3 cake to everything else made this eat really well.  Yes, it was soggy cake, but it was good.

On top was the coconut whipped cream, a far more substantial portion than what was on top of the key lime where that whipped cream was more of a garnish.  This was a full 1/3 of the dessert, equal ratio with the cake.  It was coconut flavored and had a great thick yet fluffy consistency.  It had a lot of shredded toasted coconut covering it as well, adding even more coconut flavor, lots of texture.  I could have been happy eating this sorta as a coconut cream pie, no cake required.

Below the cake was the passionfruit jam, where even more flavor intensity came from.  While the previous coconut flavors were strong, noticeable, the passion fruit was definitely the dominator.  The jam was so fruity, such concentrated tropical goodness.  Great for those who love passion fruit, and I appreciated that it didn't taste artificial.  It was sweet, but somehow not overly so.  This thick layer was about half the base of the dessert, and again, the ratio just made sense and made it eat so well.  There was a dollop on top of the whipped topping as well.

At the very bottom was a little more very soaked cake, almost so moist it was like pudding.

Overall I found this really easy to enjoy.  An excellent layered tropical trifle where every spoonful just made sense.  4/5.

The portion was large, easily 2 servings, maybe 3, which made the $9 price very reasonable.

Salted Caramel Banana Pudding. $8.25.

"Vanilla pudding with layers of caramelized spiced bananas, vanilla wafers & salted caramel sauce."

And finally, the one I was most excited for, the banana pudding.  Make that, salted caramel banana pudding.  Oh yes.  This took the basic banana pudding format and elevated it considerably (besides the kinda basic vanilla wafers on top, which sorta seems like a miss not to use house made ones?).

I had mixed feelings on this.  It was good, but borderline just too sweet.  I ended up adding a lot of tart blackberries, and regular less sweet whipped cream, to balance it out.  As it was served, it was just too much, even for someone who really loves sweets like me.  Maybe I just needed a black coffee or bitter red wine to pair with it?

Anyway, starting from the top, besides the aforementioned generic throwaway Nilla wafers, there was thick rich whipped cream, lots of it, sweetened, and drizzled with salted caramel sauce.  Very tasty, but even this topping was pretty sweet.

Banana Pudding.

Below that was a layer of the caramelized bananas that were really quite good, and a nice change from just standard sliced bananas in banana pudding / banana cream desserts.  They were nicely spiced, and were a good way to make the dessert less perishable too - I always find slightly brown fresh bananas a bit off putting, but here they were cooked down so this wasn't an issue.  However, this was a really sweet element as they were caramelized, and bananas are already pretty sweet.

After that a thick pudding (they said it was vanilla, but it really tasted banana to me), sweet but not cloying, great consistency, with vanilla wafers embedded within that basically turned into bites of soft cake and bothered me less than the ones on top.  And more salted caramel sauce, more caramelized bananas, more pudding, all kinda layered together in a not distinct fashion.

Put it all together and you had a number of winning elements, and it ate well with thick pudding, soft cake-like layers, sauce and bananas but ... every element was sweet, and some (the salted caramel sauce and caramelized bananas) were overly so.   I found it hard to eat large portions, without adding more plain whipped cream and other fruit.  Lower 4/5, as it was still very good, just, needed a bit less salted caramel sauce, or sweetness toned down in the pudding, to really knock it out of the park.

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El Churro

Churros.  Definitely not something I seek out, or even get remotely excited about when I encounter them.  But when there is an event in my office with "famous" churros, of course I had to try them.

Said churros came from El Churro, which serves, um, yes, churros.  They also serve drinks (coffee, hot chocolate, etc) and have sauces or ice cream to have alongside your churro.  But that's literally it, they are a churro shop, plus things to dunk them in.  I went into the event thinking I'd try the dips and be happy enough with that, but actually, the churros were better than expected, and definitely better than most of the mediocre dips.

Churros.

Churros themselves come in several varieties besides the standard sugar/cinnamon. You can get them with "truffle essence" added if you are feeling, uh, fancy, or you can get them with Flamin' Hot ranch flavor infused within.  They also make a corn based churro. 

We had the standard ones.  And although I'm not one to get excited about churros, these really were quite good.  They were crispy yet soft inside, they had soo much sugar coating, and the base flavor was quite good.  Far above average for churros, perhaps actually the best I've ever had. 4/5. 

Churros are $5 for 10, or $40 for 40, as we had.

Dips. $4 each.

They make 12 different dips to go with the churros, mostly sweet, although I'm quite curious about the Jalapeño Agave Dip.  Our event hosts picked 6 of the sauces, so I got to try half of the offerings.

Sadly they didn't pick the marshmallow fluff, the lemon cheesecake, the honey lavender, or the aforementioned jalapeno one, but otherwise, I was happy with their choices, although most were just kinda average and not special (and two were actively bad).

These are all $4/cup, no discount for multiples, and no smaller portions available.

Ube The Top Dip.

"Purple-hued ube dip served in a small cup."

This was the one I was most excited for, I have an ube label on my blog after all, but it was only ok. It was very sweet, which is fine, but it was mostly just a sweet flavor, hard to taste anything ube-like, although it was clearly purple. It just didn't seem made with real ube, and didn't seem very high quality. 2.5/5.

Matcha White Chocolate.

This one drew me in for the white chocolate, but alas, it was very, very bitter.  Had a strange aftertaste.  Did not like 1/5.

Dunkaroos.

"A creamy sweet dip featuring multicolored sprinkles served in a single-serving paper cup."

Ok, this one was amazing.  Sweet, creamy, filled with sprinkles. I loved it. Not necessarily even as a churro dip, just delightful to eat by the spoonful.  Light a smoother birthday buttercream.  Yum.  4/5.

Dulce de Leche.

This was exactly what you'd expect. Thick, sweet, rich, standard.  Hard to dip exactly, but it was fine dulce de leche.  3/5.

Vanilla (Vegan)

This one really did not look appealing, but I tried it anyway.  It was as awful as it looked.  Sooo goopy.  It tasted like chemicals.  Not like vanilla.  Just, gloopy chemicals.  Nothing redeeming about this.  It was also vegan, I think the only sauce that was, and it seems like a very poor choice for making something vegan.  0/5.

Dark Chocolate.

This was strangely very thin.  Very very runny.  Flavor was ok, but it was just so thin.  Low 3/5.

They also make a milk chocolate version that we did not have.

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Taste It Presents Desserts

As you know by now, desserts, and baked goods in general, are pretty much my favorite things to review.  And by "review", you know I mean "eat".  For "research".  While I certainly love local small bakeries, for my group at work, we are required to order through foodservice distributors, so I've had my share of wholesale items.  Many taste like the freezers they come from, most are non-offensively average, and every once in a while I find a vendor that makes a noteworthy item.  Like Taste It Presents.

"Taste It Presents creates gloriously tempting gourmet desserts, delighting pleasure seekers across the country. "

Taste It Presents also has 4 sister brands, Cannoli Factory, Love & Quiches, Joey’s Fine Foods and Sweet Sofia’s Bakery, but I've only tried the signature Taste It Presents line.  

"We offer a full range of triumphant frozen desserts for Foodservice and Retail, including American, Italian, Spanish/Latin, Asian and other world-renowned specialties. Choose from a wide assortment of delectable cakes, trays and pies, creamy cheesecakes, individual desserts, mousse desserts, brownies, dessert bars, cookies and cupcakes, grab-n-go, gluten free, baked goods and other top-selling favorites."

The lineup from Taste It Presents is reasonably extensive, but I've only tried the cakes.

Cakes

"No major milestone in life can be passed without cake marking the occasion. Our memory-making temptations have been capturing the hearts of diners for decades.

From the Belgian chocolate in our mousse cakes and the Italian Amarettini cookies atop our Toasted Almond Cream Cake to authentic Key lime juice in our Key Lime Pie, we source only premium ingredients, ensuring each cake has just the right balance of flavor, sweetness and texture."

The lineup of cakes is quite extensive, and I've tried several.  The quality bar is high.  And, spoiler, they make my favorite lemon dessert of all time.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake.

"Our luscious Limoncello Mascarpone cake is a rich combination of Sicilian lemon infused sponge cake and Italian mascarpone topped with European white chocolate curls. A refreshingly light creamy dessert with the perfect combination of sweet and tart."

Limoncello.  I like Limoncello.  But ... I dislike most citrus based desserts - lemon curd, key lime ... just, sorry, not my thing.  And cake?  Eh.  Its ok, but, generally I want a pie, crisp, cobbler, mousse, or just something ... more interesting.  

The first time I saw the Limoncello Mascarpone Cake, I tried it, mostly because I was desperately wanting something sweet, and I figured, if nothing else, I'd eat the creamy frosting and white chocolate off the top.

But ... this is actually really good.   Really, really good.  It is a repeat order for my team.  We all rave about it every time it is served.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake: Side Profile.

The sponge cake is light as air.  So fluffy, yet moist.  Amazingly light.  Like I said, I don't like cake, and I genuinely like this.

The layers of filling are sweetened, rich mascarpone cream, far more interesting than just sweet buttercream.  Perfect compliment to the lightness of the cake.

The white chocolate curls on top add an extra hit of sweetness, and a bit of texture.  The manufacturer recommends serving with fresh berries, whipped cream, or raspberry coulis.  I think the sweet coulis would be overkill, and mask the lightness of the limoncello, and more whipped cream is just totally unnecessary (not something I say often!), but berries I'd like to try sometime.

Is it good for you?  Well, no.  The mascarpone and cream add up.  A single slice (4oz, as pre-sliced is 380 calories), but honestly, it feels lighter!

4.5/5.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake: Again!

I'm shocked every time I have this, as I genuinely like it.  I've added it to our rotation to theme alongside "Italian night" when we have it.

Most recently, I took my own suggestion and paired with fresh blueberries and raspberries, and they complimented the lemon and cream beautifully.  Definite success.

4.5/5.

10" Mixed Berry Cake.

"Sponge cake with Mascarpone cream, topped and filled with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, black and red currants." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Mixed Berry Cake is refreshingly light and creamy, with colorful blue, red & black wild berries." -- Taste It Presents

After the surprise success of the Limoncello Mascarpone cake, I eagerly ordered the new Mixed Berry cake, as it too promised layers of mascarpone cream.

It is a nice looking cake, loaded with berries and white chocolate garnish on top.

And it too delivered.  The cake was again light and really not bad (for cake!), although this time not soaked in anything.  The mascarpone cream with thick, rich, and pretty fantastic.

Mixed Berry Cake: Side Profile.

The fruit was also found in the layers, assorted types of berries - blueberry, raspberries, strawberries - and tiny currants.  All the assorted fruits gave great pops of flavor, and I especially appreciated the currants.  Add in a bit of sweet white chocolate curls and I was quite pleased.

Update: we have had this several other times, and I've always enjoyed it.  Best when allowed to warm up to room temperature, and soften a bit, rather than "refrigerator" temperature.

3.5/5.

Mixed Berry Cake / Wildberry Cream Cake.

"Two layers of light, buttery sponge cake are delicately soaked in vanilla syrup, then enveloped with two layers of heavenly Italian mascarpone cream that is hand mixed with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, black and red currants.

Topped with white chocolate curls."

Same cake, new name?  I think it is now marketed as the Wildberry Cream Cake, with a more accurate description, but I'm pretty sure this is the same cake.

I again do like the cream, but the berries weren't as great as I remembered - specifically, I wasn't into the currants, and they were dominant.

3/5.

Toasted Almond Cake, 10" Round.

"Delectable combination of imported ladyfingers lightly soaked in amaretto syrup, layered with smooth and creamy Italian mascarpone. Finished with crushed amaretiini cookies and roasted California Almonds." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"This 2 layer sponge cake is delicately soaked in amaretto syrup layered with imported mascarpone cream and topped with Italian amarettini cookies and roasted almonds." -- Taste It Presents

After enjoying the previous cakes, I branched out, ordering more cakes, again drawn in by teh mascarpone.

This cake is one of their signature items, and is available in a slew of formats - a full tray tiramisu style, a 7" round cake, a 10" round cake, and even individual pudding cups.  We had the larger 10" round.

Toasted Almond Cake: Side Profile.

It was a fantastic cake.

Much like the limoncello mascarpone and the berry mascarpone, it was made from light, moist ladyfingers, this time soaked in amaretto syrup.  I really don't tend to enjoy cake, but, when its this light and moist, it really is nice.  The soaked cakes from Taste It are better than the unsoaked.

And then, of course, their wonderful mascarpone cream.  Thick, rich, smooth, creamy.

Just the layers alone were a wonderful cake actually, but the crunchy amaretti cookies and bits of caramelized almond on top really pushed it over the top.

Light and moist.  Creamy and decadent.  Crispy and sweet.  Very good.

3/5.

Update:
I had it another time, and ... it wasn't as good.  It tasted stale in a strange way, like, the cream filling actually tasted stale, which is not a flavor I've ever associated with cream before.  I wonder if it was in a fridge with something with odor?

Tiramisu Cake.

"A light sponge cake and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso, alternately layered with imported mascarpone cheese and finished with a light dusting of cocoa." 

Tiramisu, as a cake?  Ok, why not?

This looked basically like a tiramisu, with layers of alternating soaked sponge cake, and mascarpone.

Tiramisu Cake: Inside.

Three layers total, but it was clear from immediate inspection that the ratio of everything was far more "cake" than I wanted.  Yes, this was a cake, not a tiramisu.

The cake was ... fine.  But boring.  Standard cake.  A bit dry.  Not a light airy one like in some of the other products.

The mascarpone filling though of course was thick, rich, and delicious.  I wanted more of it, like a real tiramisu.

The amount of cocoa on top was too aggressive for my tastes.

2.5/5.

Tiramisu.

"A traditional Italian dessert consisting of alternating layers of imported Mascarpone and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso with a hint of liquor."

Taste It also makes traditional tiramisu, which comes in a large tray of pre-scored slices for banquets and catering.

It was pretty classic, decent enough tiramisu.  Unlike the layer cake, the ratios were much better, enough cake obviously, but, look at the cream topping!  Much better.

The ladyfingers were nicely soaked, moist, lots of espresso.  The mascarpone cream was thick and rich, good flavor.  Powdered cocoa on top.

Very classic, no more, no less. 3/5.

Update: I had it a second time, and was less thrilled.  The cake was nicely soaked, but, the cream didn't have much depth to it, and, eh, cake.

Tiramisu (2026).

"A traditional Italian dessert consisting of alternating layers of imported Mascarpone and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso with a hint of liquor."

I had this years ago and found it pretty average, but it looked just so inviting that I tried it again.

And ... yeah.  Eh.  The ladyfingers were well soaked, but that just meant mushy, and the espresso flavor wasn't particularly strong.  The fluffy sweetened mascarpone-whip was tasty enough, and with the cocoa powder on top that was enjoyable.  But I wouldn't get this again, just not enough flavor overall.  Low 3/5.

Dulce de Leche Cake.

"A rich chocolate cake topped with dulce de leche mousse, sprinkled with chocolate curls." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Savor this rich chocolate cake topped with dulce de leche mousse (caramel flavor) sprinkled with chocolate curls." -- Taste It Presents

I was excited to order this one, something totally different, featuring mousse.

Sweet. Very, very, very sweet.  That is what I have to say about this one.

It looked like such a stunner, and everyone was excited for it, but most slices wound up in the trash.

Dulce de Leche Cake: Side Profile.

The base was fairly dry, not rich as advertised, chocolate cake.  I didn't care for that, but I never really care for cake.

The rest was the "mousse".  The texture was smooth and creamy, but the flavor was overwhelmingly sweet, in a cloying way, with a strange aftertaste.

The chocolate curls on top were at least good, nice dark chocolate.

1.5/5.

Caramel Pecan Fudge.

"The ultimate combination of rich chocolate mousse cake, topped with pecans, swirls of caramel and milk chocolate." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor.

"Caramels, pecans and fudge? Is there any BETTER combination? Put this cake on your menu, and watch the smiles come..." -- Taste It

There were some good, and some bad, parts to this.

The cake was dry and boring, not rich, not chocolately, not moist.  Throwaway component.

The chocolate mousse however was good.  Very thick, very rich, very chocolately.  Intense.

The caramel drizzle over the top was also nice, sweet, standard caramel.  I liked the crunch from the pecans too.

Overall though, it was actually ... too rich.  It needed whipped cream.  Badly.

Once I removed the cake, added whipped cream, and just had an amazing chocolate mousse with caramel and pecans and whipped cream, I really enjoyed it.

2.5/5.

 Belgian Chocolate Mousse.

"For the chocolate lover. A satisfyingly smooth chocolate mousse on a chocolate crust." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"A chocolate lover's dream. This light and satisfying cake has smooth Belgian chocolate mousse and is finished with tasty chocolate shavings." -- Taste It Presents

This was an ok product.  The mousse was creamy and rich, not super intense chocolate, but enough.  The texture was spot on.  I really liked the dark chocolate shavings on top.

The cake crust was dry, boring, and best left behind, but chocolate mousse doesn't need chocolate cake with it anyway.

Even better with some whipped cream.  Not an amazing mousse, but not awful.

3/5.

Flourless Chocolate Cake.

"Indulge your senses with this decadent, flourless chocolate cake. A chocolate lover’s dream, this dessert will delight gluten and non-Gluten Free customers alike.  Made with the finest Belgian semi sweet chocolate, butter, cocoa powder and vanilla. Unlike other flourless chocolate cakes which can be gritty, flakey or dry, this cake is delicately rich, and bursting with a smooth, moist, and creamy texture."

This was one of the better flourless chocolate cakes I have ever had.  It really was remarkably smooth and creamy, almost like a really thick pudding or mousse.  Deep, rich chocolate flavor.  

I laughed at the pieces my cafe cut them into, but I understand why - this is a "little goes a long way" kind of cake.  Best paired with some whipped cream to cut the heaviness, or strawberries/raspberries if consumed cold.  I also heated up a second slice the next day and added a scoop of coffee ice cream, which worked beautifully as well.

4/5.

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Batter Bakery

Batter Bakery is a local San Francisco bakery that I desperately want to like more than I do.   They make a number of breakfast baked goods, including scones, muffins, quickbreads, coffee cake, and "morning bars".  They also make dessert items, such as cookies, brownies, shortbreads, and cupcakes.

They care about sourcing, with ingredients coming from local farmers, and selections varying with the seasons.  They try to take a slightly healthier focus on baked goods, with whole grain flours used in many items.  They sell at the Ferry Plaza farmer's market, and through Good Eggs, along with at their retail locations, including a cute little kiosk.

But ... I've been turned off by a few things.  The first is actually the service, at their now-closed Polk Street store.  I visited many times, and the staff were always very unfriendly.  This ranged from being visibly annoyed answering any questions, to barely offering up a "hi" when customers enter the store.  Second, the prices.  They seem higher than comparable places around town.  And third, the most important: the goods just aren't very ... good.  Everything seems dry and over cooked, and ingredients aren't well distributed inside.

The following is a collection of reviews starting back in 2017 when I first discovered them, then a big hiatus, and some newer reviews from 2025 & 2026.  You can also see how prices have changed in that time frame, which makes sense.

Scones ($3.85 -> $5)

"Think you don't like scones? Try one of these. Crisp on the outside, soft in the middle. Filled with flavor, these scones are a Batter favorite! " 

Scones come in 4 standard flavors, plus a rotating seasonal special fruit and savory variety.

The scones are all large size, very dense, crumbly style, square shaped.  I've tried many, and agree that they are crisp on the outside, although, they really generally seemed burnt to me.  I never liked any, and found the ingredient distributions were often off.

Buckwheat Walnut Fig. 

The first time I tried the Buckwheat Walnut Fig scone, I did not like it.  My tasting notes were simple: "Not very good.  No real flavor in the scone body, dry."

Yet, I didn't consult my notes before visiting another time, and picking the same scone.  Whoops.  I think the nuts and figs just kept calling out to me. 

My notes the second time were much improved: "I enjoyed this.  It wasn't the best scone I'd ever had, but it was pretty good.  Good heartiness from the buckwheat, slight tang, well spiced.  I liked the sweetness and slight chew from the bits of fig, and the crunch from the nuts.  Worked well as a standalone scone, no jam required, and didn't need to be warmed up."

Weekly Savory: Mushroom, Ricotta, Pancetta.

This was the weekly seasonal savory special.  I stopped in at Batter Bakery around lunchtime, and thus, a savory scone jumped out at me, rather than my standard pick of sweets.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from such a savory scone, but I thought it might be like a biscuit?  It wasn't.  Sure, the scone base wasn't sweetened, but it was still very much a scone.  Like their others, very dry and crumbly.

The outside was very, very dry, and a bit burnt.  Inside was moist at least, but the outside was just way overdone.

The balance of ingredients was also totally off.  In my entire scone, I found one little glob of ricotta.  There was no cheesy aspect to the scone at all.  Also lacking? The pancetta.  There were just a few tiny little bits of pancetta.  The pancetta that was there was absolutely delicious, super crispy little nuggets of salty goodness.  But not nearly enough.  The mushrooms were earthy and actually were in the correct quantity for the scone, but unfortunately for me, I didn't actually like them much.

But where everything went wrong, well, besides being overcooked and not having the right balance of any of the tasty ingredients, was with the herbs.  I'm not sure what herbs were in here exactly, but there was way too much of them.  The herbs overwhelmed everything.  And what is worse, is that some came in giant sprigs.  So not only did they ruin the taste, but biting into little sticks inside your scone is not enjoyable.

For some reason, I kept trying with the scone, even once I realized I really didn't like it.  I bought it home and heated it up.  It was better that way actually, but still, I wouldn't ever get another one of these.

Weekly Seasonal Fruit: Plum Spice.

My scone came in a plastic bag.  I think the bag is partially responsible for the texture, as the top seemed a bit gummy.

Inside was moist, almost doughy, which I actually liked, but isn't really ideal for a scone.  The scone didn't really have any crumb to it as a result, although the bottom was dried out and almost burnt, and did crumble.  Inside was a layer that contained slices of plum, very moist, very tart, lots of them.

I'm not entirely sure what all of the spices were that made up the "spice" component of "plum spice", but there was at least nutmeg, as it had a vaguely soapy taste.  The spicing existed mostly on top.

Overall, I didn't really like this, mostly because I didn't care for the plum, or the bottom of the scone.

Weekly Seasonal Fruit: Apple, cinnamon, cheddar.  $3.

Ok, I need to learn to stop trying their scones.  They just really aren’t very good.

The scone base was very plain, no tang.  That is not to say that it was flavorless, as the cinnamon was very, very strong.  Too strong.  The texture was also not great, no crumb to it.  But it also wasn’t a moist cakey style scone.  It seemed rather overcooked, although not burnt, just dried out.

Inside were chunks of apple.  They were a perfect size, and well cooked, not too mushy, not too crisp.  Decently distributed throughout.  That part was done well.

I never found any cheddar.  I didn’t taste it, I didn’t find any melted anywhere.

I’d clearly never get this again.

Seasonal Savory Scone. $5.
(chard, butternut squash, cheddar).

This was ok.  I didn't really taste the chard or squash, but it was mildly cheesy.  Decent moisture, decent crumble, but a soft scone, not quite what I think of as neither an American style nor British style scone.  But not particularly strong flavors of any kind to make it interesting.  2.5/5.

Seasonal Fruit Scone. $5.00.
(Spiced Pear).

Next I went for the sweet version.  The seasonal fruit was pear.  It was again a soft style scone.  It was loaded with cinnamon, and not a very balanced taste.  Reasonable hunks of pear within.  It was ... fine, but not particularly good, and not really the style I think of as a scone.  2.5/5.

Salted Cream Biscuit. $5.50.

Next up, one called a biscuit instead of a scone.  It seemed pretty similar though, as the previous items were almost like biscuits, and this was sorta like a biscuit, but one that went in the scone direction.

Anyway, it was a fairly plain flavor, I didn't really taste the salted element.  Just a plain biscuit-scone.  Probably fine to slather with jam and cream, or use as a shortcake biscuit? 2.5/5

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• Meyer Lemon Currant: Very large, dense, crumbly scone.  It weighed a ton!  Pretty strong citrus flavors, a nice buttermilk sour component as well, but nothing really special.  Didn’t reheat very well.  Got a really heavy buttery mouthfeel.  Still worked well as a conduit for tasty jam though! [ Frozen and reheated: Did not work well, was very crumbly and just too buttery, with a strange mouthfeel. ]
• Weekly Seasonal Fruit: Raspberry Ginger: Just dry, no real flavor, serious meh.
• Weekly Seasonal Fruit: Strawberry Poppyseed Scone: Nice crunch from the poppyseeds, good flavor and moistness from the strawberry.  My favorite of their products.

Muffins ($3.45 -> $5)

Double Chocolate Beet Muffin. $5.

Wow, I did not like these.

Sure, I was a bit skeptical about beets in my muffins, but I went in open-minded.  The texture was fine, and they were super moist, but the flavor was ... something more akin to what I think zucchini crossed with sawdust would taste like.  It didn't taste like beets, sure, but it really truly did not taste good. 1/5.

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Cherry Bran.

This was a little on the dry side.  It had a nice hearty flavor from the bran, but was not very flavorful, and was pretty boring tasting.  The cherries were inconsistently distributed throughout, some in big clumps, and other areas missing cherries completely.

It was not a bad muffin exactly, but certainly not worth going out of your way for it.  Didn’t reheat very well the next day.

Coffee Cake ($3.85/slice -> $5.50)

Coffee cake is available by the slice or round. 

Pecan Buttermilk Coffee Cake.  $3.85.

I went in one morning, really in the mood for a muffin.  It was 9am, and the store opened at 8:30.  Yet, no muffins.  Could they really run out that fast?  They are a bakery!  I inquired, and was told that they didn't bake any muffins that day.  Boo.  The other breakfast offerings were quick breads and scones.

I love scones, but I haven't ever been impressed with Batter's scones, and I don't like quick breads very often, so that left one choice: coffee cake.

Coffee cake is also not something I ever normally order, but it looked a bit better than the quick breads.

Batter got the "cake" aspect of this right.  It was seriously sweet.  It was good cake, very moist, and, I think would be perfectly good as a cake.  But for breakfast?  It was a bit much, even for me, and I eat pie for breakfast.  I did like the topping, a crumble top with pecans, but it too was sweet, so it didn't help cut the overall sweetness.  Inside the coffee cake were a few pieces of fruit, I think apricot?  Peach?  They were just little slivers in the very center, and added additional moisture.

Overall, this was better than I expected, but really not what I had in mind for breakfast.  I'd recommend it as a mid-afternoon treat with a cup of coffee perhaps.  Or, if you like cake for breakfast, by all means, go for it.  $3.85 price for a large slice of coffee cake, like most of their other prices, seemed a bit high.

Lemon Crumb Coffee Cake. $5.50.

This was ... ok?  I appreciated the thick sorta sweet streusel topping.  The cake itself was extremely moist, nice open crumb structure, nice soft spices.  I didn't really taste lemon, but that was fine with me.

So absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it somehow bored me. Low 3/5.

Pecan Buttermilk Coffee Cake.

This is one of the better Batter Bakery products I've tried.  It was moist, had a decent tang, and mild spicing.  Somewhat generic winter spices.  Too bad the pecan was just the crumble on top, I definitely wanted more crumble and more pecan.  I did like the little bit there was.

Overall, like I said, one of the better products, but I wouldn't get it again.  3/5.

Bars ($3.75 - $4.25)

Batter Bakery makes a lot of assorted bars, including several types of brownies, and even a gluten-free and a vegan option, plus a couple fascinating sounding "morning bars".

On one visit, I saw that they had these two types of morning bars, a standard nut and seed granola bar (crispy hard style, vegan, gluten-free) and one called a "breakfast bar".  It looked softer, more like a cookie, but in bar shape, and, given the name, it claimed to be acceptable for breakfast.  I grabbed one to eat the next day, even though I don't generally find granola bars to be all that interesting.  I've also tried several of the brownies.  I haven't liked any.

Breakfast Bar.   $3.75.

"A hearty, chewy snack bar filled with oats, oat bran, dried fruit & nuts."

The base was oats, with raisins, dried cranberries, and dried apricot bits.  It wasn't dry exactly, but it also wasn't very moist.  Basically, yes, just a soft granola bar.  I'm not sure why I expected it to be more than that.  It was nicely spiced, but besides that, why would I want this?

It would have been better with nuts for some crunch and some other dried fruit.  Oh, and chocolate chunks.  Or ... something.  Just too boring as it was.

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Carmelita. $3.95.

"An oat brown sugar crust filled with caramel, chocolate, and pecans. Decadent and delicious!" 

This was a many layer bar with nuts, chocolate, coconut, caramel ... basically everything.  It sounded great.  But, it wasn’t particularly interesting. 

I tried one again a few months later, as it sounded so good.  But, again, it just wasn't great.  I love all of the ingredients, not sure why it doesn’t come together for me.

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Devil’s Food Brownie. $3.95.

"Dense, fudgy and packing a serious chocolate punch, these brownies will make any chocolate lover drool." 

Meh.   It was very rich, very chocolatey, but just a brownie, and, like many of their items, a bit dry.

Cookies 

Batter makes an assortment of cookies, including gluten-free ones, and a large range of shortbreads.

I never seek out cookies, since they are my least favorite category of dessert (or, I argue, aren't *really* desserts), but cookies are what people bring in all the time to my office, so I have been able to try many from Batter that way, including their signature Sand Angel.  They are all hard style cookies, and I haven't really cared for them.

Decorated Shortbread Cookie.  $3.25.

I was really craving a sugar cookie with icing, which is funny, because cookies are very rarely the sort of treat I crave.  But I'd just depleted the supply from my freezer of iced sugar cookies from Suzie Cakes that I actually liked, and I just couldn't get the idea of iced cookies out of my head.

Batter Bakery didn't have sugar cookies, but they did have iced shortbreads, which seemed close enough.  Again, cookies are rarely the treat I choose, and of cookies, shortbreads are near the bottom of the list for me.  I love the butteriness, but, they are kinda boring.  This was certainly a strange pick for me.  But they had royal icing as decoration on top, so I hoped that they would meet my craving needs.

And, they did.  Was it a remarkable cookie?  Not really.  But it was exactly what I wanted.  The shortbread was buttery and sweet, a lot sweeter than I'm accustomed to for a shortbread actually, but since I wanted a sugar cookie, this was a good thing.  The icing was just basic royal icing, but again, it is what I wanted.

Buttery, sweet, fresh enough.  The price seemed crazy high at $3.25 for a single cookie however.  It wasn't particularly large.  I know the decorating takes extra effort, but if I wasn't really craving this, I would have never paid that much for a single cookie.

Honey Sesame Cookie. $4.50.

Eh.

It was a soft cookie.  Loaded with sesame seeds.  Slight sweetness from honey.  But really not all that compelling to me.  2/5.

Spiced Buckwheat Brownie Cookie.

This was a very spiced, and very buckwheat tasting cookie.  I didn't really get any brownie vibes from it, not in texture nor in taste, but, the spicing, yes, it was over-the-top, in-your-face winter spices, so much cinnamon and snickerdoodle flavors going on.  But then, healthy buckwheat with some bitterness.  Eh.  Maybe as a breakfast cookie?  But certainly not something I wanted as a dessert. At least it was nice and soft? 2/5.

Spicy Chocolate Oat Pecan Cookie.

Even though I had not previously enjoyed any Batter Bakery cookies, this jumped out because I do love chocolate and pecans, and it was a big, thick, hefty cookie.

With its massive heft I expected it to be a bit more of a gooey center, but this was fully baked through.  Not a hard cookie, but not nearly as soft as I'd like.  Loaded with oats and a fairly healthy, not too sweet, taste.  The kind of cookie you could have for breakfast fairly reasonably, but at least for me, doesn't quite do it as a dessert.

As for the mix-ins, other than the oats, there were very few chocolate chunk bits, and I never really found pecans, I think they were chopped up pretty small and just were masked by all the oats.  It also wasn't really "spicy" or even very strong winter spices as I thought it might be.

So, overall, yeah, a fine oatmeal cookie of a less decadent style, but not really my thing.  2.5/5.

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Assorted Cookies.  $3.25.

Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread

Not very buttery, good flavor from hazelnut, crispy shortbread, not really my thing.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

"Chocolate cookie with peanut butter swirls and chunks of peanut butter cup".  

I love chocolate and peanut butter, but I didn’t love this cookie.  It was hard and crisp, and I prefer softer cookies.  The bites with chunks of peanut butter cup or peanut butter swirls were good, but these things were fairly sparse and inconsistent in the cookie, there just wasn't nearly enough peanut butter flavor to it.

Coconut Macaroon

Decently moist, decently sweet, but fairly generic.

Sand Angel

"Batter's signature, secret recipe cookie. A chewy, cinnamon-y cookie similar to a cross between a snickerdoodle & a molasses cookie. " 

Again, a huge hard crunchy cookie.  If it was softer, this could be a great cookie!  The cinnamon flavor was really strong, yet there was a great molasses undertone, with bright ginger backing it all.  Much better when heated up in the toaster oven to soften it up some.  If they just cooked it less, I would absolutely love this thing! 

Cupcakes ($3.25)

Batter's final offerings are cakes and cupcakes.  I've never had a full size cake, but I've tried several of the cupcakes.  I didn't really like them either.

Devil's Food

"Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Buttercream."

The chocolate cake was fairly moist, but again, like many of their products, not that intense of a chocolate flavor.  Chocolate buttercream was light and fluffy and a pretty good chocolate flavor.

German Chocolate 

"with Coconut Pecan Frosting."

Another dense chocolate cupcake that wasn’t very flavorful, but was nicely moist.  The frosting was a caramel base, but included mushy pecan and coconut flakes.  The frosting didn’t have any real flavor, not even a nice sweetness, and the mush level of the coconut and pecan were really unappealing.

Red Velvet

"with Cream Cheese Frosting"

My favorite of the cupcakes.  Cake itself was kinda flavorless but decently moist.  Frosting had a nice cream cheese flavor.

Vanilla Cupcake with Chocolate Buttercream 

The cake was very dry and plain tasting.  Frosting had a nice chocolate flavor and was light and fluffy.

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