Duchess Bake Shop - Incredible Baked Goods (Edmonton 30 in 30)

As I write this post, I am again reminded of how astounding a meal I just had. There are few restaurants that can, colloquially, live up to the often lofty expectations set out by the community and food scene. I have been hearing about the wonder that is The Duchess Bake Shop for many years with my friends and family members raving about the astounding desserts and baked goods available. What initially piqued my interest has become a firestorm of excitement as each positive review, post and conversation about the little bake shop on 124th popped up. Surely I had to see what the fuss was about and so on a Sunday morning I gathered a group of old friends to what would become one of the best meals of my life.

Located on 124th Street and 107th Avenue, the Duchess Bake Shop is an imposing and attractive figure featuring a large banner that is both confident and welcoming. Clearly the community has noticed too, with a large line snacking its way from the door even before opening and the entire bake shop's plentiful seating filled to the brim within minutes of opening.

Like most bakeshops, The Duchess recruits your visual senses and throws them into overdrive with their assortment of baked goods and desserts. Handsomely presented and displayed, the de facto menu consists of a number of classics (like The Duke or The Duchess Cakes), a rotating lineup of macaron cakes, a ever-changing list of seasonal macarons and baked goods. On top of these, the bakeshop also offers lunch and offers a monthly quiche, tartine (open faced sandwich), patard (sandwich) and soup.

Starting off, the Brioche Pepin was divine. Buttery brioche dough envelop a vanilla white chocolate pastry cream to create a perfect contrast of sweet and savoury. The hint of vanilla is the key here as it adds both a complimentary flavour and aroma to the entire dish.

Cheddar Pepper Scone was delightfully flaky and had a nice combination of sharp cheddar and crunchy black pepper. Importantly, the scone was perfectly cooked, flaky but not doughy and became the vehicle onto which the cheese and pepper worked. Make sure to add in a wedge of salty margarine to complete the entire dish.

Wanting to try a bunch of items I split a Meat Tartine with Parsnip Puree Lunch Combination with one of my dining companions. While one expects their baked goods to be excellent, my squeal of delight from the incredible tartine was hard to miss. Slightly tart from the cider marinated chicken, slightly sweet from the sun dried tomato, slightly savoury from the bacon and slightly sour from the grainy dijon mustard all combine to a unison of umami. Not to be outdone, the parsnip puree was also delightful with a slight crunch from the roasted hazelnuts working to contrast the warm and creamy soup.

The Vegetable Quiche was incredibly rich and one of the creamiest versions I have tasted. The custard like interior surprisingly took on a creamy buttery consistency that was contrasted by the slight bitterness of broccoli and sharp saltiness of the cheddar. Luxurious and decadent indeed.

Their Meat (Turkey) Patard was the most standard of the dishes we had with turkey breast and provolone adorning the interiors of the crusty bread. In truth, the bread, akin to a baguette, is the key to the dish with its crispy exterior but pillow soft interiors that magnificently holds all the ingredients inside. Compared to the previous dishes this patard, although solidly tasty, lacked any exciting or extra-ordinary factor.

In my research of this dish, I learnt that the Paris-Brest hails from the 1890s. The two layers of pastry house an praline (a sugar candy from nut) mousseline (a variant of Hollandaise made with whipped cream) and finished with candied hazelnuts. The chefs do a wonderful job in making a smooth mousseline while still keeping the flavour and slight texture of the candied nuts, which in turns works well to contrast the slight crisp pastry halves.

Sour Cream Cherry Pie was tasty but simply average. The pie had a excellent filling featuring whole and reduced cherries to create both a tart and sweet interior. Frankly, we were a bit underwhelmed by the hard and extremely flaky crust that seemed a bit overdone which resulted in us having to bounce between mouthfuls of tasteless crust and savoury cherry.

The Duke Cake is beyond superlative. The cake is dense with an immense but not overwhelming chocolate core with a dark chocolate ganache. The addition of salted caramel was a welcomed one that worked to add a flavour contrast to the sweet and chocolatey core. Beautifully presented, incredibly tasty and splendidly priced, this was an instant crowdpleaser.

The Duchess Bake Shop deserves all the accolades that it has amassed. Serving exceptional desserts and baked goods, Duchess has cemented itself as the de facto champion of Edmonton bakeshops. While normally this would be enough for most bakeries, The Duchess also creates delicious savoury lunch options on top of these dessert choices, adding further to its mythos. The truth is, The Duchess Bake Shop is incredible and no amount of superlatives can accurate describe them. Do yourself a favour and just go.