The Best Baked Treats in Toronto

Posted by Andrea Methot
May 22, 2008

Baked Treats TorontoNarrowing down Toronto's best baked treats is hard. I mean, really hard. I doubt there's a neighbourhood in this city that doesn't have something delicious to offer. Buttery croissants, crumbly scones, chewy brownies, gooey danishes - there's no shortage of sweet treats out there.

Salivating already? The list below is just a starting point to discover Toronto's best cakes, cookies and pies - oh my!

The Queen of Tarts reigns supreme on this list, and with good reason. Walking into their little Roncesvalles shop, you're instantly met with a display case of tarts so delicious looking that you'll want to just gather them all into your arms and run away (their Mexican Chocolate tart is their most popular, but I'm a personal fan of the Peppermint Patty). They're also known for their pop-culture inspired gingerbread cookies (if you thought Jon Stewart was yummy before, wait till you see him in cookie form).

Below is the rest of Toronto's top places for baked treats. As you can see, these spots are (relatively) spread out - so regardless of where you live, I'd suggest that any of these are worth the trip.

Is your favourite spot missing? Perhaps you can find it in our list of the Best Bread in Toronto

Queen of Tarts

Queen of Tarts

For ten years now, this little shop has been serving up some of the tastiest tarts this side of Wonderland. Consider picking some up next time you're planning a picnic in High Park. More...

Clafouti

Clafouti

The best in buttery croissants -- but get there early, especially on Saturdays, or you may be out of luck. More...

Athens Pastries

Athens Pastries

Sweet and savoury Greek pastries -- and even the option to buy fresh phyllo, if you're feeling ambitious and want to bake your own. More...

Pain Perdu

Pain Perdu

The Toronto Star has three times named them Best Croissant, but don't miss out on their other breads and pastries, and of course, their actual pain perdu (french toast.) More...

Patisserie La Cigogne

Patisserie La Cigogne

This may be the closest you'll ever come to that fantasy of eating croissants on a terrace in Paris. French pastry chef Thierry Schmitt's makes treats that will truly take you away. More...

Kensington Natural Bakery

Kensington Natural Bakery

An absolute haven for those who can't (or choose not to) eat dairy, wheat, gluten, peanuts, etc. Try their surprisingly good no-sugar no-dairy cookies. More...

Yung Sing Pastry Shop

Yung Sing Pastry Shop

If your sweet tooth is actually more of a savoury tooth, try these classic Chinese buns. The pork bun is a to-die-for, under-$2 dream come true. More...

Altitude Baking

Altitude Baking

This tiny Queen East shop is small in space but big on taste, as they say. Lots of classic treats, plus a few with their own spin (like a passion fruit meringue pie. Yum.) More...

Patachou

Patachou

A bit expensive, but worth it. For a rare French treat, try the gateau basque -- a loaf of shortbread filled with anise-flavoured custard. More...

Frangipane

Frangipane

You can't go wrong with Frangipane; they specialize in both pastries and chocolates. Throw in a nice selection of petit fours, and you've got yourself a pretty perfect store. More...

Jules Cafe Patisserie

Jules Cafe Patisserie

This Mt Pleasant shop makes a fantastic pain au chocolait (chocolate croissant, for the rest of us.) More...

Venezia Bakery

Venezia Bakery

It's lucky Venezia has two locations along Ossington (one at Dundas, and one at Dupont) - that way if you accidentally eat all your amazing Portuguese custard tarts on the way home, you can pick up more. More...

Brazil Bakery

Brazil Bakery

Another great spot for Portuguese custard tarts, plus malasadas dois (big, lemony Portuguese donuts). More...

Mary MacLeod's Shortbread

Mary MacLeod's Shortbread

You know what they say -- do one thing and do it well. You won't find anything but shortbread here, but the flavours (like vanilla walnut and chocolate crunch) keep it interesting. Limited hours outside the holiday season. More...

DT Bistro-Patisserie

DT Bistro-Patisserie

Starring Chef Donald Duong who was awarded the top Gold Prize at the 2004 Culinary Olympics in Europe. Now he has a home on Harbord where he bakes amazing pastries and custom wedding cakes too! More...

jack on May 22, 2008 at 4:02 PM

lol @ the portuguese egg tarts from HK.. nothing can beat them..

Feldwebel Wolfenstool on May 22, 2008 at 7:39 PM

What about the ROCCO BAKERY?

Carsten Nielsen on May 23, 2008 at 12:11 AM

Mmm, my favorite thing to do on Saturday afternoon is to get a Frangipane chocolate-strawberry biscotti, and then head across the street to Ezra's Pound for an Americano.

Catherine on May 23, 2008 at 10:32 AM

It all looks gorgeous. And adds to the long list of reasons it's ridiculous I haven't been to Pain Perdu.

I want Carsten's Saturday afternoon.

tiffany on October 11, 2008 at 6:14 PM

one of the best places is nova era, on ossington (get off at ossington subway station, past long & mcquade music store, on the corner i think near dovercourt-??-not sure if those intersect)
queen of tarts needs improvement!! congrats for being around for 10 years but i bought several items from them and found them to be tasteless-specifically there lemon tart, perhaps not there best dessert. maybe they are "known" for something else?; they also have weird/limited open hours. Dufflet pastry is ok to, i find alot of there dessert taste like 'sugar/sweet' as opposed to having any flavour, ex. chocolate,lemon.

Add a Comment

Name: Email: URL:
Comment: