Julian's Pâtisserie and Café (Folsom): Pâtisserie Edition
food: 5/5
experience: 5/5
overall: 5/5
You may have read my review of Julian's crepes and other cafe offerings. Well, I'm here to tell you about their pastries, and more importantly, their cute little pocket-size French desserts.
First, the breakfast pastries. They got croissants, scones, muffins, danishes, and cinnamon rolls.
Almond croissant: 4.5/5
Their croissants are nice and crisp but not too moist or fluffy. Still, good. Almond croissants are my favorite so I went with that one. They definitely put a fair share of almond filling inside. It's not as nutty as it is sugary. The top as you can see is sprinkled with more almonds and powdered sugar.
Scone: 4/5
They only have one flavor of scone and it was raisin on this particular day (womp). I think it's actually buttermilk raisin because the actual scone has a hint of sour flavor to it (not in a bad way). This scone is one of the lightest, airiest scones I've had, which is a good thing. It doesn't clump inside your mouth that way. Other flavors I've seen are white chocolate berry (damn that would've been good) and blueberry, to name a couple. Kinda mad I got gypped though after seeing that white chocolate but that's what you get when you order ahead of time. Ugh. Good thing I'm a good baker so I can make my own. Still though.
Next, their other pastries. I got me a cinnamon roll, biscotti, danish, and muffin.
Biscotti: 3.5/5
Their biscotti isn't too impressive to me to be honest. Not enough almond extract in there. Kinda plain.
Blueberry muffin: 4.5/5
This is good though. It's topped with a crisp crumble on top that isn't really sweet like you'd expect. I believe they make it with buttermilk batter, both the crumble and the muffin. And there's actual blueberries in there. It's not as sweet as you'd get from a typical blueberry muffin but it's still pretty good.
Cinnamon roll: 4.5/5
Their cinnamon roll is more of a cinnamon danish or cinnamon croissant. It's not doughy like a typical cinnamon roll. But their croissants are good so this is too. I just wish it had the gooey filling. It's more like a croissant with cinnamon sugar distributed throughout and frosting on top. I do appreciate a good flaky pastry though, and it does have a nice doughy interior, so it's good for what it is. The frosting is simple vanilla but it's bomb. Might have some cream cheese in it. Pretty sure.
Fruit danish: 4.5/5
Not sure if it's always blueberries but in any case, this is like a cross between their croissant and their blueberry muffin. The croissant "crust" is nice and flaky and sweet, and the filling is a custard that's... not so sweet, topped with fresh blueberries and the same crumble as the muffin. The custard could be a little more flavorful to be honest. I'm sensitive to sweet so sweetness can easily be overpowering for me but even this could've used a little more sugar. I think people will expect it to be sweeter. It's still very fresh-tasting though. The fruit makes it.
The cookies! I tried all the good ones. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, linzer, and chocolate shortbread. The one I forgot to try was the chocolate macaroon but I know it's good as are all things coconut.
Chocolate shortbread: 5/5
The shortbread definitely has a prominent shortening flavor to it in the best way. It's kind of a heavy cookie but it's a good take on a classic.
Linzer cookie: 4.5/5
The linzer is most likely the same shortbread recipe, but it's like two skinny shortbreads with jam stuffed inside and powdered sugar on top. It's really good, is all I need to say.
Oatmeal raisin: 5/5
The oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip are just huge. They are splendid. The oatmeal tastes like it has a good amount of brown sugar in it, and some molasses. One of the best oatmeal cookies I've had, mostly because it's so big and chewy but it's also an excellent cookie.
Chocolate chip: 5/5
The chocolate chip is great too because of its size. Huge and chewy so I can take big bites. It's a standard chocolate chip not blowing any others out of the water, but it's huge so it's delicious. And anyway it's full of chocolate so chocolate makes everything good by default.
On to the dessert section! Their desserts as I said are little Barbie-sized portions and they're six bucks each. A little spendy but I wanted to try a few so I got the best ones. Namely the chocolate and fruit ones.
Fruit tart: 3.5/5
I love fruit tarts. I'm familiar with them. This honestly is not the best one I've had. The crust is meh, the custard is meh. Fruit tarts are usually good already but this one failed to impress. At six bucks and with its tiny size I wouldn't recommend. The fruit selection was just berries.
Chocolate caramel brownie: 4.5/5
I'm not a huge caramel fan but this works for me. Creamy milk chocolate mousse, underneath which there is a thick layer of caramel and of course the chocolate brownie. The brownie is nothing special itself; it's the toppings that make it delicious.
Vanilla bean key lime tart: 4.5/5
I'm a sucker for lime so I had to try this. It's topped with big juicy blueberries, a dash of lime zest, and a thin wafer of frosting, underneath which there is a vanilla lime whip-mousse concoction and the pièce de résistance, the key lime custard. Obviously the best part. The crust tastes a little more buttery than the fruit tart but maybe it's just my imagination.
Chocolate bombe: 5/5
A chocolate lover's dream. Or nightmare if you're on a diet. A layer of gooey dark chocolate atop a chocolate mousse with white chocolate mousse at the core and a little brownie crust on the bottom. What more could you ask for?
Raspberry cream puff: 4.5/5
One of the better cream puffs I've had, mostly because not only do they put a mountain of whip in there, they also included some vanilla custard. It's fluffy and soft, it's got raspberries, and it tastes as a cream puff should. Oh yeah and it's pretty big.
Chocolate eclair: 5/5
Like the cream puff but better because it's all chocolate. Chocolate frosting, chocolate mousse, chocolate shavings, chocolate heaven.
Almond pear tart: 5/5
Interesting combo, pears and almonds that is. This is a dense tart with a thick layer of custard beneath thinly-sliced candied pears and toasted almonds. The crust is nice and moist thanks to the custard. It's relatively simple but it's very satisfying.
Lemon meringue tart: 4.5/5
Desserts change all the time so no guarantees these will be available.
experience: 5/5
overall: 5/5
You may have read my review of Julian's crepes and other cafe offerings. Well, I'm here to tell you about their pastries, and more importantly, their cute little pocket-size French desserts.
First, the breakfast pastries. They got croissants, scones, muffins, danishes, and cinnamon rolls.
Almond croissant: 4.5/5
Their croissants are nice and crisp but not too moist or fluffy. Still, good. Almond croissants are my favorite so I went with that one. They definitely put a fair share of almond filling inside. It's not as nutty as it is sugary. The top as you can see is sprinkled with more almonds and powdered sugar.
Scone: 4/5
They only have one flavor of scone and it was raisin on this particular day (womp). I think it's actually buttermilk raisin because the actual scone has a hint of sour flavor to it (not in a bad way). This scone is one of the lightest, airiest scones I've had, which is a good thing. It doesn't clump inside your mouth that way. Other flavors I've seen are white chocolate berry (damn that would've been good) and blueberry, to name a couple. Kinda mad I got gypped though after seeing that white chocolate but that's what you get when you order ahead of time. Ugh. Good thing I'm a good baker so I can make my own. Still though.
Next, their other pastries. I got me a cinnamon roll, biscotti, danish, and muffin.
Biscotti: 3.5/5
Their biscotti isn't too impressive to me to be honest. Not enough almond extract in there. Kinda plain.
Blueberry muffin: 4.5/5
This is good though. It's topped with a crisp crumble on top that isn't really sweet like you'd expect. I believe they make it with buttermilk batter, both the crumble and the muffin. And there's actual blueberries in there. It's not as sweet as you'd get from a typical blueberry muffin but it's still pretty good.
Cinnamon roll: 4.5/5
Their cinnamon roll is more of a cinnamon danish or cinnamon croissant. It's not doughy like a typical cinnamon roll. But their croissants are good so this is too. I just wish it had the gooey filling. It's more like a croissant with cinnamon sugar distributed throughout and frosting on top. I do appreciate a good flaky pastry though, and it does have a nice doughy interior, so it's good for what it is. The frosting is simple vanilla but it's bomb. Might have some cream cheese in it. Pretty sure.
Fruit danish: 4.5/5
Not sure if it's always blueberries but in any case, this is like a cross between their croissant and their blueberry muffin. The croissant "crust" is nice and flaky and sweet, and the filling is a custard that's... not so sweet, topped with fresh blueberries and the same crumble as the muffin. The custard could be a little more flavorful to be honest. I'm sensitive to sweet so sweetness can easily be overpowering for me but even this could've used a little more sugar. I think people will expect it to be sweeter. It's still very fresh-tasting though. The fruit makes it.
The cookies! I tried all the good ones. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, linzer, and chocolate shortbread. The one I forgot to try was the chocolate macaroon but I know it's good as are all things coconut.
Chocolate shortbread: 5/5
The shortbread definitely has a prominent shortening flavor to it in the best way. It's kind of a heavy cookie but it's a good take on a classic.
Linzer cookie: 4.5/5
The linzer is most likely the same shortbread recipe, but it's like two skinny shortbreads with jam stuffed inside and powdered sugar on top. It's really good, is all I need to say.
Oatmeal raisin: 5/5
The oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip are just huge. They are splendid. The oatmeal tastes like it has a good amount of brown sugar in it, and some molasses. One of the best oatmeal cookies I've had, mostly because it's so big and chewy but it's also an excellent cookie.
Chocolate chip: 5/5
The chocolate chip is great too because of its size. Huge and chewy so I can take big bites. It's a standard chocolate chip not blowing any others out of the water, but it's huge so it's delicious. And anyway it's full of chocolate so chocolate makes everything good by default.
On to the dessert section! Their desserts as I said are little Barbie-sized portions and they're six bucks each. A little spendy but I wanted to try a few so I got the best ones. Namely the chocolate and fruit ones.
Fruit tart: 3.5/5
I love fruit tarts. I'm familiar with them. This honestly is not the best one I've had. The crust is meh, the custard is meh. Fruit tarts are usually good already but this one failed to impress. At six bucks and with its tiny size I wouldn't recommend. The fruit selection was just berries.
Chocolate caramel brownie: 4.5/5
I'm not a huge caramel fan but this works for me. Creamy milk chocolate mousse, underneath which there is a thick layer of caramel and of course the chocolate brownie. The brownie is nothing special itself; it's the toppings that make it delicious.
Vanilla bean key lime tart: 4.5/5
I'm a sucker for lime so I had to try this. It's topped with big juicy blueberries, a dash of lime zest, and a thin wafer of frosting, underneath which there is a vanilla lime whip-mousse concoction and the pièce de résistance, the key lime custard. Obviously the best part. The crust tastes a little more buttery than the fruit tart but maybe it's just my imagination.
Chocolate bombe: 5/5
A chocolate lover's dream. Or nightmare if you're on a diet. A layer of gooey dark chocolate atop a chocolate mousse with white chocolate mousse at the core and a little brownie crust on the bottom. What more could you ask for?
Raspberry cream puff: 4.5/5
One of the better cream puffs I've had, mostly because not only do they put a mountain of whip in there, they also included some vanilla custard. It's fluffy and soft, it's got raspberries, and it tastes as a cream puff should. Oh yeah and it's pretty big.
Chocolate eclair: 5/5
Like the cream puff but better because it's all chocolate. Chocolate frosting, chocolate mousse, chocolate shavings, chocolate heaven.
Almond pear tart: 5/5
Interesting combo, pears and almonds that is. This is a dense tart with a thick layer of custard beneath thinly-sliced candied pears and toasted almonds. The crust is nice and moist thanks to the custard. It's relatively simple but it's very satisfying.
Cannoli: 5/5
Definitely the best cannoli I've ever had. Chocolate chips on the outside and scattered throughout, with a creamy sweet interior that has a little bit of cream cheese flavor. The shell is bomb. It's very delicate and crisp but it's not bland, it's slightly sweet and might have a hint of some sort of extract (anise? almond?). You gotta have a good pastry shell to have a good cannoli.
Lemon meringue tart: 4.5/5
A classic dessert. Fluffy whipped meringue with lemon extract on top and a crisp shell with a delightfully sweet-tart lemon custard inside.
Cheesecake: 5/5
A rich, creamy cheesecake. Tastes like a classic New York cheesecake complete with toasted top. Thin graham cracker crust completes it.
Chocolate hazelnut cheesecake: 5/5
Yes, this is a cheesecake lollipop. It's basically a drumstick with cheesecake instead of ice cream. Cheesecake on the inside, chocolate and hazelnuts on the outside. Not a Nutella cheesecake, just regular. I'm definitely a fan of this little invention.
Dessert verrine: 5/5
A very interesting creation as well. Kiwi, mango, pineapple and coconut on top, which you're supposed to mix in the coconut cream below. Very tropical tasting. Make sure to mix it!
Desserts change all the time so no guarantees these will be available.
Order ahead of time to skip the lines (and ensure your selection is still available)! Bonus: if you order fifteen pastries it only costs $22! You just don't know what you're gonna get. But it's from Julian's so it will be good.
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