Whole Foods (International): Bakery Edition
food: 5/5
experience: n/a it's a grocery store
overall: 5/5
After I did my rundown of Sprouts' bakery department, I had to make a Whole Foods equivalent because everyone knows Whole Foods is just primo food. Everything they have is delicious. Me being a carb fiend (and a compulsive reviewer of all things food) I decided to focus on their bakery first and foremost.
Cookies
Cantuccini (biscotti): 4/5
Fresh and chewy, not stale or hard like regular biscotti. Basic. They're called something else but we know they're biscotti.
Oatmeal sandwich: 5/5
Oatmeal cookie by itself has a nice spice to it, a little crispier than I'd like but sandwiched with vanilla icing it's bomb. Reminds me of Mother's sandwich cookies.
Chocolate chip sandwich: 5/5
The cookie is decent with a basic shortbread base and very sweet chips, but sandwiched with chocolate icing is just chocolate heaven.
Kitchen sink: 5/5
I dunno what's in the kitchen sink at Whole Foods but apparently everything delicious. One of the best in the case by far.
Pies
Apple (handheld): 5/5
Amazing buttery crust with a nice, gooey, sweet interior of spiced apple. Almost as soft as applesauce. I love a good crust and this one is perfect. Make sure to warm this up for the best experience.
Cherry (handheld): 4/5
More of that amazing buttery crust, with cherry filling inside. The cherries aren't too tart but they also aren't too sweet. This one's just aight. Once again make sure to heat it up.
Marionberry (handheld): 5/5
The best way I can describe a marionberry is it's a blackberry. There. That's it. They taste exactly the same. I love blackberry pie so I love this. If you wanna save on getting a full twenty-dollar blackberry lime pie get this instead. Speaking of which...
experience: n/a it's a grocery store
overall: 5/5
After I did my rundown of Sprouts' bakery department, I had to make a Whole Foods equivalent because everyone knows Whole Foods is just primo food. Everything they have is delicious. Me being a carb fiend (and a compulsive reviewer of all things food) I decided to focus on their bakery first and foremost.
Cookies
Cantuccini (biscotti): 4/5
Fresh and chewy, not stale or hard like regular biscotti. Basic. They're called something else but we know they're biscotti.
Oatmeal cookie by itself has a nice spice to it, a little crispier than I'd like but sandwiched with vanilla icing it's bomb. Reminds me of Mother's sandwich cookies.
Chocolate chip sandwich: 5/5
The cookie is decent with a basic shortbread base and very sweet chips, but sandwiched with chocolate icing is just chocolate heaven.
Kitchen sink: 5/5
I dunno what's in the kitchen sink at Whole Foods but apparently everything delicious. One of the best in the case by far.
Sugar: 5/5
A classic, crisp, slightly chewy, and sugary sweet with granulated sugar on top.
Amaretti: 3/5
Sugary with a slightly exotic flavor to it, but fairly simple otherwise.
Espresso chocolate: 5/5
Strong espresso flavor but not overwhelmingly so, evenly balanced out with chocolate.
Butter: 4/5
A crumbly soft cookie, tastes like the Royal Dansk ones in the tin but less buttery.
Apricot filled: 5/5
Delicious crumbly pie crust outside with apricot jelly inside. Also comes in raspberry and strawberry.
Jelly filled: 2/5
No flavor to these cookies except for their jelly interior. They look good though.
Snickerdoodle: 5/5
Crunchy cinnamon sugary goodness. Not much else to say. If you like snickerdoodles these will do.
Double chocolate jelly: 2/5
The chocolate is bitter and not sweet, as is the chocolate jelly interior.
Pistachio shortbread: 5/5
A delicious soft shortbread that tastes like pistachio ice cream, with more pistachios mixed in.
Mexican wedding cake: 5/5
A lovely simple shortbread cookie, crumbly and sweet, with powdered sugar and nuts.
Pumpkin madeleine (seasonal): 5/5
Simple madeleine made delicious with yummy pumpkin pie spice.
Lemon cheesecake: 4/5
Not normally a fan of lemon but lemon cheesecake was too good to pass up. Mostly lemon in flavor with a bit of sweet cream.
Brownie (sugar free): 5/5
Perfect, dense, moist and chocolate-y. Can't even tell it's sugar free.
Macadamia nut: 4/5
The simple butter cookie, this time with a sweet macadamia frosting and macadamia crumbles.
Pumpkin shuffle: 5/5
I don't know what a shuffle is but I'm a fan. A wonderful creation, this tastes like a frosted carrot cake but with pumpkin, with a gooey layer of caramel on top.
Raspberry & cinnamon walnut rugelaches: 5/5
If you haven't had a rugelach cookie before I encourage you to try it. Pick one of these babies up if it's in stock at your local Dub-Eff. It's a buttery flaky cookie with filling. Not much to say other than it's good.
Cookie dough chocolate flourless: 3.5/5
I don't know about this cookie, it just tastes off. I thought it had coffee or something in it. It tastes like sweetened cocoa powder basically, with nuts in it. It's not bad, just uh, unexpected?
Almond cookie: 5/5
Nice and chewy, this is everything an almond horn should be. Full of almonds and you can taste plenty of almond extract but it's not overwhelming.
White chocolate macadamia: 5/5
Like a white chocolate flavor explosion in my mouth. This is the perfect white chocolate macadamia cookie. I've never had one better. The nutty flavor of the macadamias perfectly compliments the white chocolate and they swirled toffee throughout. I couldn't stop eating these if I wanted to.
Jumbo walnut: 4.5/5
More like a trail mix cookie. This features chocolate chips, raisins, white chocolate, almonds, walnuts, and oats. It's definitely a mouthful - a mouthful of chewy, chocolatey goodness. I wouldn't call it jumbo by any means though, unless they mean thicc, which it is.
Peanut butter chocolate chunk: 4.5/5
A solid chocolate chunk with just a hint of peanut butter. The peanut butter in the background rounds out the flavor. If it were chewier it'd be bomb.
Brown butter chocolate chunk: 5/5
Now this one I like. It's got the browned butter which gives it more of a burnt flavor but in the best way. It's a crispier cookie for that reason.
Double chocolate: 3.5/5
Points for flavor (chocolate is good and double chocolate is better) but this cookie is crispy and me no likey crispy cookies. They might as well be crackers.
Ginger molasses: 5/5
"Vegan". Whatever. Tastes like a classic chewy gingersnap. Not too spicy, just the right amount of sweet molasses.
Raspberry & cinnamon walnut rugelaches: 5/5
If you haven't had a rugelach cookie before I encourage you to try it. Pick one of these babies up if it's in stock at your local Dub-Eff. It's a buttery flaky cookie with filling. Not much to say other than it's good.
Cookie dough chocolate flourless: 3.5/5
I don't know about this cookie, it just tastes off. I thought it had coffee or something in it. It tastes like sweetened cocoa powder basically, with nuts in it. It's not bad, just uh, unexpected?
Almond cookie: 5/5
Nice and chewy, this is everything an almond horn should be. Full of almonds and you can taste plenty of almond extract but it's not overwhelming.
White chocolate macadamia: 5/5
Like a white chocolate flavor explosion in my mouth. This is the perfect white chocolate macadamia cookie. I've never had one better. The nutty flavor of the macadamias perfectly compliments the white chocolate and they swirled toffee throughout. I couldn't stop eating these if I wanted to.
Jumbo walnut: 4.5/5
More like a trail mix cookie. This features chocolate chips, raisins, white chocolate, almonds, walnuts, and oats. It's definitely a mouthful - a mouthful of chewy, chocolatey goodness. I wouldn't call it jumbo by any means though, unless they mean thicc, which it is.
Peanut butter chocolate chunk: 4.5/5
A solid chocolate chunk with just a hint of peanut butter. The peanut butter in the background rounds out the flavor. If it were chewier it'd be bomb.
Brown butter chocolate chunk: 5/5
Now this one I like. It's got the browned butter which gives it more of a burnt flavor but in the best way. It's a crispier cookie for that reason.
Double chocolate: 3.5/5
Points for flavor (chocolate is good and double chocolate is better) but this cookie is crispy and me no likey crispy cookies. They might as well be crackers.
Ginger molasses: 5/5
"Vegan". Whatever. Tastes like a classic chewy gingersnap. Not too spicy, just the right amount of sweet molasses.
German chocolate: 5/5
Tastes like rich German chocolate with a smattering of walnuts. Almost like a brownie in flavor, with some coconut shreds dispersed throughout. Pretty good for a vegan cookie.
Chocolate walnut molten: 5/5
These things are huge. There's only three to a box so you can imagine. Thicc. Over 600 calories a cookie. Pretty much just a giant chocolate chip cookie with nuts.
These things are huge. There's only three to a box so you can imagine. Thicc. Over 600 calories a cookie. Pretty much just a giant chocolate chip cookie with nuts.
Crispy lemon: 4.5/5
A simple, sweet cookie with a slightly strong lemon extract flavor. Pretty much just like the base of a crispy chocolate chip but with lemon.
Crispy almond: 4.5/5
Much more chewy than crispy, though it is thin. It's actually kind of tough. Very strong almond extract flavor that pretty much encompasses the whole cookie.
Crispy chocolate chip: 5/5
Just like a regular, classic chocolate chip but skinny. Again, not very crisp, just thin.
Crispy brownie: 4.5/5
A crispy plain chocolate cookie. Guess it tastes like a brownie. Not bad, just tastes as described.
Toffee biscotti: 4.5/5
A dense, slightly sweet biscotti with a distinct caramel toffee taste over anything else. Kind of like caramel corn. Tastes great dipped in coffee.
Chocolate chip biscotti: 3.5/5
Pretty simple in flavor, just a plain biscotti with chocolate chips scattered throughout. No almond or anise extract to amplify the flavor. Dipping it in coffee gives it a great mocha flavor though.
Muffins
Zucchini: 5/5
Zucchini and spice and everything nice. Big, moist and flavorful. Could use some nuts but is still great without.
Blueberry: 4.5/5
Moist with that signature sweet blueberry flavor all blueberry muffins (should) have. Fresh blueberries throughout. A solid blueberry muffin.
Raisin bran: 4.5/5
Your favorite breakfast cereal reincarnated as a muffin. There's nothing like a hearty bran muffin for breakfast and Whole Foods does a solid interpretation of the classic.
Zucchini: 5/5
Zucchini and spice and everything nice. Big, moist and flavorful. Could use some nuts but is still great without.
Blueberry: 4.5/5
Moist with that signature sweet blueberry flavor all blueberry muffins (should) have. Fresh blueberries throughout. A solid blueberry muffin.
Raisin bran: 4.5/5
Your favorite breakfast cereal reincarnated as a muffin. There's nothing like a hearty bran muffin for breakfast and Whole Foods does a solid interpretation of the classic.
Banana nut: 5/5
A solid banana nut, with big chunks of walnut on top and raisins scattered throughout. Nice and moist.
Chocolate double: 4.5/5
Very rich and chocolate-y for sure. Moist too. Some melted chocolate chips scattered throughout making it extra moist.
Other Pastries
Frosted brioche cinnamon roll: 3.5/5
Not my favorite to be honest. It's made with brioche bread instead of dough so the texture is different. It's more like, well, bread. So it's chewy and not thick. The cream cheese frosting is pretty good. Also there could be more filling so it gets gooey in the microwave. Meh. Looks a lot better than it tastes.
Cinnamon walnut raisin roll: 5/5
A little chewy but the flavor is there. Warm it up so it's gooey as per usual with cinnamon rolls. The walnuts add to the flavor. I wish they put more raisins in there because those are really good. Cinnamon raisin. Yum. Definitely the superior cinnamon roll.
Apple cream cheese danish: 4.5/5
Really buttery, that's for sure. The texture is chewy, which I'd expect from a grocery store. Same as other prepackaged goods. It's still flaky though, and buttery. Did I say buttery? It's really buttery. Not too much filling but what is there is cheesy and sweet, and the apples are nice and tender. Also comes as a plain cream cheese danish.
Sticky bun: 4.5/5
Definitely sticky. Essentially a croissant roll covered in a thick brown sugar glaze with nuts on top. The interior is the best part because it's nice and buttery.
Whole wheat morning roll: 4.5/5
Similar to the sticky bun but less "sticky" (it still has a glaze though) and with a whole-grain flavor. Still got the buttery croissant base to it, just in whole wheat form.
Cronuts: 3.5/5
Cronuts are typically chewy because they're, well, croissants shaped into doughnuts essentially. But these are hella chewy. Flavor-wise they're not bad but you can get better at a doughnut shop and probably for cheaper. Glazed is far superior to chocolate/frosted in my opinion because you get the sugar all over instead of just on top.
Cream/blueberry biscuits: 5/5
More like a cross between a biscuit and a scone. These are very moist "biscuits" made with heavy cream, making them taste similar to buttermilk. The blueberry ones obviously have a little more oomph but if you're just looking for something to accompany dinner, the basic cream is still delightful. They're topped with a bit of sugar.
Two-bite cranberry orange scones (left): 4.5/5
The go-to scone flavor along with blueberry. The texture is dense but not dry, and the flavor tastes, well, like cranberry orange. Very fruity, slightly tangy.
Two-bite blueberry scones (right): 5/5
Same texture and deal as above but with a powdered sugar blueberry flavor instead. This one's sweeter for sure and generally just tastes more "pleasant". I dunno. Mostly just comes down to preference.
Two-bite cinnamon rolls: 4.5/5
Nice, doughy texture with a good amount of brown sugar-cinnamon mix inside. Warm them up for best results. I'm not sure but I actually think I like Sprouts' version better.
Oatmeal scone: 5/5
A crisp oatmeal raisin scone with a crust of sugar on top. Not too oaty but still delicious.
Other Pastries
Frosted brioche cinnamon roll: 3.5/5
Not my favorite to be honest. It's made with brioche bread instead of dough so the texture is different. It's more like, well, bread. So it's chewy and not thick. The cream cheese frosting is pretty good. Also there could be more filling so it gets gooey in the microwave. Meh. Looks a lot better than it tastes.
Cinnamon walnut raisin roll: 5/5
A little chewy but the flavor is there. Warm it up so it's gooey as per usual with cinnamon rolls. The walnuts add to the flavor. I wish they put more raisins in there because those are really good. Cinnamon raisin. Yum. Definitely the superior cinnamon roll.
Apple cream cheese danish: 4.5/5
Really buttery, that's for sure. The texture is chewy, which I'd expect from a grocery store. Same as other prepackaged goods. It's still flaky though, and buttery. Did I say buttery? It's really buttery. Not too much filling but what is there is cheesy and sweet, and the apples are nice and tender. Also comes as a plain cream cheese danish.
Sticky bun: 4.5/5
Definitely sticky. Essentially a croissant roll covered in a thick brown sugar glaze with nuts on top. The interior is the best part because it's nice and buttery.
Whole wheat morning roll: 4.5/5
Similar to the sticky bun but less "sticky" (it still has a glaze though) and with a whole-grain flavor. Still got the buttery croissant base to it, just in whole wheat form.
Cronuts: 3.5/5
Cronuts are typically chewy because they're, well, croissants shaped into doughnuts essentially. But these are hella chewy. Flavor-wise they're not bad but you can get better at a doughnut shop and probably for cheaper. Glazed is far superior to chocolate/frosted in my opinion because you get the sugar all over instead of just on top.
Cream/blueberry biscuits: 5/5
More like a cross between a biscuit and a scone. These are very moist "biscuits" made with heavy cream, making them taste similar to buttermilk. The blueberry ones obviously have a little more oomph but if you're just looking for something to accompany dinner, the basic cream is still delightful. They're topped with a bit of sugar.
Two-bite cranberry orange scones (left): 4.5/5
The go-to scone flavor along with blueberry. The texture is dense but not dry, and the flavor tastes, well, like cranberry orange. Very fruity, slightly tangy.
Two-bite blueberry scones (right): 5/5
Same texture and deal as above but with a powdered sugar blueberry flavor instead. This one's sweeter for sure and generally just tastes more "pleasant". I dunno. Mostly just comes down to preference.
Two-bite cinnamon rolls: 4.5/5
Nice, doughy texture with a good amount of brown sugar-cinnamon mix inside. Warm them up for best results. I'm not sure but I actually think I like Sprouts' version better.
Oatmeal scone: 5/5
A crisp oatmeal raisin scone with a crust of sugar on top. Not too oaty but still delicious.
Belgian butter waffles: 5/5
Nice, buttery and sweet little things. Toast them so they're nice and crispy. Slightly dense but not too much, still got a little fluff to them.
Belgian sweet waffle: 5/5
A thick, sugary-sweet waffle, very dense and filling. It'll cost ya 450 calories though.
Chocolate crepes: 3.5/5
Thin crepes with a sort of chocolate Nutella filling. Not that appetizing to be honest. Taste good warmed up but pretty meh.
Pies
Apple (handheld): 5/5
Amazing buttery crust with a nice, gooey, sweet interior of spiced apple. Almost as soft as applesauce. I love a good crust and this one is perfect. Make sure to warm this up for the best experience.
Cherry (handheld): 4/5
More of that amazing buttery crust, with cherry filling inside. The cherries aren't too tart but they also aren't too sweet. This one's just aight. Once again make sure to heat it up.
Marionberry (handheld): 5/5
The best way I can describe a marionberry is it's a blackberry. There. That's it. They taste exactly the same. I love blackberry pie so I love this. If you wanna save on getting a full twenty-dollar blackberry lime pie get this instead. Speaking of which...
Blackberry lime: 4/5
Kind of a tart pie. Yeah it mostly just tastes like a tart blackberry pie. The lime is not distinguishable, it just lends a sour flavor. Very yummy lattice-style crust. I prefer a sweeter pie though. Crust doesn't save it.
Fancy Desserts
Fruit tart: 5/5
Everything about this is delicious. The sweet shortbread shell, the sweet creamy custard, the sweet ...five berries. It's just a little delight. You can get it in a slightly larger version or an entire pie-size but this works for a little $2.50 treat.
Key lime tart: 4.5/5
It was this or lemon meringue and lemon never impresses me nearly as much as lime (plus not a fan of meringue). Topped with a hard layer of cream cheese frosting (I believe), underneath which there is a very limey custard filling, all surrounded by a petite tartlet crust. This will get your craving fixed without too much guilt.
Raspberry tea cake: 4/5
A mini four-bite cake to be eaten with tea, presumably, or just by itself if you're me. It's got three layers of white cake and two layers of frosting, in this instance raspberry; plus of course the frosted exterior. A simple delight. Also comes in vanilla or lemon.
Raspberry chocolate tart: 5/5
The raspberry-chocolate super-duo strikes again. Fresh berries on top with a white chocolate drizzle; raspberry jam interior; dark chocolate tart crust. Dark chocolate plus raspberries is just divine.
S'mores brownie tart: 5/5
A (slightly squishy) graham cracker on top with chocolate drizzle, underneath which is a toasted marshmallow and a dense chocolate tart filled with a dense dark chocolate brownie and some chocolate chips sprinkled in there to really rub it in. Definitely satisfied my craving for chocolate, if only for the next ten minutes.
Mini apple frangipane filled shell: 5/5
Frangipane is kind of like a custard but with flour? Hard to describe. That's how it tastes anyway. Covered with apple glaze. Tastes like a mini apple pie, pretty much. Delicious crust too, as with all the other tarts.
(left to right)
Creme caramel mousse: 4/5
I don't know what's in this but this little two-tablespoon dessert will cost you about 230 calories. Must be just pure egg yolks and heavy cream and sugar. It sure tastes like it. A very rich custard, underneath which lies a layer of caramel sauce. Sluuuurp.
Raspberry lemon mousse: 4.5/5
A sweet-tart lemon mousse on top with a very creamy, bordering on liquid raspberry mousse on bottom. Refreshingly sweet.
White and dark chocolate mousse: 5/5
We got some white chocolate flakes on top, a layer of milk chocolate mousse that basically tastes like a chocolate malt, and a finishing layer of very rich dark chocolate mousse. I'm talking so rich you'll want a glass of water. It's that good.
Cappuccino mousse: 5/5
We start off with a big ol' cappuccino chip as an appetizer. Up next is a lil layer of sweet cafe au lait mousse. And on the bottom we got a nice solid chocolate mousse as a finisher. Coffee desserts and dessert coffees are just the tops.
Chocolate mousse cup: 4/5
A very light chocolate mousse topped with chocolate chips and a little chocolate straw. The mousse is essentially chocolate-flavored whip cream - as I said, very light. Top it all off you get to eat the cup too! Unfortunately the dark chocolate cup is more on the bitter side than sweet.
Cannoli with chocolate filling: 5/5
Probably the best cannoli I've had and I've had... about three in my life I guess. The filling is more like white chocolate, a little cheesy in flavor, and the shell is nice and crisp.
Strawberry cream eclair: 5/5
A nice shortcake-flavored eclair filled with sweet strawberry yogurt-flavored filling and frosting. Reminds me of the good old days when I used to squeeze Gogurt in my mouth, but a lot more fancy.
Vanilla cream eclair: 4/5
A classic dessert. Nothing special going on here but it is good. Chocolate frosting and basic vanilla filling. Not bad, not great.
New York cheesecake: 5/5
Tastes authentic to me. Smooth, creamy, cheesy, sweet, with a hint of vanilla. Topped with fresh berries and frosting.
Chocolate cheesecake: 4.5/5
Topped with yummy chocolate frosting and a giant chocolate chip. Chocolate cheesecake is an interesting combination. I'm not sure I like it. It's pretty damn rich. The flavors can complement each other but it just feels really heavy. If you're gonna get chocolate cheesecake though, this is a good place to get it.
Marquise mousse cake: 5/5
Another rich chocolate mousse, torched on top with a big chocolate chip and hazelnut. Tastes like a Dutch chocolate. And on the bottom - delicious chocolate cake.
Frangipane tart: 5/5
Toasted almonds on the crust with a spongey custard interior, with big blueberries scattered throughout. The tart shell is toasted as well, or it tastes like it. Really just a delicious flavor combo. I've never had anything like it.
Cannoli with almond filling: 4.5/5
Pretty simple, same as the cannoli above but it's got an almond extract in the cream with almonds outside.
Cake
Berry chantilly cake: 5/5
I almost passed this one up because it's white cake. I generally don't like white cake but it makes sense that the only white cake I do like would be from Whole Foods. Theirs is super moist and doesn't just have that one-note sugar taste most white cake I've had does. The frosting is like a light vanilla mousse (chantilly cream) and the berries are fresh.
Tiramisu cake: 5/5
More moist white cake (in place of ladyfingers - more on that one later) with thin layers of coffee-soaked cake, between which is a rich sweet cream cheese filling, garnished with vanilla cream frosting and chocolate curls plus a sprinkling of espresso on top. The only true coffee cake there is.
Almond cream cake (not pictured - oops I ate it): 4.5/5
A very sweet, and very moist, square slice with the taste of marzipan. The cream on top tastes of almond and the sponge cake on the bottom does as well. A very light and airy cake. For what it's worth, it looks like a slice of tiramisu with almond crumble on top.
Carrot cheesecake: 5/5
Carrot cake and cheesecake? You can't get much better than this. Even the cheesecake itself has a carrot flavor. Topped with walnuts, bordered with carrot cake and a carrot cake crust, plus two layers of carrot cake, surrounded by three layers of cheesecake. The carrot cake itself doesn't have a strong carrot flavor but it's still good. Nuts and raisins in there as well. Finished off with a brown sugar crust.
Chocolate eruption cake: 5/5
Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. White chocolate frosting topped with chocolate ganache. Layers of moist chocolate cake followed by sweet milk chocolate mousse. This will definitely meet your chocolate cravings... or leave you craving more.
Flourless chocolate decadence: 5/5
Pure chocolate. Moist, rich "cake" topped with fudge curls. It's like a giant brownie but creamier.
Lemon raspberry cake: 3/5
We got a very thick layer of frosting on the outside here. Starts of as a very sweet lemon, a little too sweet if you ask me, followed by a slightly tangier raspberry frosting. The lemon white cake is just as sweet as the frosting, and it's got more lemon frosting inside plus some raspberry mousse. The mousse is the best part of the whole thing. The rest is too sweet for me. Needs more tang.
Chocolate strawberry cake (not pictured, again): 4/5
Once again, forgot to take a pic before eating. It's a chocolate cake with pink frosting. Very thick and sugary strawberry frosting with chocolate curls on top. Moist yummy strawberry cake interior with a layer of chocolate cake. Nothing extraordinary but still good.
Tres leches cake: 5/5
Oops, dug in before a pic. It's just white frosting on top. The frosting has a fruity taste to it, with a bit of buttermilk and condensed milk flavor. Rich white cake inside plus more layers of frosting with fruit in the middle. This is my first tres leches cake and I'm a fan.
Carrot cake: 4.5/5
Rich, fresh, thick and cheesy cream cheese frosting on top of and layered between a sweet, nutty carrot cake with raisins. The cake could be a little richer in flavor. As it is it tastes a little simple. Walnuts on the side complete it.
Fancy Desserts
Fruit tart: 5/5
Everything about this is delicious. The sweet shortbread shell, the sweet creamy custard, the sweet ...five berries. It's just a little delight. You can get it in a slightly larger version or an entire pie-size but this works for a little $2.50 treat.
Key lime tart: 4.5/5
It was this or lemon meringue and lemon never impresses me nearly as much as lime (plus not a fan of meringue). Topped with a hard layer of cream cheese frosting (I believe), underneath which there is a very limey custard filling, all surrounded by a petite tartlet crust. This will get your craving fixed without too much guilt.
Raspberry tea cake: 4/5
A mini four-bite cake to be eaten with tea, presumably, or just by itself if you're me. It's got three layers of white cake and two layers of frosting, in this instance raspberry; plus of course the frosted exterior. A simple delight. Also comes in vanilla or lemon.
Raspberry chocolate tart: 5/5
The raspberry-chocolate super-duo strikes again. Fresh berries on top with a white chocolate drizzle; raspberry jam interior; dark chocolate tart crust. Dark chocolate plus raspberries is just divine.
S'mores brownie tart: 5/5
A (slightly squishy) graham cracker on top with chocolate drizzle, underneath which is a toasted marshmallow and a dense chocolate tart filled with a dense dark chocolate brownie and some chocolate chips sprinkled in there to really rub it in. Definitely satisfied my craving for chocolate, if only for the next ten minutes.
Mini apple frangipane filled shell: 5/5
Frangipane is kind of like a custard but with flour? Hard to describe. That's how it tastes anyway. Covered with apple glaze. Tastes like a mini apple pie, pretty much. Delicious crust too, as with all the other tarts.
(left to right)
Creme caramel mousse: 4/5
I don't know what's in this but this little two-tablespoon dessert will cost you about 230 calories. Must be just pure egg yolks and heavy cream and sugar. It sure tastes like it. A very rich custard, underneath which lies a layer of caramel sauce. Sluuuurp.
Raspberry lemon mousse: 4.5/5
A sweet-tart lemon mousse on top with a very creamy, bordering on liquid raspberry mousse on bottom. Refreshingly sweet.
White and dark chocolate mousse: 5/5
We got some white chocolate flakes on top, a layer of milk chocolate mousse that basically tastes like a chocolate malt, and a finishing layer of very rich dark chocolate mousse. I'm talking so rich you'll want a glass of water. It's that good.
Cappuccino mousse: 5/5
We start off with a big ol' cappuccino chip as an appetizer. Up next is a lil layer of sweet cafe au lait mousse. And on the bottom we got a nice solid chocolate mousse as a finisher. Coffee desserts and dessert coffees are just the tops.
Chocolate mousse cup: 4/5
A very light chocolate mousse topped with chocolate chips and a little chocolate straw. The mousse is essentially chocolate-flavored whip cream - as I said, very light. Top it all off you get to eat the cup too! Unfortunately the dark chocolate cup is more on the bitter side than sweet.
Cannoli with chocolate filling: 5/5
Probably the best cannoli I've had and I've had... about three in my life I guess. The filling is more like white chocolate, a little cheesy in flavor, and the shell is nice and crisp.
Strawberry cream eclair: 5/5
A nice shortcake-flavored eclair filled with sweet strawberry yogurt-flavored filling and frosting. Reminds me of the good old days when I used to squeeze Gogurt in my mouth, but a lot more fancy.
Vanilla cream eclair: 4/5
A classic dessert. Nothing special going on here but it is good. Chocolate frosting and basic vanilla filling. Not bad, not great.
New York cheesecake: 5/5
Tastes authentic to me. Smooth, creamy, cheesy, sweet, with a hint of vanilla. Topped with fresh berries and frosting.
Chocolate cheesecake: 4.5/5
Topped with yummy chocolate frosting and a giant chocolate chip. Chocolate cheesecake is an interesting combination. I'm not sure I like it. It's pretty damn rich. The flavors can complement each other but it just feels really heavy. If you're gonna get chocolate cheesecake though, this is a good place to get it.
Marquise mousse cake: 5/5
Another rich chocolate mousse, torched on top with a big chocolate chip and hazelnut. Tastes like a Dutch chocolate. And on the bottom - delicious chocolate cake.
Frangipane tart: 5/5
Toasted almonds on the crust with a spongey custard interior, with big blueberries scattered throughout. The tart shell is toasted as well, or it tastes like it. Really just a delicious flavor combo. I've never had anything like it.
Cannoli with almond filling: 4.5/5
Pretty simple, same as the cannoli above but it's got an almond extract in the cream with almonds outside.
Cake
Berry chantilly cake: 5/5
I almost passed this one up because it's white cake. I generally don't like white cake but it makes sense that the only white cake I do like would be from Whole Foods. Theirs is super moist and doesn't just have that one-note sugar taste most white cake I've had does. The frosting is like a light vanilla mousse (chantilly cream) and the berries are fresh.
Tiramisu cake: 5/5
More moist white cake (in place of ladyfingers - more on that one later) with thin layers of coffee-soaked cake, between which is a rich sweet cream cheese filling, garnished with vanilla cream frosting and chocolate curls plus a sprinkling of espresso on top. The only true coffee cake there is.
Almond cream cake (not pictured - oops I ate it): 4.5/5
A very sweet, and very moist, square slice with the taste of marzipan. The cream on top tastes of almond and the sponge cake on the bottom does as well. A very light and airy cake. For what it's worth, it looks like a slice of tiramisu with almond crumble on top.
Carrot cheesecake: 5/5
Carrot cake and cheesecake? You can't get much better than this. Even the cheesecake itself has a carrot flavor. Topped with walnuts, bordered with carrot cake and a carrot cake crust, plus two layers of carrot cake, surrounded by three layers of cheesecake. The carrot cake itself doesn't have a strong carrot flavor but it's still good. Nuts and raisins in there as well. Finished off with a brown sugar crust.
Chocolate eruption cake: 5/5
Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. White chocolate frosting topped with chocolate ganache. Layers of moist chocolate cake followed by sweet milk chocolate mousse. This will definitely meet your chocolate cravings... or leave you craving more.
Flourless chocolate decadence: 5/5
Pure chocolate. Moist, rich "cake" topped with fudge curls. It's like a giant brownie but creamier.
Lemon raspberry cake: 3/5
We got a very thick layer of frosting on the outside here. Starts of as a very sweet lemon, a little too sweet if you ask me, followed by a slightly tangier raspberry frosting. The lemon white cake is just as sweet as the frosting, and it's got more lemon frosting inside plus some raspberry mousse. The mousse is the best part of the whole thing. The rest is too sweet for me. Needs more tang.
Chocolate strawberry cake (not pictured, again): 4/5
Once again, forgot to take a pic before eating. It's a chocolate cake with pink frosting. Very thick and sugary strawberry frosting with chocolate curls on top. Moist yummy strawberry cake interior with a layer of chocolate cake. Nothing extraordinary but still good.
Tres leches cake: 5/5
Oops, dug in before a pic. It's just white frosting on top. The frosting has a fruity taste to it, with a bit of buttermilk and condensed milk flavor. Rich white cake inside plus more layers of frosting with fruit in the middle. This is my first tres leches cake and I'm a fan.
Carrot cake: 4.5/5
Rich, fresh, thick and cheesy cream cheese frosting on top of and layered between a sweet, nutty carrot cake with raisins. The cake could be a little richer in flavor. As it is it tastes a little simple. Walnuts on the side complete it.
Bread
Cinnamon swirl brioche: 4.5/5
Love me some brioche and love me some cinnamon swirl. Whole Foods' brioche is nice and fluffy as it should be (they also have plain brioche) but this cinnamon has kinda a funky flavor to it. It's still good, just some weird sorta aftertaste that to me tastes a little soapy or something.
Cream cheese brioche: 5/5
Definitely like this one better. It's a sweet cream cheese, almost like a cheesecake, woven throughout soft, fluffy brioche.
Chocolate swirl brioche: 4.5/5
Pretty basic, a chocolate custard swirled into brioche. The chocolate is dense and sweet.
Cinnamon raisin brioche: 4.5/5
Another simple but good one. Brioche with a touch of cinnamon and raisins scattered throughout. Makes good toast, especially buttered. I imagine it'd make excellent French toast.
Brioche wheat baguettes: 5/5
Meant for sandwiches I guess since they're sliced. Nice whole wheat flavor with the fluffiness of brioche. Makes for one long, skinny sub. Tastes great warmed up.
Whole Paycheck has a lot of other good shit in their fresh section, like hot food, salads, pizza, and other shit I didn't get to in this review. And their actual store has some good shit too. Mostly organic. Lots of good store-brand granola for sure. 365 is a solid generic brand, I won't lie. It is overpriced but it's to be expected as this is a store meant for yuppies.
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