Black Market Bakery, Let me count the ways I love thee:
1. Homemade pomegranate (and passion fruit and vanilla and white peach and ...) marshmallows that will transport you to a Parisian patisserie. They are so delicate, airy, and aromatic, you will love them.
2. Chocolate-almond brioche, a favorite of mine, is perfectly fluffy and accompanied by ribbons of sweet chocolate throughout.
3. Cinnamon-Currant brioche: If you tend towards the fruity rather than the chocolatey, you should give this a shot. Like the chocolate brioche, this one has ribbons of gooey, buttery cinnamon throughout and is peppered with moist currants inside and out. The brioches are sold in large family-style and small single-serving sizes, which is convenient.
4. Iced-shortbread cookies: Yum! A favorite of my brother, these cookies come in some hilarious forms--eg., an alien head--and are crispy, sweet, deliciousness.
5. Stuffed focaccia pockets: To quote my brilliant friend Tamara, "the focaccia pockets are heaven in a pocket." And she's right. As of today, I have only had the eggplant, tomato, and sheep's milk variety, which I loved. The bread is nice and crusty, especially if heated, and the eggplant was tender and wonderfully complemented by the sheep's milk cheese. But other Black-Market regulars have raved about their other selections: crimini mushroom, cheddar and shallot; curried potato with carrots and onion; sweet red pepper and feta.
6. Coconut-Vanilla Macaroons: "Oh. My. God." That was about all I could muster to say after sinking my teeth into this fluffy cloud of coconut deliciousness. And they're not kidding about the vanilla: you can actually see the vanilla bean speckled throughout. These are an absolute must!
These are only a selection of the manifold delights the Black Market Bakery has to offer. When I swung by last Saturday, the chef, Rachel, was on hand answering questions and providing information about their various confections. The bakery has a helpful website with menus and great pictures, check it out here: www.blackmarketbakery.com.
2 comments:
You forgot to mention their cheeky design scheme, which tends toward the far ends of the political spectrum. But hey, when you are eating a pomegranate marshmallow, who really cares about politics anyway?
Hey Jessica -
Thanks for the glowing praise! I love that you are focusing on Irvine's best resource - the awesome Farmers Market. Have you interviewed Trish yet? She's the market manager. Anyway, I just linked your mash-up site to my Blackmarket Baker blog. I'll add a link to our website too... Keep up the good work!
Rachel
Post a Comment