Bakery – YEGfoodie.com – YEG Food Adventures

Vienna Bakery

By Rebecca | November 7, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

I am about to share with you one of my “hidden gems” right here in Edmonton. My favourite European buttercream in the city; Vienna Bakery.

This is a family owned operation that has been in Edmonton in one form or another since 1959.

Oma and Opa ran the business from 1987 until they retired in 2005. Brian Jaeger took over the business in its current location in 2011.

I have been volunteering with Deadmonton Haunted House for the past 5 years. The floor manager was doing some bookkeeping for the bakery so we would often get cookies and sheet cakes from Vienna for the different fundraisers and celebrations that we had as a team. Best. Buttercreme. Ever.

Doing a bit more exploring, I found out that they were a European bakery and actually made “Bee Sting” cake (Bienenstitch) and not only is it available as a whole cake, but as a single slice as well. My favourite. Heaven.

The pretzels, the marzipan, the sourdough… The list of deliciousness goes on and on. Rye breads, sourdough breads, and pretzels are their specialties.

Not only are they a retail bakery but some of your favourite restaurants and cafes also carry their breads and pastries.

This place can be tricky to get to. It is on Gateway avenue on the south side of the Argyll road intersection. It is tucked behind the main building facing the road. Google Maps will steer you in the general direction. Heading south on Calgary Trail, turn left on 61 Avenue and go straight through the traffic lights. The customer door faces north along Argyll.

Now that you have found the place, make sure that you get there early to get those pretzels. They often sell out before noon, no matter how many they make. Very limited hours, but definitely worth the trip.

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They saved my butt for a Halloween potluck. They have the cutest spooky cupcakes to brighten up any Halloween gathering. Complete with tiny axes, spiderwebs and eyeballs! The pumpkin bars are currently in season. If you are a pumpkin spice lover like myself, you must try these!

Custom cakes are also available. Put that delicious buttercream to good use! They have some very creative designs sprinkled around the internet. The birthday cake for me and the sheet cakes made for the haunt were beautiful AND delicious.

Support your local family run business, give them a visit!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vienna-Bakery-215540941816881/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viennabakery/

Camola Sustainable Foods

By Rebecca | August 2, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Two nerds with Italian heritage tried eating a grasshopper one day and fell in love with the idea that everyone should eat insects.

Silvia and Claudio have teamed up to bring you a line of products that are not only delicious and nutritious, but better for the environment and more easily sustainable.

Silvia and Claudio are Entomologists which basically means that they study insects. Silvia is the baker of the team. With their Italian roots they have created a “Bugscotti” that is delicious and like no other biscotti, has the added protein of the cricket powder.

What do crickets taste like you ask? Personally I don’t find a discernible taste difference in any of the Camola products. They will apparently taste like celery in the new soup line coming out soon! The cricket flour doesn’t emulsify like regular flour. This means the cricket flour needs to be mixed with regular flour to get the same results. Your baking will just have more protein.

I wanted to know how crickets were farmed. Camola will have their own cricket farm soon, but for now they have an outside source. The crickets are raised in controlled conditions until they are the right size and then they are humanely harvested by freezing. They are then baked in an oven and ground into flour.

How do crickets contribute to sustainability? From the website:
To produce 1Kg of cricket flour requires about 4 L of water. In comparison, 1Kg of beef can require up to 48000 L of water! The difference is astonishing! Insects also have a high conversion factor (amount of feed that becomes body mass): for example, 1Kg of crickets only 3-4 kg of feed are required, compared to the 10 kg necessary to farm 1 Kg of beef.

And nutritious! I already knew that they had a lot of vitamins and other goodness but wasn’t aware of how much until Sylvia let me know. Again from the website so that I have the facts straight:
In terms of nutrients, they are 66% of protein in weight, rich in iron, potassium, calcium and vitamin B12. One tablespoon of cricket flour (about 10g) provides 100% of the B12 you will need in a day. Crickets have a complete aminoacidic profile, including all the 9 essential amino acids, making them a very healthy protein!

As an additional bonus, crickets are low in cholesterol and other unhealthy fatty acids (which means you can eat more protein without the guilt!). Also, farming insects does not require hormones, steroids or antibiotics, making them a healthy choice for people with specific allergies or that want to avoid food contamination.

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Camola is going to expand into many different kinds of products, they are not just a bakery anymore! My favourite product so far is the “Bug Bites” which are basically little date balls that have the cricket powder mixed into them.

The Crick Chips and the Bugscotti are also very tasty. No discernible “off” taste in any of the products that I have tried so far. Try them, you just might like them!

All of the products can be ordered from the website and delivered to your door. If you visit the farmer’s markets, you will find them Camola selling there as well.

The website has just been re-vamped with all kinds of new information. The social media accounts have all changed as well. Find them all here:

Vi’s for Pies – Not Just Desserts!

By Rebecca | November 6, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

This is a hidden gem for Edmonton. Period.

Vi’s is one of our favourites for date night. It is small and relatively intimate. There is a beautiful patio for when weather permits and a fireplace inside for winter.

The daily menu is brought to your table as a chalkboard on an easel. They generally have a selection of comfort food all year round, and barbeque in the summer months.

We have never been disappointed with the soups. They are always flavourful and hit the spot every time. They always use really good ingredients for everything on the menu. You will never leave hungry!

Vi’s, as the name suggests, is famous for the desserts. The selection is always different. Cheesecakes, tortes, pies, squares etc. There hasn’t been anything that we have tried yet that we haven’t enjoyed.

They also sell the cakes etc whole to take home, but I suggest you call ahead, as you never know what will be in the case.

Paris-Brest from Duchess Bake Shop

By Rebecca | August 3, 2012 | Comments 0 Comment

I had heard many good things about the Duchess when it came to the foodie conversations in and around Edmonton. Try as I might, it took me months to finally make the trek to the infamous bakery. Surprisingly there were seats! My foodie connections had said that the Duchess was often packed and hard to find a place to enjoy your treat.

Paris-Brest from Duchess Bakery — Paris-Brest pastry from Duchess Bakery

Looking at the variety of pastries and treats that the Duchess has to offer, and it being my first time there – this was a very difficult decision to make. The staff behind the counter are very helpful with explaining what the different items contain.

I am not going to lie – it was a little un-nerving asking for a “Paris-Brest”. The gentleman serving me must have noticed my discomfort and explained to me that the pastry represented a wreath that was won for a race between Paris and Brest.

First developed in 1891 in commemoration of a bicycle race between the cities of Paris and Brest, this pastry is a circle of choux pastry filled with a hazelnut mousseline, studded with candied whole hazelnuts and topped with slivered almonds.

We were actually stopping by the Duchess for brunch so I also spied this lovely:

Wild Boar Bacon Tartinade at the Duchess Bakeshop

I am a HUGE bacon fanatic. Wild boar bacon is the creme de la creme of the bacon world. There was no other choice in the case for breakfast after I spied this lovely number. Tartinade is: “a soft food mixture or spread, either savoury or sweet”. This is the Duchess’ version of the “BLT”.

It starts with a nice piece of rye bread. On this is spread the Tartinade. I am not sure what the spread contained but it was delicious. This is topped with fresh spinach, mushrooms and a tomato slice. The crowning glory of course is the Wild Boar Bacon to top it all off.

Overall the Duchess was a wonderful experience and we will be back to try more!

Category: Bakery