Bake Shoppe

Forget Bake Shoppe’s elaborate designer cakes that seem to hover on the wall, the modern tables made right in Toronto or the colourful display of vintage cake stands. The most striking thing at this College Street bakery is the sweet scent of desserts; the smell of brownies, cookies and cakes wafts throughout the bakery and hits your nose as soon as you walk through the door.

The bakery wasn’t always called Bake Shoppe. Sisters and co-owners Cindy and Sarah Coelho rebranded their Wedding Cake Shoppe, which focused on cakes and cupcakes, in September 2014 and created a completely different menu featuring novel new baked goods. “Whenever any one thing gets over-saturated in any market, I always want to do something different,” says Cindy.

While the bakery still makes wedding cakes on a by-appointment basis, the display cases are now dominated by unique products that customers can’t find anywhere else in the city. The brown butter Nutella cookies and Caramelita bars (made from oats, caramel and chocolate) are deliciously chewy and made to perfection, as are the decadent chocolate brownies and the sweet-and-salty marshmallow squares made with Ruffles potato chips .

“I don’t want anything to just be mediocre,” explains Cindy. “I want it to be the best thing you’ve ever had.” This focus on creativity — combined with the all natural, high quality ingredients — is the secret behind the bakery’s amazing flavours.