When people ask me what I prefer to do in the kitchen my answer is always that I like to do everything. I'm starting to think the real truth is that I love baking best. Let's keep that our little secret though, because regardless of how much I love to bake I still have to get dinner on the table each night.
I probably would have sought out at least one bakery during our trip, but the copy of Baltimore Magazine in our hotel room ensured that we went to not only one bakery during our short stay, but three. The front of the magazine pictures a stack of Berger cookies. While I didn't try a Berger cookie during this visit, while we were at Phillips Seafood, we ordered their Berger pie. The pie and the cookie are essentially the same thing, except our pie was warmed and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream...yum! A traditional Berger cookie is a shortbread cookie topped with chocolate fudge. I can't knock the cookie until I try it, but I think the pie would win out in a taste test.
Despite having our Baltimore bakery bible on hand (well, in the hotel room), we still went to the concierge our first morning to ask what bakeries they recommended. The woman at the desk instantly responded: Vaccaro's.* She told us that every time she goes there, the place is packed, the line is long, and she ends up spending $30 more than intended.
*I later found out that Vaccaro's was listed in the Baltimore magazine spread that I had been using to find my other sweet treats.
It was breakfast time, but to Little Italy and Vaccaro's we went.
We were there when they first opened, so we didn't have an issue with lines or the place being packed. We were even able to sit and enjoy our treats in their tiny dining area. While they did serve other breakfast items like sandwiches and croissants, we both knew we would be ordering from their bakery case. My only regret was not ordering a box of their cookies to go as I later found out that they were another one of the main attractions. They looked it too, but I was so overwhelmed by the other delights glaring in my face, that I decided to ignore them. Foolish girl, I know.
Naturally, I ordered their cannoli and it was outrageously delicious. The cream was smooth, almost like icing; and rather than a typical cannoli where it stays put in the shell, this cream ran all over the plate making me wonder how one could ever dare to eat it with their hands alone. Perhaps this is why they also offer cannoli dip and chips. The one negative was that our lattes cost $6 each. This seemed extremely steep considering even Starbucks is cheaper than that.
That night, after eating seafood and looking at sea beings at the Aquarium, we set out for The Donut Shack about 25 minutes away in Severna Park. The major reason we chose The Donut Shack was that it is open 24/7. This is my biggest qualm with bakeries. Why are they not open into the wee hours of the morning?
If ever life leads me to open a bakery, you can bet that mine will be either 24/7 like The Donut Shack or open only from 5 pm-1 am. Seriously.
Their hours weren't the only thing worth raving about. The donuts, for 8 pm at night, were still fresh, crisp, and sugary. The Shack had more to offer than just donuts, and it was all very tempting, but since it was just Hubby and myself and I had already talked him up from ordering a half dozen to a dozen, I figured I should quit while I was ahead.
See 'the fudgie' in the bottom left corner? I expected that to be my favorite. Of course, I was also expecting it to be more of a chocolate glazed donut. We'll get back to that one in a minute. Their honey dipped donut was the one the magazine recommended, so I ordered two, then Hubby added on a third in the end. Among the others we ordered were chocolate frosted, boston creme, amish (oh my goodness!), and strawberry shortcake (Hubby's favorite). By the end of taking a bite out of each donut, I decided that the honey dipped was actually my least favorite. It was a typical glazed donut, not quite as airy though (which is a good thing to me). However, no glazed donut I've ever had has beaten this glazed donut in Atlantic City. The others were knock your socks off amazing. Even the fudgie, when I took a bite out of it the next morning ready for vanilla cake insides instead of chocolate, impressed me.
I can find only two negatives about The Donut Shack.
1. They are cash only.
2. Their coffee is reviewed as being horrible. Though I didn't read the reviews until later, I recognized that their coffee wasn't their main attraction when I walked in. This lead to my decision to brew my own coffee in my fancy Keurig back at our hotel room.
The next morning we planned to go to Hoehn's Bakery. I had checked the night before if they were open on Sundays--they were. I had only forgotten to check exactly when they were open. We finished breakfast at a small nook, Simply Marie's, (which was homey and surprisingly delicious) and were at Hoehn's by 10:00 only to discover they opened at 11:30. Our shopping plans and journey home prevented us from heading back to Hoehn's, so we worked Herman's Bakery into our way home.
The view of the bakery had much more to offer than the Donut Shack or Hoehn's.
Once inside, I stared in awe at the cases lined with pastries galore. We were there primarily for donuts, though they had only three choices: chocolate frosted, honey glazed, and marshmallow. We ordered one of each, then I couldn't control myself and I ordered a chocolate muffin and a black bottom cupcake. I looked to the case to the left and saw what had first attracted me to wanting to go to Hoehn's: smearcase. The magazine had only listed it being at Hoehn's, so it was a delight to find it at Herman's. Smearcase is Baltimore's own version of cheesecake. (See below). As I was paying, I realized they made their own breads. It didn't take much arm twisting for me to buy a loaf of their raisin bread.
The donuts were inhaled during our ride home.
This is one bite. One bite from Hubby's mouth. Do you think it grants me the right to call him a big mouth?
Probably not....
While the donut part of the marshmallow donut was more biscuit like than donut like, the marshmallow filling was wildly amazing. I wanted scoop it up with graham crackers and dip it into a chocolate fountain.
Now to smearcase. From what I've discovered, it has origins with the Pennsylvania Dutch. Unlike New York Cheesecake, it is not so sweet, making it perfect for breakfast, snack time, or dessert. The top two thirds is creamy, and the bottom third is most easily compared to a heavier sponge cake.
We were asked if we wanted powdered sugar or cinnamon sprinkled on top. Hubby was feeling daring and asked for both.
If that late night bakery of my dreams ever found its way to opening, I think Baltimore would be a poor choice for location. They seem to have some of the best bakeries sandwiched rather close together with some of the best choices in sugary goodness.
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