Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The search for the best petit four in Dallas.

There's something endearing about petits four. Is it its tiny size, created just for you? Perhaps it is the tiny flower on top, or one of many various designs. It could definitely be the tradition: petits four have been served with coffee or tea as part of dessert or afternoon tea for generations.

Whatever it is, I love them. So much so that if I spend any amount of time in a particular city, I deem it necessary to determine where I might find the best petits four.

Having already done this for Austin (Rise & Shine Bakery on 2222, http://www.riseandshinebakery.com), my city of residence is covered. Now that I am on vacation in Dallas, I had the idea to spend one of my days demystifying Dallas bakeries.

An important note is this: many bakeries do not sell petits four at all. Some make them by the dozen to order only. There are a few bakeries that make them every day and have them ready for sale whenever you want one on a whim. This last category is the type of bakery for which I typically seek, for two reasons: 1) Until my wedding day, I will not need a large quantity of petits four; 2) I am a relatively spontaneous person on a diet. If I decide to have a petit four, it is not planned ahead of time.

There are a few types of petits four:
Vanilla: Typically characterized by vanilla cake and white frosting, with a pastel flower or other design on top. My favorite.
Chocolate: Chocolate cake with (usually) chocolate frosting (often fondant; more on that later), with a design of random color on top. I have seen a lot of odd colors on chocolate petits four.
Filled: Some type of other cake with a creamy or gelatinous filling. Always interesting, rarely what you expect it to be.
Occasionally, there are petits four made with a different type of cake. These are very rarely made by bakeries on a daily basis, but you can request them on special orders.

For these types of investigations, I usually choose vanilla - it's my favorite type, and it usually is a much easier petit four to judge. Chocolate petits four tend to be very similar, whereas vanilla petits four can be extremely different in size, moisture, texture, flavor, and color. I am also not the biggest fan of chocolate, despite being female (thought an intense love of chocolate came with the territory?...).

I placed many phone calls and trolled many web sites today looking for bakeries serving vanilla petits four within a reasonable driving distance of the north Dallas area. I narrowed down the list carefully (some were out of vanilla when I called; others were far outside of the acceptable driving range) and came up with the following list of five:
1. A & J Bakery, 3515 Oak Lawn Avenue, 214.526.0077, http://ajbakery.info
2. Celebrity Cafe & Bakery, several locations (I chose Highland Park, at 65 Highland Park Village), 214.528.6612, http://www.enjoycelebrity.com
3. Tart Bakery, 5219 W Lovers Lane, 469.335.8919, http://www.tartbakerydallas.com
4. Aston's Bakery, 4342 Lovers Lane, 214.368.6425, http://astonsbakery.net
5. Stein's Bakery, 12829 Preston Road, 972.385.9911, http://steinsbakery.net
Also of note: Society Bakery in the Lower Greenville area was highly recommended by some, but they were out of petits four when I called. From the sound of their reviews, their cupcakes are better anyway... and I didn't want a cupcake.

Clockwise from top: A & J, Tart, Aston's, Celebrity, Stein's.












Assisting in this investigation was my friend Kaytee. Some of the opinions to follow were contributed by her. Thank heaven she was there to share the sugar with me, because I think I would have gone into shock otherwise.

Note the relative differences in size and various decorations.

A & J: They had run out of vanilla petits four sometime between when I called and when I arrived. I decided that having already made the drive, I would go ahead and purchase a chocolate one. Coming in at a cost of $2.71, it was the most expensive. The picture doesn't entirely do its size justice. It was more a slice of cake than a true petit four and was easily three or four times the size of Aston's offering, which was the smallest. The bakery was sandwiched into a row of buildings on Oak Lawn and wasn't very appealing from the outside, but there was parking in back - thank God! No having to reverse onto a busy street like Oak Lawn.

The best thing about the A & J petit four was the surprise at the base: a creamy chocolate filling reminiscent of chocolate mousse. It was DELICIOUS. As previously stated, I'm not even a fan of chocolate, but that was really, truly a treat. The cake itself was relatively moist, with a nice texture. Again, more akin to a piece of cake than a petit four. The icing, however, ruined the whole cake. It was like fondant, but less matte. It had a very artificial taste to it. Had I been able to get vanilla, this problem would not likely have come up, as most places use a cream frosting on vanilla. For whatever reason, I really do not enjoy fondant... it has that icky artificial taste, an awkward texture, and doesn't contribute much to the overall visual of the cake. Had this petit four/piece of cake had cream frosting on it, I would have thoroughly enjoyed it. It was still MUCH too large for a petit four and was moderately expensive (not the highest I've ever seen, but the most expensive of the day).

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Tart: The second smallest petit four, it was an appropriate size, though a little smaller than what you might typically find. Its cost was $2.25. The bakery itself was the cleanest, most visually pleasing of all of the locations. The interior had a cutesy appeal to it and was everything I might expect from a nice bakery operating in 2011. Additionally, the lady at the counter was more friendly than any other staff I encountered at any of the bakeries. She even recommended a cookie (which I, being a sucker for lemon anything in pastry form, purchased). Overall, this was a bakery I'd visit again, just based on the feel of it.

Again with the surprises... there was a layer of creamy frosting in the middle of it. Pleasant, creamy interjection. The cake itself was very moist and flavorful, substantial but not heavy. The frosting was creamy and delicious, contributing some sweetness, but not overloaded with sugar. The petit four was very well-balanced, owing to the substance of the cake and the moderate sweetness of the frosting. Not even the fondant flower (which WAS cute, therefore an acceptable application of fondant) could distract me from the perfect balance. The cake could have had a touch more flavor, but otherwise, I was perfectly satisfied with how it tasted, both by itself and paired with the coffee and tea I had before me. Well worth the moderate price of $2.25.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Aston's: Far and away the smallest petit four I have ever seen. I had my choice between a larger size and the small size, but the larger size was actually a "cake square" and far too large to ever be considered a petit four - bigger than the A & J "petit four." The shop felt stuck in 1964 and was kind of a pain to access, due to the complicated layout of Lovers Lane just east of the Tollway. At $1.75, it was on the lower end of the price range, but considering how petite it truly was, I would have expected to pay $1. The lady who served me was nice enough. Also worth noting: the minimum charge for credit cards is $5, so bring cash if you plan on a visit for personal indulgence.

Considering the actual petit four, I don't think I would have been surprised if the clerk had listed air as a main ingredient. It was extremely moist, fluffy, and light. Kaytee and I could not believe how moist it was. That said, the cake had very little flavor to it. "Bland" and "mild" were words we used to describe it. The icing came close to what I would consider ideal for a petit four - creamy, without too much sweetness, but again, it lacked flavor. It was very obviously fresh. Other than how moist it was, it was very unremarkable. Mediocre.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars

Celebrity: I have to admit, my expectations here might have been higher merely because of its location in Highland Park Village. Extremely well-heeled customers expect a lot, right? The interior and exterior of the cafe were cute, in a way: nice tables outside, compact inside with various pink accents, traditional bakery case. I placed my order, and the cashier tossed a petit four into a pastry bag. She swiped my card. She walked away. No "thank you," no receipt. I watched her wander around the small area behind the counter as my receipt printed from the machine. She realized I was still waiting and returned to hand me my receipt. At $2.44, it was one of the day's more expensive samples.

The cake itself is vanilla, with white frosting and green decorative frosting. I know from seeing the petits four in the case that the green frosting was in some sort of decorative shape. I have no idea what that was, as the frosting was smashed in the bagging of the pastry - you can see that it looks like a solid green layer of frosting on top. Had I received this petit four recently after it was baked, I would guess that it would have been rather good. The cake suggested a creamy, thick texture, almost heavy. It had more of a french vanilla flavor to it, which was interesting. The frosting was about right on sweetness. All of these points of interest were severely discounted by the fact that the petit four was slightly stale. As such, the frosting was dry and cracking in an ugly way; the cake's hint of moisture was just that - a hint; the flavor hid behind the slight envelope-glue flavor of staleness. This one could have been great, seriously. But with the presentation, which was marred as soon as it hit the bag, and the slightly-past-its-prime condition, its potential was not realized. Match that with the lady at the counter, and I'm not inclined to return to examine the further potential of this offering. But again, what could have been...

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Stein's: I won't lie... I really wanted this petit four to be the best. It was a perfect size - not too large, not too small, but slightly larger than medium. Plus, at $1.40, it was easily the best value. Again with the flashbacks - I felt like I'd stepped back to 1992 (where's my Minnie Mouse shirt and hot pink bike shorts?). Parking was plentiful, the location was easy, the staff was friendly, and the shop had the largest variety of baked options of anything I'd seen all day. Additionally, the petit four was the prettiest one I'd seen (just half a hair ahead of Tart's in visual appeal).

But it wasn't the best. What a beautiful letdown. Close, but no cigar. Aw, shucks. Even more shameful? The cake itself was the best flavor of any petit four I've had. It was interesting, and savory, and not excessively sweet. It was creamy (as Celebrity's, but less heavy), moist, and fluffy. Fresh. Delicious. The icing on the cake? So sweet, it burned going down. Seriously. I would eat that cake all day, every day, but the frosting? I'd scrape it off to give to the dog. And frosting is usually my favorite part of a cake. If you like your frosting sweet, go to Stein's; otherwise, you might want to seek out a different place. Unless your dog likes frosting.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the end of the experiment, here's how they stacked up:
1st: Tart Bakery
2nd: Stein's Bakery
3rd: A & J Bakery
4th: Celebrity Cafe & Bakery
5th: Aston's Bakery

If you're in the mood for a quick, sweet treat, head to Tart. Elevated atmosphere, well-balanced flavors for a balanced palate, friendly staff, and reasonable pricing.

Tart Bakery. Best petit four in Dallas, period.

Blog coming back to life?...

It is time to resuscitate the blog, now that I:

a) have enough time to write (sometimes),
b) have material about which to write, and
c) am starting to recognize that my ability to write is being wasted.

Those things being said, I have some things to post tonight, and I will try to continue posting with some regularity. Cheers!