Recently, I’ve noticed a trend where allergies and intolerances to certain food components have become more proponent in the city of Vancouver. With this sudden boom for such specific needs and preferences, a niche market has formed.
Lemonade Gluten-Free Bakery is an establishment that caters specifically to this niche market. Products include quinoa bread, egg-free crostatas and tiramisu, just to name a few. And best of all, they’re all gluten-free!
clear glass window letting you peek inside the bakery
I had the opportunity to try two of their products while I was on break at work. The first item that caught my eye was the Lemon Slice. I was feeling a lemony dessert and this seemed perfect. A shortbread crust with a lemon custard/curd filling topped off with white chocolate shavings. The portion was a bit big so definitely a shareable. The crust didn’t break and it had some bite. I really liked it though. I could probably eat a whole sheet of it by itself. There was good lemon flavour in the filling that wasn’t too sour or too sweet. For sure, the lemony flavour was the star in the dessert. It had a nice bright yellow colour but the texture was just a teensy bit grainy. The white chocolate shavings provided a good contrast of sweetness. By itself, the white chocolate just tasted a bit weird but I was never a fan of white chocolate anyway.
lemon curd and white chocolate shavings
The other item that caught my eye was the Peach Raspberry Crostata. I figured that if I were to buy a lemon slice, I would need to buy something else with more texture. Just by the name, I thought the crostata would be, well, crusty – similar to pie crust. However, it was more crumbly. For days I was upset that it wasn’t crusty until I looked into what a crostata would be like and I understood. The crust wasn’t too sweet and it could even borderline savoury. This complemented perfectly with the tender peach slices and whole raspberries in the filling. The raspberries were tart and the peaches were sweet. As a whole, the pastry was delicious.
tart raspberries and juicy peaches
Located around Cambie and maybe 17th or 18th Ave, Lemonade is a quaint, cute and cozy bakery. If I lived in the area, I would be returning every weekend to buy the upcoming week’s bread and a little treat for myself. The pastries are so delicious that you wouldn’t even notice the fact that they are gluten-free! Definitely a place to check out when you’re in the neighbourhood.
-vancityfatty
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