Chris Kronser
Add brown sugar and maple syrup butter to grilled biscuits and you have a great new take on french toast.
Like a crocus in the snow, the new Bloom Bake Shop emerged on Monroe Street during the gloom of winter and heralded the arrival of spring — or at least of cupcakes.
Like its original location in Middleton, this Bloom prides itself on selling fresh, seasonal, from-scratch goods and celebrates its use of “local farms and purveyors,” a list of which is prominently displayed in the shop. Every day, about 40 percent of the offerings are vegan/gluten-free, says baker-owner Annemarie Maitri. It’s easy to see why Bloom is popular among those who need GF and vegan food; I tried a variety of both and couldn’t tell them from the traditional baked goods.
But back to those cupcakes. Full disclosure: I do not typically go crazy for cupcakes. I love cake and frosting, but with cupcakes often find there’s too much of the latter for my taste. But the cupcakes at Bloom won me over. A little more restrained in their frosting application than many cupcakes, they were still plenty indulgent. The Chocolate Decadent cupcake had a dense cake and just the right amount of rich frosting. Also good was the Almond Raspberry Rose cupcake. Frosted pale pink with tiny white sprinkles, this pretty cupcake revealed a heart of Quince & Apple raspberry rose preserves. The cinnamon roll was also a standout.
My favorite was the chèvre and sugar bun. I loved the contrast in texture between the sugar-spangled, crunchy exterior and the chewy, eggy interior. A dollop of soft chèvre in the center could be scooped onto each piece to offset the sweetness. I’ve never had anything quite like it, and it was delicious.
That willingness to use unexpected ingredients was also at play with a beet and chèvre pop tart, served warm. The filling was very mild, made up of sliced beets, chèvre, spinach and garlic. A ginger pear pop tart came drizzled with glaze and green sugar sprinkles. It had an intense fruit flavor from the generous amount of golden-colored pear filling, a bit of which was oozing out the sides.
Bloom also offers a small counter service menu that is primarily biscuit-based. The Wisconsin was an excellent sliced buttermilk biscuit sandwich made with bacon, egg, mild cheddar and stone-ground mustard (which I ordered on the side). I was happy to see that it came with a tangy, snappy slice of pickled carrot. The height of this sandwich was impressive but proved difficult to manage for my dining companion. When half of the biscuit went flying off during one attempt at a bite, a Bloom employee took note and cheerfully replaced it with a fresh half. There were no other obstacles to finishing this scrumptious sandwich, though. Towering and tender, the biscuit was buttery and warm on the inside, with the eggs and bacon cooked just right.
The cashier mentioned that the brown sugar biscuit dish was “like french toast,” and indeed it was. A sweet cream biscuit was sliced and grilled, lightly topped with maple syrup butter and sprinkled with spiced pecans. It came with a banana, sliced lengthwise and grilled, and the whole plate was dusted with spice. Despite what you might conclude from the ingredients, the dish was not outrageously sweet.
Biscuits and gravy came with a choice of black pepper and sausage or mushroom gravy — I chose the latter. This could be the perfect breakfast for that person who somehow does not have a sweet tooth. The least complex biscuit option, a buttermilk biscuit with seasonal jam and butter, was just as satisfying as the others.
Biscuits are always available in both traditional and vegan/gluten-free.
A delicious counterpart to the sweets was vanilla black tea, served in a glass teapot. Bloom serves a selection of other teas, plus coffee drinks, cocoa and iced tea (both seasonally), and wine, beer and cocktails. For eating in, there are about a dozen small tables, plus a few longer ones.
Bloom Bake Shop offers classics done well with some unexpected options, including plenty of sweets that have a lot more going for them than just a sugar buzz.
Bloom Bake Shop
1851 Monroe St., 608-509-7669, bloombakeshop.com, 6 am-7 pm Tues.-Sat., 9 am-3 pm Sun., $2-$9
For specifics on gluten-free and vegan practices, call the bakery.
