Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of people that check your social media feeds every day to see what kind of crazy new list or video Buzzfeed has released? Me too. A while back they put out a list of 23 Bakeries Around The World You Need To Eat At Before You Die and an Edmonton bakery — Duchess Bake Shop — made that list.
Duchess is a not-so hidden pastry heaven located on vibrant 124th street. They pride themselves on baking beautiful, from-scratch pastries without any preservatives, not that they would need any! If you don’t arrive before pastry rush-hour you’ll find yourself with less and less to choose from! Coming early is always best.
In all the times I’ve been in Duchess I can honestly say it has never been disappointing. I’ve never felt anything besides total love and satisfaction towards my treats and I always want to go back for more.
Duchess is, in my opinion, the PERFECT place to take your little one on that special kind of one-on-one date. Remember how much fun tea parties with your dolls always were? Duchess is like that except the tea and cakes aren’t imaginary and instead of talking to a doll with no response you can make real memories with your children.
That’s not for today though, today is date day. It’s a perfect sunny day, the rain has finally stopped and the rush of the week is over. After waiting in the long, long line to pick out the sweets that I’ve been craving we found a lovely table for 2. The furniture around us doesn’t match but it all fits together perfectly; everything is in an antique French style. I think my favorite piece is the big hutch sitting near the door with its displays of marshmallows and cookies. Having noticed the amount of camera phones out I would say that quite a few other people like this style as well.
Duchess offers a small lunch menu during the day but I haven’t ever tried it. Everyone seems to love it but I know I’m too picky for my own good so I stick to the sweets.
While on a date sharing is best and when you’re sharing it doesn’t hurt to have a brownie the size of a fist. Or perhaps a very large meringue and several beautifully delicate Macarons. And maybe a tart too? Basically what I’m telling you is that while you’re at this Edmonton bakery, you should try as much as you can to find your favourites.
Take your time to sit and really enjoy the treats, and each other’s company. If you only have a few minutes to relax before you need to be somewhere else like we did, always, ALWAYS take a box of Macarons with you for the drive. I promise you won’t regret it.
Before running out the door I would recommend a stop in Duchess Provisions, the attached shop where you can pick up ingredients, tools and the Duchess cookbook!! Who knows, maybe with the right recipe to follow a pastry chef may emerge from within you!
By Dani Hubenig
Read Dani’s personal blog at outofthenesttravel.blogspot.ca or find her on Twitter and Instagram: @danihub
Post updated 1/15/21.
