There’s something to satisfy every palette at Oakville’s local bakeries. Decadent cookie butter cupcakes, New York-style rolled croissants and intricately decorated fresh fruit tarts are just some of the confections available to the city’s bakery-goers. There is a vast selection of outstanding bakeries to choose from, but here we are focusing on just three that have opened recently in the area.  Make it your next weekend plan to stop into one — or all — of these local shops.

Tatin Bakehouse 

No sweet tooth? No problem. At Tatin Bakehouse, savoury baked goods are as much a focus as their sweeter options. Pastry chef Lili Linda and her business partner Sheila Wang have come together to craft these delicious offerings, which are largely driven by the Indonesian flavours Linda grew up with. She describes the bakery as a French patisserie focused on South East Asian ingredients.

One of their signature tarts has black rice on the bottom and a baked custard, similar to creme brulee, on top. “People are hesitant to try rice in a tart, but once they do, they enjoy it. The flavour is floral and not overpowering,” Linda says.

Also on the menu is an entirely savoury,
decidedly non-dessert treat. It’s nearly impossible not to make an audible “mmm” when biting into a — wait for it — shepherd’s pie tart from Tatin Bakehouse. They’re really that good. With notes of caramelization from the slow-cooked Indonesian-style beef brisket, a kick of tanginess from the
pickled onion, and a balance of textures from the spelt flour shell and garlic
mashed potatoes on top, the dish is everything you could ask for in 
a snack and more. 

If you’ve visited the now Michelin Starred restaurant, Hexagon, in Downtown Oakville, you may have had the pleasure of trying Linda’s creations already – she worked there for 5 years honing her craft making exceptional desserts
and pastries, before going out on her own and eventually opening Tatin in 2024. At Tatin you’ll have the opportunity to experience her flexing her creativity and showcasing the breadth of her culinary experience and influences. The pastries and baked goods are simply exquisite – a must try! 

Bake On

Chances are you’ll want to order one of everything when you walk into North Oakville’s Bake On. The Korean-inspired bakery’s menu is studded with tasty pastries you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere — honey butter croissants, biscoff s’more cookies, and matcha basque cheesecake, to name a few. What Bake On is best known for are their stunning New York rolls, which are circular croissants each filled with a flavoured velvety custard. 

Jaeho Kim, a professional chef, and Sea Yie, an avid baker, are the husband-and-wife duo behind the year-old bakery. The couple moved to Canada from Korea a decade ago and take inspiration from Korean cookbooks and social media recipe videos. They’ve nailed down the art of adapting their creative baking approach to trends. 

Bake On started as a small family-run business but has grown into a thriving community hub. “We’ve expanded into hiring more staff and enjoy connecting with regulars who often come in every day,” says Yie. “I’m very happy to have opened in Oakville.”  

Kelly’s Bake Shoppe

Many people are shocked to find out that Kelly’s Bake Shoppe’s menu is 100 percent gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and peanut-free. According to co-founder Erinn Weatherbie — who started Kelly’s nearly 13 years ago with her mother, Kelly Childs — the pair’s goal has always been to create the most delicious allergen-friendly desserts. 

Turning classics into something new and exciting is what the bakery does best. Their red velvet cupcake, for example, uses beet juice to colour the batter rather than artificial dyes, which gives the cake an earthy, well-rounded flavour. 

“We never want to lose the integrity of the product, so we use the highest quality ingredients,” Weatherbie says. Their regularly featured brookie cupcake is an all-time best-seller, featuring a chocolate cupcake with house-made cookie dough inside, frosted with chocolate buttercream and topped with a mini chocolate chip cookie and brownie.  

Kelly’s expanded from their Burlington flagship location to Lakeshore Road in Oakville last December. “From the other business owners, to customers and downtown residents, we’ve felt such a warm embrace since the day we opened,” Weatherbie says.

Bakeries are a tasty example of what happens when artistry and entrepreneurship collide. Here’s to the pastry chefs and kitchen wizards who keep our tastebuds alive!  

LOCAL LINKS

Bake On
3075 George Savage Avenue, Oakville
bakeon.ca

Kelly’s Bake Shop
401 Brant Street, Burlington
259 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville
kellysxo.com

Tatin Bakehouse
2345 Wyecroft Road
Unit 20, Oakville
instagram: tatinbakehouse

Try to picture the last time you ate something spicy. Did you immediately have a burning sensation on your tongue or did the heat slowly build over time?

An instant burst of heat was likely the work of a scotch bonnet or ghost pepper. A milder pepper, such as a jalapeno or poblano, would’ve been responsible for the latter.

According to Leith Bengtson, founder of Burlington-based hot sauce producer Fury Hot Sauce, hot peppers can have a place in everybody’s kitchens — whether you’re a spice novice or self-proclaimed chili head.

In a place like Canada, the options are truly endless.

“All of the different cultures can come together to bring different aspects of heat to the table,” says Bengtson. “We’re seeing more and more different peppers around the world being represented, from African- style peppers to Peruvian. It’s an exciting smorgasbord we all benefit from.”

For those new to the world of spice or those who already enjoy spicy food and are looking for inspiration, these tips and tricks are sure to elevate everyday dishes.

Experiment with dried peppers

There’s a significant difference between a fresh pepper and a dried pepper. “A fresh jalapeno, for instance, has a fresh and vibrant bite to it, but then you take the dried version of that jalapeno — called a chipotle —and it becomes a whole different pepper,” says Ricardo Alvarez, owner of north Burlington’s Mexican eatery, Pepe and Lela’s.

Chipotle peppers have a smoky depth of flavour, with less punchy spice than a jalapeno. At Pepe and Lela’s, Alvarez rehydrates chipotle peppers in water before blending them into a crema sauce.

Habaneros are the new jalapeno

Jalapenos are known to be the go-to pepper for people with a lower spice tolerance, but Bengtson argues that habaneros deserve morerecognition for being similarly palatable.

“Habaneros are admittedly a few steps higher in terms of heat than jalapenos, but they’ve got really nice fruity characteristics. Generally speaking, you’d find habaneros in a lot of Caribbean and West Indian-style pepper sauces.”

Bengtson encourages people to get creative with habanero- based hot sauces, beyond the typical drizzle on pizza or wings. Hot sauces are great mixed into mayo and added to a sandwich, or even in hummus to be dipped with vegetables.

Remove the seeds andalways use gloves

The seeds are responsible for the majority of a pepper’s heat. If you’re just introducing spice into your life, put some gloves on and cut out the white membrane that holds the pepper’s seeds. “You’re left with the fleshy part of the pepper and you’re able to get much more of the natural pepper flavour without as much of the heat,” says Bengtson.

You should always wear gloves when handling hot peppers, since they contain capsaicin, an oil that can cause a burning sensation on your skin if it comes into contact.

Wash your hands thoroughly after removing gloves, to ensure the pepper’s oils haven’t seeped through. The worst thing you can do is rub your eyes without clean hands.

Serve the heat on the side

When Alvarez opened Pepa and Lela’s nearly six years ago, his vision was to make spicy food more approachable to the average customer. He takes a “Mexican cuisine approach” to heat, by offering extra spicy salsas on the side. This way, people can start and measure the amount of spice they use until they get more accustomed to it.

Alvarez shares his advice for making a delicious salsa. “Offset the intensity with a dash of olive oil or something sweet. You can never go wrong with a jalapeno pineapple salsa.”

LOCAL LINKS

Fury Hot Sauce | furyhotsauce.com
Pepe and Lela’s | pepeandlelas.com
Narenj | narenjoakville.com
El Inka | elinka.ca
Spice & Saffron | spicensaffron.com
Joe’s African & Caribbean Market | joesburlington.com
The Spice Bazaar | thespicebazaar.ca

BY LAUREN MEDEIROS