This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Montreal and its surroundings are full of good pastries that will introduce sweet tooths to specialties from around the world. A taste journey guided by the taste buds, which allows not only to savor exotic desserts, but also to learn more about the traditions of the cultures around us.
Hof Kelsten – Jewish specialties from Eastern Europe
The reputation of this bakery and its owner, Jeffrey Finkelstein, is well established. The address offers a choice of old-fashioned breads which have contributed to its fame. You can also find a selection of desserts inspired by the Jewish culinary traditions of Eastern Europe, which are part of the founder’s family heritage. Babkas, a sort of marbled chocolate brioche, are a delight for gourmands looking for pastries that are not too sweet. They are enjoyed with coffee and are normally prepared with vegetable oil and cocoa powder. For the variation offered by the bakery and concocted by chef Suyin Wong, according to the owner’s recipes, we use butter and dark chocolate instead. The result is a softer and more chocolatey brioche than the traditional version. Finally, you can also taste the delicious ruglacha dessert rolled like a strudel and stuffed with walnuts, raisins and strawberry jam.
Kol Chkor – Middle Eastern specialties
Opened in 2023, the small pastry shop in the Ahuntsic district is already attracting gourmets looking for desserts with Middle Eastern flavors. The owners make their cakes in their kitchen in the back shop, fresh every day. There are more than fifty sweet creations, including several small baklavas. The establishment also offers rarer specialties, such as chaaybiyet, which is a kind of pastry stuffed with ricotta and walnuts or rose water syrup. It is traditionally eaten in the morning, at breakfast. An original work by pastry chef Khalil Al Chalati not to be missed is the ktayef knafeh (made from angel hair pasta with flour). It is presented as a small bird’s nest that the craftsman has filled with a preparation made from Nutella and pistachios. You also have to taste the delicious atayefa crepe stuffed with ricotta, pistachios and rose water syrup.
Café Milano – Italian specialties
You can find several good desserts of Italian origin in Montreal, including the classics — cannolis, zeppole, sfogliatella —, which are already known to gourmets here. Some of these specialties are sold in pastry shops. Others, following Italian tradition, are made and offered in cafes. Café Milano, whose first establishment opened in Saint-Léonard in 1971, offers a small selection of sweet delights prepared in the back room. There you can find, in addition to a selection of espresso coffees and sandwiches, some Italian pastries that attract crowds, from ricotta cannolis to zeppole, passing by the “lobster tails”. This is a different version of the traditional sfogliatella, by their shape and by the fact that they are stuffed with ricotta cream and topped with a Nutella filling. We are also entitled to an original and exclusive creation: “the bomba », a sort of small fried turnover covered with brown sugar and cinnamon. To add to the deliciousness, this dessert is filled with pastry cream or Nutella.
Wawel – Polish specialties
For those who have never tasted the donuts of this Polish pastry shop, just one visit to one of its branches will be enough for them to fall in love! THE ponki is a true Polish specialty, which is traditionally enjoyed especially on the Thursday before Shrove Tuesday. This business nevertheless offers them all year round. The most popular variety is certainly the one with prune jam. Deliciously soft and with a rich, fruity, homemade filling, these donuts are fresh daily and downright tasty. We also find it with rose jam, apricot jam or chocolate. The establishment also offers walnut and poppyseed strudels and chocolate and rum balls.
Ambrosia – Greek specialties
This family pastry shop located in Laval is one of the addresses known to lovers of good fresh desserts of the day. There are Greek baklavas, different from Middle Eastern baklavas, since they have been dipped in a mixture of honey and corn syrup rather than flavored with rose water. The establishment also offers flaky varieties, stuffed with pistachios and walnuts or almonds and cinnamon. Some are made from phyllo dough, others are made from kadaïf (the same angel hair that is used to make the ktayef Lebanese). Other specialties: brioche bread tsourekioften served at Greek Easter, koulourakiaorange cupcakes, or kourabiethesbutter and roasted almond cookies covered with icing sugar.
Liên Phát Pastry – Asian specialties
The Liên Phát pastry shop, in Petite-Patrie, is one of the first of Asian origin to have opened its doors here. The owner is now in charge with her daughter. In their small shop, they offer desserts inspired by their dual culinary heritage, Chinese and Vietnamese. Their specialties are leaf flavored birthday cakes. pandan (also called “Asian vanilla”), which gives them a green color. There is also a selection of crispy fried sesame cakes, banh chièn gon and the banh chièn gin, very popular during the Lunar New Year festivities. Rice flour and yellow bean cakes as well as turnovers banh biastuffed with exotic fillings (taro, lotus cream, coconut and even durian), complete the menu.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.