Kensington sweethearts

Jenn was my Kengsington sweetheart yesterday as we perused Toronto's Kensington market in search of desserts and other baked goods to satisfy our sweet-tooth.

I never used to be big on sweets. I always preferred a bowl of chips over a double chocolate brownie with double churned French vanilla ice cream. But this pregnancy has definitely heightened my sugar cravings. I will actually pass on the calamari appetizer to try and save room for some dessert now.

Jenn and I created our own little tour of dessert stops in the Kensington Market, sneaking in a little savoury refreshment here and there.

It's amazing how quickly we filled up on baked goods.

We started at the Moonbeam Coffee Company and started with a savoury light and flaky spinach and feta pastry called a boreka, coffee and mini chocolate croissant to finish.  All of their pastries looked divine, and there was that lovely homey Kensington Market feel that made me wish I lived nearby.

Our second stop was probably my favourite. Much smaller than Moonbeam Coffee Company, Miss Cora's Kitchen was filled with baked goods made from local market ingredients. There were options for any vegan, gluten-free, or all-the-works patron; we definitely had trouble narrowing down our choice selections for this leg of our sweets tour. Although Miss Cora was not present that day, Miss Carmel made some suggestions and we settled on a flourless chocolate cupcake, a vegan peanut butter cupcake, and my favourite: a jam-filled strawberry cupcake.  All fantastic.

Stop number three was at Panchos Bakery where we, naturally, ordered churros and hot chocolate. The churros were a little heavier than expected, perhaps even a little bland although covered in sugar. I would recommend asking for extra caramel sauce.

We made a quick stop at the Chocolate Addict and chose 6 truffles to bring with us to our last stop: Krepesz.  The Chocolate Addict is a tiny shop with a decent selection of truffle flavours. We settled on (clockwise from top left) jasmine, green tea, pomegranate, caramel sea salt, chili, and chai.  The chocolates were delicious, but I'm not sure if it was my tired palate or perhaps my under-appreciation for simple chocolate bonbons, I didn't think the chocolates were anything extraordinary.

Krepesz was our last stop.  The sit-down area was quite a bit more upscale than the average Kensington Market venue, so it was nice way to end the afternoon.  Krepesz is a Hungarian crepe shop; they also have on their menu a "chimney cake" that looked rather interesting. The afternoon of sweets (and the heavy churro) left us with little appetite, but we decided to share a savoury crepe filled with spinach, tomatoes and feta. A friend joined us and ordered a strawberry and nutella crepe. The crepe itself was delightfully light (thank goodness.)  I would definitely return and order one of the heavier dessert crepes next time (and save room for a chimney cake).

Our tour of sweet shops in Kensington Market was great. We knew there were official tours you could sign up to take with a group of people and an official guide, but doing it ourselves, and in a small party of 2, let us go at our own pace and not feel rushed (or too cramped.) I'm not sure if my sweet-tooth will remain after my pregnancy, so the timing for this sugary adventure was perfect.

I hope you've enjoyed the vicarious sweets tour of Kensington Market. Let me know if you have any Kensington Market sweet secrets you'd like to share!