Halloween is a holiday we believe needs pomp, circumstance and lots and lots of sugary confections. If you aren’t the type to make them yourself at home, why not hit a favourite bakery and pick up a cake, some cupcakes or even a bag of Halloween-inspired cookies? If you’re wondering where you might go for such things, read on…we’ve got some great ideas for bakeries in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver (you can thank us later, when you come down from your sugar high).
Toronto
There are so many bakeries and specialty sweets stores in Toronto that we had a hard time narrowing it down to a manageable list, but here goes. LPK’s Culinary Groove will have some organic, gluten-free, dairy-free decorated gingerbread cookies, and Halloween-shaped organic, vegan, gluten-free Ginger, & “Mylana’s” Chocolate Cream Sandwich Cookies. They’ll also have some or their amazing organic, vegan, gluten-free cupcakes with Halloween decorations.
Nadège Patisserie will have a number of great Halloween treats this season, featuring pumpkin flavours. These treats include pumpkin croissants, macarons, tarts, petite cakes, a light vanilla mousse, gingerbread and pumpkin creme brulee and pumpkin gingerbread. Mmmm. We love pumpkin!
At Prairie Girl Bakery, Jean and her friendly staff can’t wait to help you live life one Prairie Girl cupcake at a time (although we have been known to want more than one). Since they don’t use any dyes in their icings they won’t be making any special crazy Halloween themed icings, but their treat of Halloween will be Peanut Butter Delight on Vanilla and Orange on Chocolate and they have a variety of edible sugar toppers or plastic picks in an assortment of halloween styles.
At Two Moms Baked Goods, you won’t be able to resist snagging a few treats from this Kosher and Nut Free bakery for yourself. Every Halloween they create Halloween decorated sugar cookies as well as spooky cupcakes.
Be sure to stop in a Bakes and Goods, a great place to pick up some nut free Halloween-themed cookies for your kids’ class…that is if you don’t eat them all on the way home.
Dessert Lady’s featured Halloween products this year include an amazing 3D spider cake and their Halloween cupcakes in bats and pumpkins.
Ottawa
Thimble Cakes can take care of any “free” diet you may have to deal with. The bakery is completely nut and egg free and can do sugar free, gluten free, corn free, rice free, soy free and vegan. ANd we have it on good authority they make delicious treats. Their Halloween cupcakes will be decorated as mummys, spiders, eyeballs and even dirt & worms.
The Cake Shop is where we head when we want to impress…seriously. Their mini cakes (vampires and frakensteins) are gorgeous and delicious and their other larger cakes are awesome (think the Scooby Doo Haunted Castle or Harry Potter’s Hogwarts).
We absolutely adore the Zombie Barbie Cake from Artistic Cake Design and think it would make the perfect centre piece for our Halloween party. They also have cakes in designs from anything like Winnie the Poo to Spiders to Jack Skellington that will make any Halloween lover rejoice.
Auntie Loo’s Treats is Ottawa’s first vegan bakery and as non-vegans we attest that their desserts are fantastic. They have so many flavours of cupcakes that you won’t know where to start, though we do personally recommend the Pumpkin Spice and Maple Walnut flavours (and don’t they just scream fall to you?).
Calgary
At Jelly Modern Doughnuts, we are in sugar heaven. They have some seriously sweet (sugary and adorable) looking treats for Halloween and we might just have to order them all. Their doughnuts are made preservative-free with local and organic ingredients whenever possible, which we love!
Glamorgan Bakery has lots of Halloween treats, including a sugar pumpkin cookie that literally flies off the shelf. They also have Halloween-themed “fingeroos” (small cakes for 3 people) and cupcakes as well as cakes. And if traditional is more your piece of pie, they will still have pumpkin pies available.
Brulee Patisserie will have pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin praline tarts, marzipan (almond paste) pumpkins, lemon sugar shaped cookies, and pumpkin rum balls (probably more parent-friendly than kid-friendly!) and they recommend ordering ahead for these items.
The Buttercream Bake Shoppe will be baking their usual Halloween sugar cookies and cute little Halloween mini cupcake packs and have a few other things up their sleeves that they aren’t telling us about yet (!).
Bliss & Co have Halloween mini and regular cupcakes (chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet), decorated in Halloween themes with handmade decorations. They are also making pumpkin pies and Halloween sugar cookies.
Vancouver
Sweet Obsession has some absolutely adorable meringue ghosts this year and who can resist their almond shortbread “fingers” (witch fingers, zombie fingers, mummy fingers…).
Panne Rizo will have some Halloween-themed decorated sugar cookies, which we’re certain will be delicious.
Whole Foods in Vancouver have in-house-made cupcakes, cookies and large cakes decorated in Halloween themes (Mummy’s, Spiders, Ghosts, etc.), and they also make their own marshmallows and caramel corn (yum!). From local vendors, Whole Foods will also have trick or treat and witchcraft decorated shortbread cookies from Kreation Bakery and they also carry all natural candies perfect for giving to Trick-or-Treaters. As with all products within the stores, all these products are all natural with no spooky ingredients. No artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners.
Cassia Cupcakery are making special pumpkin cupcakes and are also making special Halloween-themed decorated cupcakes this year.
And there you have it; a sweet — but spooky — list of bakeries across Canada. We are definitely looking forward to munching on a few ghosts’ heads and crunching on a few black cats’ tails while our little ones get into their costumes.
Images:
Harry Potter Cake: The Cake Shop
Donut with Ghost Topper: Jelly Modern Doughnuts
