We may think of the holidays as a time of jingle bells, but for home bakers, that jingling is the sound of frantic teaspoons and measuring cups, as we try to keep up. After all, if the French celebrate their holidays with pastry towers of delicate croquembouche and feats of trompe l’oeil, turning cake into Yule logs, why can’t we?
Whether you’re going Italian with panettone or all a’Kringle, like the Danish, some things are better left to the professionals.
So here are nine fantastic Bay Area bakeries that will do the croquembouching and Buche de Noeling for you. Happy holidays.
(If we missed your favorite, tell us about it using the form at the bottom.)
Croquembouche from Tarts de Feybesse, Oakland
Making a croquembouche is a true test of a pastry chef’s skill: Arranging dozens of cream-filled choux with caramelized sugar into a towering cone, like a puffy Christmas tree waiting to be picked apart and devoured piece by delectable piece.
And who best to make croquembouches than two of the hottest pastry pros in town, Monique and Paul Feybesse? He’s a veteran of Michelin-starred kitchens – and a former coach of the U.S. team in the Bocuse d’Or, often referred to as the gastronomical Olympics – and she’s the local star of season 19 of “Top Chef.” After building up much word-of-mouth with a pandemic-baking project, the real-life couple opened a brick-and-mortar this November in downtown Oakland. And it’s a hit: Lines extend down the block, and they’re often sold out by noon.
Finished croquembouches for the holidays at Tarts de Feybesse in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
At Tarts de Feybesse, you’ll find treats that reflect Paul’s dedication to contemporary French pastry-making — tartines, viennoiseries, fouace – as well as flavors hinting at Monique’s Filipino upbringing like mango and moringa. The pastries are invariably color-loaded and stunning, looking like details were added by perfectionist nail-shop beauticians. As Monique told The Mercury News before her “Top Chef” debut, they have criteria when making desserts: “One, it has to be delicious. Two, it has to be absolutely gorgeous.”
For December, the chefs will be making at least two heavy-hitters in the holiday rotation: croquembouches, which have puffed choux filled with vanilla custard and dipped in caramel that include 20 portions (roughly three choux per person). They start at $200 and are available for preorder. Then for Christmas week, they’ll have Bûches de Noel (aka Yule logs) with flavors to-be-decided at $85. Preorders for those start soon – and knowing how anything that comes out of the Feybesses’ oven sells out, folks are advised to do it soon.
Details: Open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday at 324 24th St., Oakland; tartsdefeybesse.com.
Kringles from Copenhagen Bakery, Burlingame
A holiday-decorated cake awaits at Copenhagen Bakery & Cafe in Burlingame. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
At Copenhagen Bakery in Burlingame, the kringle coffee cake on offer comes filled with a light, moist Danish filling and raisins and is topped with sliced almonds. For nearly half a century, this European-style bakery has added to downtown Burlingame’s cozy charm. Its lengthy list of pastry delights is topped by Danish Kringle ($19) – Wisconsin’s official state pastry and yes, that is a thing.
At Copenhagen Bakery in Burlingame, the kringle coffee cake is topped with sliced almonds. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
The filling in Copenhagen Bakery’s Kringle is top secret, but we tasted notes of marzipan and fruit inside this buttery, flaky, almond-flecked twist. It’s shaped in a spiral, rather like a cinnamon roll and pretzel hybrid, the dense filling contrasting with the light, airy exterior and the crunch of thinly-sliced almonds on top.
Psst, they do elaborate gingerbread houses, too.
Details: Open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at 1216 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame; copenhagenbakery.com.
Gingerbread and other holiday cookies are popular at Copenhagen Bakery & Cafe in Burlingame. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Fruitcake from Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood
It was Becky Courchesne’s disdain for the classic holiday fruitcake that provoked the Frog Hollow Farm owner to come up with something different.
“I remember getting them from my aunt every year, she says. “It was full of citron, dried fruit and food coloring, and it was gross. I never liked it.”
Hoping to making her own spin on the traditional holiday dessert, Courchesne used Frog Hollow Farm’s dried peaches, apricots and candied orange peels, then added them to a slightly-tweaked recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s iconic “The Cake Bible.”
The fruitcake recipe from Frog Hollow Farm was designed by owner Becky Courchesne almost 20 years ago and features dried peaches and apricots, walnuts and candied orange peel, soaked in rum. (Photo by Kaylee Kuter for Frog Hollow Farm)
The dried fruits are soaked in rum before going into the batter. The cake is smothered in rum after baking, then covered with a rum-soaked cheesecloth before being packaged.
The final product is moister and less dense than a typical fruitcake, Courchesne says, and it’s even better if you let it age for at least a year before eating it.
“The alcohol is too hot, if you make it and eat it right away,” she says. “You need to let the alcohol mellow. We’re conducting experiments and letting them sit and see how they go. We cut one open that was two years old, and it was delicious.
“A lot of people who never liked fruitcake really love it. You only need a little tiny bit of it. It’s a 6-inch cake. You slice a tiny bit with coffee, and it’s delicious.”
Details: Order Frog Hollow Farm’s holiday fruitcakes ($68.95) online at froghollow.com.
Christmas Pudding from The Celtic Tea Shoppe, San Jose
The Celtic Tea Shoppe sells goodies to create a Victorian-era holiday, including Christmas Pudding, Yule Cake and Fruit Mince. (Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group)
You’re an Anglophile with a BritBox subscription. Generic holiday baked goods just won’t do — not when you can put a Christmas Pudding or a Yule Cake on your festive table.
San Jose bakers Dean and Kristen Scott dress for the era at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair every holiday season. (Photo courtesy of the Celtic Tea Shoppe)
Kristen and Dean Scott have you covered. For years, this couple has been baking English, Scottish and Irish sweets and savories at their Celtic Tea Shoppe in San Jose. They also sell them at Bay Area festivals and on December weekends at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair in Daly City.
This is the season when the classics reign. The star is the fruit-filled Christmas Pudding ($31), which gets a touch of Guinness and dark rum before being steamed.
“We updated the recipe to brighten it up using butter, freshly zested lemons and oranges, and added crystallized pineapple and ginger,” Kristen says. Before serving at home, you steam the pudding again and serve the slices with hard sauce, a dollop of cream or vanilla ice cream.
Other baked goods from their ovens this time of year include the Yule Cake ($16), a currant and spice cake covered in a lemon glaze (the treasured recipe comes from a friend’s family); along with rum and whiskey cakes.
Details: To assure availability, order online in advance. Open for pickups from noon to 5:45 p.m. Tuesday-Friday at 4432 Pearl Ave., San Jose; https://celticteashoppe.com. On weekends through Dec. 22, the couple can be found at their Dickens Fair booth.
Sufganiyah from Masse’s Pastries, Berkeley
Berliner, paczki, bombolone – a jelly doughnut is delicious no matter what culture it hails from. And around Hanukkah each year, Masse’s Pastries prepares the Jewish version, sufganiyah or sufganiyot for the plural, as craveable as it can be difficult to pronounce (“Soof-gahn-yot”).
Poiret Masse holds a plate of sufganiyot made by her parents Paul and Marcia Masse, who run Masse’s Pastries in Berkeley, Calif. (Courtesy of Marcia Masse)
“We were the first place in the Bay Area to do sufganiyot,” says Marcia Masse, who runs the 28-year-old, European-style bakeshop with her husband, Paul. “People lose their minds over those guys. Paul’s been a chef for 50 years, and when you have an accomplished pastry chef making doughnuts it’s amazing.”
There’s symbolism to sufganiyot, as fried foods during Hanukkah represent an ancient legend in which holy-temple oil lasted an improbable eight days. At Masse’s, the sufganiyah is made with yeast-raised dough that’s fried in canola oil and injected with three fillings – vanilla-bean custard, lemon curd or traditional raspberry jam – plus a “wild card” flavor that has included pistachio, chocolate and caramel, yuzu and hazelnut.
The result is a wonderfully light dough with a sugary, lightly crispy shell that knocks Dunkin’ back to the Stone Ages. They are only available this year from December 26-31, for $3.25 apiece, and shoppers would be wise to preorder via the website.
“This is the thing for us: We save certain things for the holidays, because how are they going to be special, if you have them all the time?” says Masse. “We think rituals are important, and part of this ritual is coming down and getting your doughnut.”
If doughnuts aren’t your bag, don’t worry, the bakeshop has plenty of other options. “Our big thing beyond Hanukkah is Bûche de Noel — we are offering seven types right now. And then of course, we have holiday cookies coming out our ears.”
Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and preorder pickups only between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday at 1469 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley; holiday hours may differ, check or updates at massespastries.com.
Bûche de Noël from Fleur de Cocoa, Los Gatos
During the holiday season, this popular patisserie and chocolaterie in downtown Los Gatos creates not just one but four versions of Bûche de Noël, the classic French cake shaped like a yule log.
The decadent Bûche de Noël from Fleur de Cocoa baker Aimeric Davy feature eye-catching design touches. (Photo courtesy of Fleur de Cocoa)
The buches have become a tradition for many customers, say owners Aline and Aimeric Davy, who bought the business five holiday seasons ago. Aimeric, a Frenchman from the southwest of France, is the baker and Aline runs the front of the house.
His yule log creations are rich in chocolate (naturellement) “because customers are looking for that,” Aline says. “However, the Exotic and the Black Forest are combined with fruits.”
The classic Fleur de Cocoa is dark chocolate mousse, chocolate sponge cake and a chocolate-crunchy hazelnut cream. The Royal version features almond sponge cake, a crispy hazelnut praline layer and a coffee creme brulee center. The Exotic contains a fruit confit of mango, passion fruit and banana. And kirsch-soaked cherries star in the Black Forest cake.
All feature creative design touches, and the designs change every year.
Fleur de Cocoa also makes Croquembouche during the season and, for Epiphany, a Galette de Rois, or King’s Cake.
Alas, the Noel logs ($72 small, $82 large) are not available by the slice. But the Fleur de Cocoa cafe — which serves a savory menu of French sandwiches, quiche, soup and salads — offers a display case full of other rich desserts from which to select.
Details: To order, call 408-354-3574 or email the bakery. Opens at 8 a.m. Tuesday-Sunday, closing at 4 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 5:30 Sunday at 39 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos; fleurdecocoa.com.
Pavlova from European Delights Bakery, Walnut Creek
If your idea of holiday magic involves clouds of meringue and fresh berries, you’re in luck. This Walnut Creek bakery makes Pavlovas and plenty of other European specialties, too.
Originally from Romania, owner Rica Zaharia began perfecting a handful of her favorite recipes during the pandemic, cutting back the sugar content and boosting delicious flavors. Two years ago, she opened her own bakery, aiming to bring a taste of Europe to her adopted city.
“From every country, we have something,” she says. “From Germany, we have apple strudel. From Greece, we have spinach and feta cheese (pastry). Pavlova is originally from Australia, but a famous ballerina from Russia went to visit, discovered this sweet and named it Pavlova, when she came back to Russia.”
The ballerina, of course, was Anna Pavlova.
A holiday pavlova, a meringue-based dessert that first originated in Australia, made at European Delights in Walnut Creek (Courtesy of Rica Zaharia).
Zaharia’s Pavlova fills crisp meringue with lemon custard — guava or passionfruit custard make occasional appearances, too — and tops the airy dessert with fresh fruit.
It’s a popular choice among bakery customers. But Zaharia knew it would be. She gives her neighbors final say on which made-from-scratch treats are yummy enough for the display case.
“I get approval from them,” she says. “If they like it, I’ll make more of it.”
Details: Pavlovas start at $9.75. The bakery is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily at 2236 Oak Grove Road in Walnut Creek; european-delights.com.
Panettone from La Biscotteria, Redwood City
La Biscotteria bakes panettone in their vintage shop on El Camino Real in Redwood City. The traditional version comes in two sizes, and there’s also a specialty version studded with candied pineapple, papaya and pear. (Photo courtesy of La Biscotteria)
Panettone has been the darling of the holiday sweet bread world for a long time (we wouldn’t be surprised to find Italian imports at gas station mini-marts), but it’s challenging to find versions baked here in the Bay Area.
Turns out that La Biscotteria’s Augustine Buonocore and his Italian bakery team aren’t devoted solely to the shop’s namesake twice-baked cookie. They also make panettone year-round. And they ramp up the offerings in December with festively wrapped domes and other seasonal Italian treats.
They describe their panettone as “mildly sweet with a sprinkling of juicy raisins and candied fruit, soaked in fine liquors,” and recommend serving the slices toasted and buttered, or making French toast or a decadent bread pudding.
The bestseller is the 38-ounce Triple P (pineapple, papaya, pear; no raisins). There’s also a 24-ounce Classic Panettone and a 12-ounce Classic.
La Biscotteria also makes Cuccidati, the seasonal cookies that co-owner Angela Buonocore calls “the Gucci of fig newtons.” For this Sicilian treat, figs, dates, citrus and more are finely diced and encased in shortbread. Other December specials include the honey balls called Struffoli (Dec. 23-24 pickups); Stomatico, Italian holiday spice biscottini; Torrone nougat; and fruit-and-nut-filled Panforte.
Angela recommends customers check availability dates on La Biscotteria’s social media and order in advance.
Details: $15 (mini), $30-$35 (classic) and $40 (Triple P) at 2747 El Camino Real, Redwood City. Open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; www.labiscotteria.com.
Babka from Braid Bakery, San Francisco
The humble babka has been undergoing a bit of a renaissance. The part-bread, part-cake, swirly-whirly textured pastry originates in eastern Europe’s Jewish tradition and has waxed and waned in popularity since then.
Dessert historians cite the 1994 Seinfeld episode, “The Dinner Party” as part of the pastry’s rise to pop culture prominence. Jerry and Elaine visit a bakery to pick up a babka, but fail to snag the last of the bakery’s famous chocolate babkas. Instead, they’re stuck with a cinnamon one – deemed, dismissively, the “lesser babka.”
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Babkas have become popular in Paris in recent years, says Valentine Erman, the French pastry chef who owns Braid Bakery. Unable to find the same products in San Francisco she’d come to love in France, she started her own babka operation, baking and selling gorgeous babkas out of her home in the Outer Sunset neighborhood nearly two years ago, while parenting two young kids.
“It quickly got really busy,” she says. Using the brioche-baking skills she’d picked up at pastry school, she made some modifications, including experimenting with flavors inspired by her travels – infusing maple into her babka after a trip to Canada, for example, and dabbling with chipotle peppers after a visit to Mexico.
Erman’s chocolate hazelnut babka loaf ($18) is a shiny, golden brown wonder, veined with thick chocolate-hazelnut swirls and topped with crunchy toasted hazelnuts. It’s an oven-baked masterpiece sure to win over the guests (and hosts) at any holiday function – especially when sliced and warmed with a bit of butter on top.
She also offers a larger babka pie ($33) – weighing 2.8 pounds – in chocolate and cinnamon flavors and smaller babka rolls ($6 each) in a variety of sweet and savory flavors, including raspberry and pistachio, apple tatin, strawberry and basil, and butternut squash.
That said, you’ll want to avoid pulling a Jerry and Elaine and waiting until the last minute. Braid Bakery operates by preorder only and has limited pickup times.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday-Saturday at 4327 Irving St., San Francisco; braidbakery.com.
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