The Best New Bakeries in Toronto, 2010

The best new bakeries in Toronto will sell you everything from a Louis XIV wedding cake to a humble oatmeal raisin cookie, but they all prove that, talk of recession notwithstanding, we can't be doing that badly if there are so many new shops willing to cater to our sweet tooth, whether it's sweetened with agave or plain old white sugar.

Wedding cakes might be tending to a baroque sumptuousness, but the standard for baked goods is comfort food simple - gypsy cookies and scones and muffins straight out of a stained, well-used Betty Crocker cookbook. This latter-day love of bygone baking probably explains why the biggest trend in our new bakeshops is the Red Velvet cake, once a best-seller in the food court at Eaton's during and after WW2.

Here are the best bakeries that opened in Toronto in 2010.

Bobbette & Belle

Big and light-filled, this Leslieville wedding cake specialist also offers a selection of perfect little pastries, like their rainbow of macarons in shades from pistachio to passion fruit to double chocolate. Cold winter months also see a run on caramelized homemade vanilla marshmallows floating in hot chocolate. Go ahead, read that sentence one more time.

Celena's Bakery

Big and open, this Danforth and Woodbine bake shop aims for the goods that once dominated Toronto bakeries – big, dense scones, thick, dome-shaped cookies, danishes, date squares, brownies and butter tarts. Their Red Velvet cake comes with berries, and their pizzas studded with black olives – little revolutions that thankfully don’t overthrow the glorious old order.

Paris Bakery & Pastry

There’s retro and then there’s traditional, and Paris opts for the latter, moving into an established bakery space on the border between Bloordale and the Junction Triangle with a tried-and-true Portuguese padaria. Everything’s here, from the corn and sweet breads to the cod fritters and custard tarts that are a new contender for the best in the city.