Cadeaux Bakery- A shimmering beacon of baked deliciousness

I recently popped in for breakfast at Cadeaux Bakery, a fairly new edition to the Gastown culinary scene. Cadeaux is located on the far east side of Gastown on Powell near Main Street and it's most recognizable neighbour (for the time being- that neighbourhood is a changing) is the landmark No. 5 Orange peeler bar. Cadeaux was opened by pastry chefs, Eleanor Chow and Slavita Johnson, formerly of the highly regarded Chambar.

This is a beautiful and inviting space with an open concept kitchen (so you can view all of the delicious goodies being created) and filled with intoxicatingly wonderful "bakery air" (if you are familiar with the book of awesome, you'll know what I mean...if not, go get the book). The space itself is beautiful, delightful and charming. It's bright, airy, and soothing with a white and grey colour scheme that feels a bit modern-french-boutique with 6 or 7 tables to sit and dine in.

They serve coffee and tea and make a large variety of baked goods- sweet and savoury croissant, cookies, tarts, individual cheesecakes, brioche, ice cream sandwiches, sticky buns, cupcakes, granola, cakes, biscotti, bread pudding, brownies, truffles...they also make custom and wedding cakes.

Now, for the hard part...gazing and drooling over their glass case filled with a variety of tempting, drool-worthy goodies.

Bacon Sticky Bun 3.75 – maple smoked Canadian bacon & maple syrup. This was amazing and extremely well-executed without going over the top. The rich, high-quality, smoky bacon was subtle, yet notice-able to the bun/pastry was light and fluffy and the light glaze sealed every element together seamlessly without over doing it. This was a classy gourmet version of the experiment I tried at home.

Vanilla Raspberry Swirl Cupcake with Peanut Butter Butter-cream & raspberry jam 2.95
This creative cupcake was stand-out amazing and my new favourite cupcake in Vancouver. Again, this is a concept that could've been over-the-top, but they went a more subtle route and it feels like a gourmet re-interpretation of a childhood snack.

The cake itself is light, fluffy, and not-too-sweet with little bursts of raspberry jam to add a flavour kick with every bite. The peanut butter buttercream icing is perfect, not too heavy, not too sweet, and they don't just goop it on, instead they use it sparingly in beautiful small peaks with a bit of raspberry jam in the centre.  Peanut butter and raspberry jam- they just go together.

The desserts and the service was fantastic. I highly recommend this high quality, creative bakery for their amazing creations and their inviting atmosphere.