Blessed are the gourmands, for theirs is the kingdom of the bakeries, which have returned to the center of the world’s major cities with minimalist or romantic design. These sweet emporiums offer much more than bread on their menus.
Small establishments are opening their doors to meet the wishes of sweet lovers, and tempt us with delicious bagels, tasty afternoon cupcakes or other treats presented with bows, decorations and fancy icings.
More than 10 years ago, Madrid was flooded by a chocolate fever, to the delight of its devotees, who anticipated a delightful experience just behind the threshold of shops such as Cacao Sampaka, Xocoa or the Chocolat Factory. Minimalism had reached breakfast and teatime, and now their shelves displayed chocolate bars and other elegant and sophisticated cocoa products.
1. Crustó. / 2. Cacao Sampaka. / 3. Fonty. / 4. Mamá Framboise. / 5. Vailima. / 6. Miss Chou Paris.
A new wave of the love of sweets has taken over the central districts of cities like Madrid. They are camouflaged under the name of “bakeries” and “confectioneries”. These charming locales are steeped in neo-romantic ambiances, but what they offer is not limited to toast or rustic bread with tomato.
They offer the most spectacular sponge cakes dipped in chocolate, brioche scented with orange blossom water, crunchy millefeuille sprinkled with sugar, and tiny strudel filled with cream. In the fashion of French patisseries, the broad selection of baked bread also inspires admiration, from delicious olive bread to rye bread with nuts.
These gourmet shops are small, but their products are select. Following is a list of some of the best ones:
● Fonty
● Pomme Sucre
● Oriol Balaguer
● Mamá Framboise
● Moulin Chocolat
● Chocolat Factory
● Xocoa
● Crustó
● Vailima
● Cacao Sampaka . ■
