** This restaurant is now closed. **
Anytime someone says the word patisserie or bakery, my ears perk up from a mile away. "It's like I have ESPN or something." So knowing my affinity for pastries and cakes, it's sort of sad how my visit to La Boule has been a long time coming.
Situated a little off of Whyte Avenue, La Boule first opened their doors back in December. If you've heard of La Boule since then, no doubt it's because of the multiple flat-lay pictures you see appear on your Instagram feed. Marble tables, white plates, and pretty desserts? Aesthetic goals. They really know how to appeal to their demographic.
We went in Sunday afternoon and found a full house. Space is limited in their seating area so it might be difficult to find a table if you decide to stay in, especially on the weekend. You can already tell it's a popular gathering spot for catch-ups over coffee and cake.
When you make your way to the counter, you'll find three separate glass cases with all sorts of tempting treats. The first case houses eclairs, the second, cakes and tarts, and the third, croissants, scones, cookies, and the like. They also have a small drink menu consisting of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.
Prices are on par with other bakeries around town and considering their presentation and quality of goods, quite reasonable. The only thing I noticed is that their cakes and tarts are on the daintier side.
Éclairs seem to be one of their signature items, considering that they have six varieties on any given day. When we went, the flavours were classic, black forest, pistachio, mango lime, tiramisu, and passionfruit. We went for a
tiramisu éclair ($4.00) with Kahlua tiramisu filling, and a
mango lime éclair ($4.00) with mango curd and housemade mango jelly.
The choux pastry is thin and narrow, which means they're limited on how much filling can be piped inside. That, combined with the generous dusting of cocoa powder, made the tiramisu éclair a bit dry to eat. The mango lime éclair was definitely my favourite of the two, as the flavour was nice and bright from the lime.
Of course, LT's pick had to be the
chocolate espresso hazelnut torte ($6.50) which is enrobed in a silky chocolate ganache and topped with edible gold leaf. All of the flavours shone through but apparently it wasn't chocolate-y enough for my sister. I think she expected actual chocolate cake layers, similar to her favourite
Duke Cake from
Duchess.
We also tried the
vanilla bean sour cherry cheesecake ($6.25) which seems to be a popular pick for many. Hidden underneath the white cheesecake dome is a layer of graham cracker crust and cherry compote. I think this might have been my favourite out of the items we tried. Cheesecakes are usually dense and heavy but this was amazingly soft and light. Surprisingly it wasn't too sweet either.
The
white chocolate raspberry tart ($4.75) was an item that I was most excited to try, especially after
Dauphine closed down, bringing my beloved white chocolate pistachio tart with them. In comparison, La Boule's version is less sweet, and a lot lighter and fluffier in texture. Instead of a ganache, the white chocolate portion is more like a mousse. I also liked how the creaminess of the white chocolate was offset by the tartness of the raspberry. The tart shell was also well done in that it broke apart easily but didn't crumble into a mess with each forkful.
La Boule is a welcome and beautifully refined addition to the dessert and pastry scene in Edmonton. I foresee many more visits to them in the future and I'm excited to see them as they grow.
La Boule
8020 101 St NW
Edmonton, AB
(780) 760-2253
- CT
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