Lilac Bakery
920 Grosvenor Ave.

Opened in 2008 and nestled away from the busy Corydon Avenue strip, this take-out bakery certainly knows how to do it right.

With a focus on whole, pure ingredients, your sweet tooth is waiting to be re-discovered.

Owner Chris Atkinson explains that the roots of the shop truly come from the family.

“My head baker is my mom, and she bakes mostly everything in the store. Everything is made from scratch, with our main goal being to provide real, raw ingredients in all of our baking.”

Atkinson also explains that the recipes have been handed down from generation to generation, and that’s what keeps the customer coming back.

Among the plethora of goodies, the eye can’t help but wander to the “slices” shelf of the display. With over 25 slices to choose from, one is sure to find satisfaction here.

The Dream Cake is a revamp on the classic fruit cake - filled with rich cherries, walnuts and coconut, it sits atop a flaky shortbread. It’s much more moist and soft then its classic counterpart, and hits the spot for that Christmas craving anytime of the year.

No bakery is complete without the classic brownie - this extremely rich and delicate confection couldn’t be more perfect. With every sinfully delicious bite, the dark cocoa icing perfectly complements the fudge cake, with the odd walnut to make it complete.

The stand-out is the amazing Lemon Slice, a truly delicious blend of tangy fresh lemon, that goes great with the classic shortbread base.

If cookies are more your taste, then don’t miss the chocolate chip. Each bite of this chewy, not-too-sweet classic craves a glass of cold milk.

Also baked fresh daily are the Imperial Cookies. Traditional flaky shortbread squishes fresh tasting raspberry jelly for a divine treat. They are the perfect size - and are topped with a dollop of icing and a candied pearl.

The bakery has a large assortment of cupcakes, from the traditional vanilla to more interesting flavours including chocolate chip cheesecake.

One of the most popular, the red velvet, is a must-eat. This moist, classic red-coloured cake with a hint of chocolate perfectly complements the right amount of delicious, smooth cream cheese icing.

Handcrafted butter tarts are also a wonderful treat, though a bit different. This tricky-to-make pastry has an interesting, more savoury and chewy texture to it that somehow doesn’t complement the extremely sweet interior. It’s different - though worth a try.

In this heavily commercialized industry of baked goods, the Lilac Bakery certainly outshines its competitors by using the pure ingredients just like mom did.

The service was great, and the interior was fresh and modern.

Items vary in price from $1.50 to $7. Visit 920 Grosvenor Ave. or www.lilacbakery.com for more information.

Published in Volume 66, Number 13 of The Uniter (November 23, 2011)