On a rainy Vancouver Saturday, my husband I were in need of a coffee and a pick me up. And what better than a sugar boost?

Being near Cambie, we decided to try out Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery. We don’t have celiac’s disease, nor do we live a gluten-free lifestyle, but I am always curious to try out good bakeries and from what I hear, Lemonade is definitely one of those. When we arrived at Lemonade, it was busy. Considering it’s pouring rain out, it’s always a good sign a bakery is busy (people are still willing to brave the weather for baked treats). The store front is small and more of a pick up goodies and leave kind of bakery, versus a sit down coffee shop. We were however lucky enough to score one of the few tables available.

We decided on the following:

Coconut Lemon Mousse: Lemon Mousse and a tangy Lemon Curd between toasted Coconut Chiffon cake $5.50

Salted Caramel Pecan Tart: Toasted Pecans with salted caramel topped with Dark Chococlate Ganache $5.50

Chocolate Caramel Silk Torte – Dulce de Leche caramel surrounded by smooth Dark Chocolate mousse $5.95

Profiteroles (cream puffs) – Mocha pastry cream filled choux w/Dulce de Leche caramel and toasted Hazelnuts $3.50

I have to say….I was not disappointed. EVERYTHING was delicious. The caramel silk torte definitely satisfied our sweet craving and it was, oh soooo…smoooth and silky. If you are a chocolate lover, this is a must try. The salted caramel tart was great too. It has a chewy carmel nut centre and is top with a layer of chocolate. It was however very rich so defiantly a sharing dessert, or a dessert to have along with a coffee or tea.

I have to say, the Coconut Lemon Mousse was my favourite. The sweet of the coconut flavour and the tangy lemon flavour played off each other well and I loved the crunch coconut shavings! The lemon flavour really packs a strong punch, just the way I like my lemon flavoured deserts!

About 5 years ago, whenever you tried ‘gluten free’ baked goods it always tasted …’Ok, for being gluten free’ but now days you don’t even notice the difference when you pick up good gluten free goodies. Lemonade definitely fits the ‘you can’t taste the difference’ bill. This may be because of Lemonade’s pedigree!

Lemonade Gluten Free is the brainchild of head pastry chef, Tracy Kadonoff.  Tracy studied at the Baking and Pastry Arts program in Vancouver, as well as in Paris at the prestigious Ecole Lenotre and further honed her skills at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. And those skills really shines through in the quality of food at Lemonade!

Last but not least, the staff here are amazing. Super nice, friendly and fun. We enjoyed chatting with them and their wonderful service.

Yay for small businesses and great staff! If you’re near Cambie, give Lemonade a try and let me know what your favourite item is!

Follow them on Twitter: @LemonadeGFBaker