A few months ago, the original owner of Uppercrust Bakery, Jackie Dufty, retired and passed the torch on to Ben Guzick. Ben is enthusiastic and excited to not only maintain the original integrity and offerings but also to expand the selection to include many new goodies. Several bread staples have been added to the daily catalog, including sourdough and rye. Hamburger and hot dog buns debuted on July 4th and may be available for special order. These are not to be missed. Absolutely soft and plush with a slightly sweet brioche-like taste, these are the best quality you can get in town. I'll be special ordering for sure and hope to see them eventually offered as part of the regular line up. I have it on good authority that they will be available a bit more frequently for game days, when the season starts back up. Most of the hamburger and hot dog buns offered at even specialty grocery stores have random oils and additional ingredients I'm not interested in consuming. Or, they may have an acceptable ingredient list but the texture is stale, flaky, dry or hard. Bavarian style pretzels and pretzel bites, new sandwiches and other new savory treats have also been added.
Photo credit: @Uppercrust_productions via Instagram
Several new sweets have joined the rotating offerings at Uppercrust: Cinnamon rolls made with croissant dough (amazing), new tartlettes, milk chocolate truffles, French macaron cookies (vanilla, lemon and chocolate flavors to start with - possibly more flavors in the future), raspberry seashell cookies (inspired by Mexican concha cookies. These sugar cookie shell cookies feature housemade raspberry preserves in the middle), fig rugelach, lemon bars and more. As I write this article, the seasonal tartlettes being featured are the plum vanilla and roasted peach. I've tried the plum vanilla and the vanilla custard is wonderful: strong vanilla flavor with a generous amount of vanilla bean flecks. Fresh plums from Ward's adorn the top.
Photo credit: @Uppercrust_productions via Instagram
Uppercrust has been posting frequently on their recently created Instagram account @uppercrust_productions as well as keeping their Facebook page updated: https://www.facebook.com/uppercrustproductions/
There are new items showcased there that have not even made it on to their regular menu yet. A copy of the general menu may be downloaded at the the updated Uppercrust main website: http://uppercrustgnv.com/
My personal favorite sweet in the store is the Quatre-quart cake (aka the "Carlisle" named after their longtime office manager). It's a divine and fragrant French vanilla pound cake enrobed in a French buttercream with whipped cream folded in. This technique keeps the buttercream from being too saccharine sweet. This cake is best served cold, in my opinion. The icing tastes amazing straight from the fridge. They offer this cake in a variety of sizes. It's especially wonderful around the holidays when topped with holly leaves and berries made from marzipan. The entire cake is dusted with vanilla sugar crystals. My favorite version of this cake is the plain vanilla cake and icing combo. There have been several interpretations including a lemon and raspberry filled version. I've not tried these other kinds as I've been so stuck on the plain vanilla. I'm an adventurous eater and consider plain vanilla a pedestrian flavor but it is truly magnificent in this cake. They don't always have the Carlisle available, so be sure to special order it a few days in advance if you'd like to give it a try. I see the Carlisle also listed as a cupcake on their menu, something I was not aware of. If you're like me and prefer a higher icing to cake ratio, you'll love the Carlisle cake, especially the small $16 one which feeds 4 (or 1 within 48 hours, in my case).
There is a reason that this inimitable Gainesville cornerstone has been in operation for 37 years. Under Ben's guidance, I forsee many years of operation to come.
Comments(0)