Our first taste: A chocolate chip meringue as perfect as I have ever tasted. Crisp on the outside. Light and airy, but a touch of chewiness inside. And delicious chocolate chunks throughout.
Meringues are basically egg whites and sugar, so they are easy to make tooth-achingly sweet. Linda's come in sweet, but they're skillfully kept on the tasty side -- especially with the exceptional chocolate inside. Go get one, and tell them that you saw Linda's in HowChow!
Linda's covers the spectrum for sweets -- from cookies and brownies through eclairs and croissants to custom cakes in dozens of varieties of cake, icing and fillings. Owner Linda Cheng has been selling custom cakes for a while, so the retail spot expands the opportunities.
We also bought a cupcake, although only a single variety because we already had a dozen cupcakes in the house. (Long story.) When we sliced that up among some friends, people rated the Linda's cupcake in the same sphere as the locals like Oh What A Cake and Touche Touchet in Columbia.
Sweets bakeries keep popping up around Howard County. (Update: Cooks n' Cakes opened yesterday as well in Ellicott City.) In addition to the Columbia bakeries, you can find interesting stuff at Bonaparte Bread in Savage and cupcakes at Kupcakes & Co. in Elkridge. Only Bonaparte does bread and sweets. For bread, I always recommend the organic markets and Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery.
Linda's Bakery
9350-G Snowden River Parkway
Columbia, MD 21045
410-381-4390
NEAR: Linda's is in the same shopping center as House of India and New York Deli. It is accessible from southbound Snowden River Parkway south of the Home Depot.
I can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteunbelivable. had a chocolate croissant that melted in my mouth. my mom bought an almond one that she loved as well. they gave us samples of everything, and it was all delicious. we bought a few cupcakes that we haven't tried yet but im sure they will be great! love this place already! so happy to have a full bakery that has such a yummy variety!
ReplyDeleteI just went there at lunch. Walked out with the chocolate chip meringue (I couldn't resist after seeing your picture), and a brownie with peanut butter icing. I devoured the meringue immediately, and tried a bite of the brownie--both were fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI spoke to Linda, and she confirmed that they accept custom cake and cupcake orders. I showed her a picture of the cupcakes I'd like for my upcoming baby shower, and she gave me a price on the spot. Very sweet girl, and I look forward to visiting her bakery on a regular basis!
I can't wait to go back and try the enormous croissants!
Went this morning with a friend. Had a delicious danish and bought some linzer cookies to take home. My friend loved the icing on the cupcake she bought - said it was light and flavorful, not heavy icing like some.
ReplyDeleteShe also bought a wonderful-looking key lime pie for her husband's birthday. I can't wait to try one of those!
The cupcakes tasted like something I'd bake at home. Not overly good and too sweet. I'd stick with Kupcakes & Kompany or Touche Touchet. But the meringue was great though.
ReplyDeleteThe cupcakes you bake at home aren't overly good and are too sweet?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you like Touche Touchet? That tasted like something I'd bake out of the box. Cakes Plus does just that (Ducan Hines with real buttercream frosting)--but when I asked Touche Touchet's owner--he said he did not use butter used shortening--albeit 2 years ago. Did it change since then at Touche Touchet? Thanks!
ReplyDelete@Anon -- I have liked Touche Touchet, but I admit that I tend more towards hot chocolate and cookies rather than cake.
ReplyDelete@HowChow - Does that mean you like Linda's cupcakes better than Touche Touchet's? The macaroons sound good and like a very good reason to make the trip to Snowden.
ReplyDeleteThanks and happy new year!
@Anon -- I can't really rank cupcakes or bakeries. I don't get cupcakes that often, and I haven't eaten a Touche one in a long time. I meant more that I'd generally pick hot chocolate and a cookie over a cupcake.
ReplyDeleteI love this place and it surpasses both Oh What a Cake and Touche Touchet. You can taste the quality ingredients…the cupcakes are not overly sweet, they are moist, and have a nice crumb. The frosting is made from scratch and it is the best I've had anywhere in Columbia. The variety of their baked goods is impressive...try their light and fluffy macarons (not the coconut macaroon cookies but the meringue-based sweet French cookies). A real treat!! Yummy.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a post about this in a while. Looks like the bakery closed down.
ReplyDelete