Showing posts with label Bak - La Boulangarie Bakery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bak - La Boulangarie Bakery. Show all posts

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Sweet Japanese Dessert At La Boulangerie

Daifuku mochi from La Boulangerie
I think that I'm eating daifuku mochi, but I'm actually happy either way.

The La Boulangerie bakery in Ellicott City has a fun display of cakes, cookies and other sweets, but I stopped by last weekend for fresh mochi based on Gabrielle's suggestion on a prior post.

Daifuku mochi is a Japanese dessert with a sweet pastry made from rice wrapped around a filling of even-sweeter red bean filling.  That rice-cake mochi does many duties in Asian desserts, including as a topping on the tart frozen yogurt places that have popped up recently.

In La Boulangerie's daifuku, the mochi is almost floating away.  It's a mild flavor and a light, almost fluffy texture.  Imagine the texture of a steamed bun or a super-gourmet marshmallow.  It's the fresh taste of just-baked pastry, and it is wrapped around a sweet, rich filling.  Gabrielle is right that these are exceptional.  Mochi can be an acquired taste, but this is the place to seek it out.  Slice up the pieces, and serve them with fruit for a summer dessert.

Check out the photo above.  I confirmed with Wikipedia, so I'm confident that I bought daifuku mochi.  But the folks at La Boulangerie didn't recognize that name.  I asked by name and even showed them the written-out word.  They showed me "donuts" and "mochi."  The mochi was the right choice -- although they're priced like other fresh-based pastries at more than $5 for four large pieces.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Link: La Boulangerie on B More Sweet

La Boulangerie in Ellicott City gets the thumbs up from the B More Sweet blog, which posted last week while I was out of town.

The Korean bakery across from the Lotte supermarket on Rte 40 offers Korean desserts and a selection of formal cakes. B More Sweet enjoyed the sweet potato cake topped with fruit. I actually haven't had the cakes, but I love all the pastries at the front of the bakery, and I also recommend the bubble tea.

For my posts about La Boulangarie, click here. Or check out my post about bakeries in Howard County.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

La Boulangarie Bakery in Ellicott City

The sweet treats at La Boulangarie Bakery make for a great snack or for takehome that ranges from a simple dessert to an ornate cake.

The bakery with the French name and the Korean flavor sits across from the Lotte supermarket in Ellicott City. In the refrigerated case are formal cakes that run from $20 to $35 and come in flavors from chocolate to whipped cream to Korean sweet potato. In the front are shelves of individually-wrapped pasties and sweet breads. You can buy a selection and create a striking dessert plate for $10. I love the breads and buns filled with sweet red beans, but there are also varieties with hazelnut cream or sweet green beans along with chocolate-filled pastries, banana-shaped cakes and madeleines.

The madeleines are a good introduction to La Boulangarie. They're shell-shaped and just browned at the edges. They are moist cakes, tasting of butter and perfect for dipping in coffee or tea. But I recommend that you create modern memories by pairing madeleines with bubble tea. La Boulangarie's mango version tastes like a mango iced tea, less thick than some versions of this ubiquitous Asian treat. The pink straw is extra-wide so that you can suck up the black tapioca pearls at the bottom.

La Boulangarie is in a shopping center with a variety of Korean businesses, including the Lotte supermarket and the Shin Chon Garden restaurant. If you love pastries, you should also check out Bonaparte Bread in Savage. The pastries there are the detailed French style like opera cake and tarts. Bonaparte is also a perfect place to stop for a treat or to carry out dessert for a special occasion.

La Boulangarie Bakery
8815 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043


NEAR: Rte 40 and Rte 29 Intersection. The bakery is across the parking lot from the Lotte supermarket in the Lotte shopping center on Rte 40.


La Boulangarie Bakery on Urbanspoon

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Red Bean Desserts

Red bean may not replace chocolate, but you can get interesting, tasty desserts by checking out some local Korean-run bakeries.

Red bean paste mixes real beans and sugar into a mixture a little thicker than the filling of a cream donut. (Donut! Wait and hear about that!). It's not as sweet as a "Boston cream" or a jelly filling, but it has my favorite type of unusual, new flavor without being strange or really that exotic. These are great fun to enjoy on your own or to bring a selection to someone's house for dessert.

La Boulangarie Bakery off Rte 40 in Ellicott City sells fresh-made pastries filled with red bean for under $2 each. There is a baked version that tastes like a French dessert. There is also a steamed version that I actually preferred. A light cake in the shape of a bun with a walnut-sized dollop of red bean paste inside. They're fun to cut into pieces and serve to a bunch of people. (They're also individually wrapped in the picture.) La Boulangarie offers incredibly sweet-looking cakes and an assortment of other pastries, including a banana-shaped, banana-flavored cake that would be fun to serve kids.

But the four-mile drive east on Rte 40 is worth your time. Inside the H Mart supermarket is an outpost of the Momo Bakery. You'll see it right at the entrance with a similar display of formal cakes and other pastries. Momo has a separate cashier who you pay for the baked goods. First, try the red bean donut. "Fried but light" sounds like an oxymoron, but this is a delicious donut filled with the slightly sweet red bean. Eat it right out of the bag in your car. It is that good.

Then, go back inside to see if you feel a little more adventurous. Koreans make a rice-based sweet that they fill with various things, including red bean paste. They look like little dumplings. The consistency is like marzipan, but with a clean, lightly-sweet taste that makes me grab them whenever I see them at Momo. Mrs. HowChow loves them. Look at the packaged green and white sweets in the picture. That tray costs $3-4. The red bean sweets were the hit of my nephew's first birthday party.

Don't refrigerate the Korean sweets. They last 2-3 days on the counter, but they get hard if you put them in the fridge. As a practical matter, you can find the red bean sweets by either asking the Momo cashier or reading the ingredients on the label.

Click here for a list of other organic and ethnic markets in Howard County. Or here for all the posts about Korean restaurants and grocery stores. If you're looking for food while you shop, the Lotte is just down the shopping center from Shin Chon Garden, and the H Mart shopping center has a Korean place Beseto that has good food, but no table service.

La Boulangarie Bakery
8815 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043

NEAR: Rte 40 and Rte 29 Intersection. The bakery is across the parking lot from the Lotte supermarket in the Lotte shopping center on Rte 40.

Momo Bakery
inside the H Mart supermarket (right in front)
800 N Rolling Rd
Catonsville, MD 21228
443-612-9020 (H Mart)

This is a short profile of the H Mart, and this is a longer post about why it is my favorite place for food. If you go there, definitely check out the popped rice bowls.

NEAR: Off Rte 40 just outside I-695. If you are driving on Rte 40 from Ellicott City, you'll see a Starbucks and a FedEx at the end of the H Mart shopping center. Turn right immediately after the Starbucks. If you miss it, just turn right at the next light.

La Boulangarie Bakery on Urbanspoon

Red Bean on Foodista