SF Bay Area - Christmas baked goods - San Francisco Bay Area

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SF Bay Area - Christmas baked goods

By rworange

San Francisco Bay Area

A guide to what Bay Area bakeries make for Christmas. Some I have tried. Some are on my list to try.

1. Emporio Rulli Gran Caffe
2300 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Also in Larkspur at 464 Magnolia Ave Four different types of panettone. With the exception of the Genovese, the other three are closely the same with different ingredients or toppings. - The Milanese is classic panettone - The Paridiso has chocolate shavings - La Veneziana has a topping of almond paste, coarse sugar, and toasted almonds. My favorite. - The Genovese is a denser panettone that is more scone-like in texture <A href=" http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/33210" hasbox="2">More info</A>
2. The Cheese Board Collective
1504 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709

My favorite fruitcake for years has been Cheeseboard's dark fruit cake with at least three different liquors and fruit such as dried apricots and figs which I prefer to the candied stuff. It is also full of the most wonderful selection of nuts
3. Nuernberger’s German Bakery
1354 Mt Pisgah Rd #4 Walnut Creek, CA 94596

This bakery that sells at East Bay farmers markets makes German stollen and Christmas cookies. Many of the ingredients, even the flour, is imported from Germany. There are other types of stollen. Cranberry-almond stollen is full of flavor, buttery with tiny bits of candied orange and lemon peel that were wonderful with the tangy cranberry <A href=" http://www.chow.com/san_francisco_bay_area_digest/6887?tag=nl.e352" hasbox="2">More info</A>
4. Neldam's Danish Bakery
3401 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

I'm a fan of the Pfeffernuesse, a spicy light cookie rolled in powdered sugar in holiday colors. The petite fours come with lovely holiday designs and the butter cookies are always holiday favorites. Mrs. Neldham's private reserve fruitcake has lots of candied fruit. I am more of a dark dried fruitcake fan so never tried it. The stollen is the most reasonable priced fresh area stollen and comes in the shape of a Christmas tree with green and red cherry ornaments. Not a traditional stollen, but more of a light yeasty bread.
5. Thorough Bread and Pastry
248 Church Street, San Francisco, CA

There are mini and full-sized versions of the stollen and panettone. The stollen is dusted with granulated sugar and cinnamon. The soft bread has golden raisins and finely chopped almonds. It was similar to a morning bun in taste. The panettone was topped with some large crystals of sugar baked in. There were spots of a struesel-like filling and very finely chopped pieces of orange peel. Some of the other items offered are a plain chocolate Buche de Noel, gingerbread cookies, decorated sugar cookies. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/579711" hasbox="2">More info</A>
6. Michael Mischer Chocolates
3352 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA

Stollen – Uber buttery German Christmas bread that was filled with golden raisins, finely shaved nuts with a lovely aroma of orange peel. Instead of powdered sugar on top, there is granulated sugar. Big bucks, but worth it for the artistry.
7. Fat Apple's
7525 Fairmount Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530

Also in Berkeley at 1346 Martin Luther King Jr Way Rehrucken is a chocolate cake, with chocolate icing and sprinkled with chopped pistachios. that is made in special molds to look like a saddle of venison. At Fat Apple’s they called it deer back cake because the pistachios sprinkled on the dark cake looked like the spots on the back of a deer. It tastes like a light, moist, not overly sweet brownie. They also sell it by the piece. Stollen is deeply buttery, dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a nice balance of fruit and nuts. Ingredients: flour, butter, almonds, candied fruits, Thompson raisins, golden raisins, milk, water, sugar, eggs, orange juice, yeast, salt, spices dark and gold raisins, almonds, and citron (candied peel of the citron fruit).” Pumpkin ginger bread – the only item I haven’t liked. Not enough pumpkin flavors, no ginger taste and a little dry. Other holiday treats: Buche de Noel with lovely with meringue mushrooms and frosting leaves, Linzer tart, prettily decorated gingerbread houses, fruitcake with pecans, raisins and candied fruit, Linzer star cookies, Christmas sugar cookies, meringue snowman with pointy orange nose <A href=" http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/42129#204135" hasbox="2">More info</A>
8. Masse's Pastries
1469 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709

The most beautiful and best Buche de Noel I’ve tried - regular and individual-sized Yule logs available. They are decorated with frosting leaves, fresh fruit like raspberries, tangerine slices, other fruits, shavings of chocolate looking like bark pealing off a log and airy, meringue mushrooms that go poof in your mouth. There are three flavors - classic mocha, lemon meringue, and black forest. - Lemon meringue: Light as a cloud meringue, intense lemon curd, airy sponge cake and a fresh raspberry upped the deliciousness. - Mocha: This is everything good about Yule logs. Lovely almond Sponge cake, chocolate truffle filling and the perfect espresso butter cream finish. - Black Forest: Intensely chocolate flavored light sponge cake filled with chocolate whipped cream and amazing imported kirsch-soaked cherries, finished with whipped cream. Similar to an I Dream of Cream cake, but so superior. Other Holiday desserts – some tried, some just admired The stollen is lovely, soft, fresh and buttery, with a light sugar & spice topping. It is thick with almonds, plump raisins and the most decadent, rich marzipan center. There’s a special German spice in it, weihnachtsgewurz. Snowball surprize (sic) is an lovely upscale version of a Hostess snowball. On top of a layer of moist coconut sponge cake there was a thick layer of heavenly light chocolate Bavarian cream topped with a thin layer of a light white coconut frosting and a thin round white chocolate “snowball”. The entire cake had a deep coconut taste. Gingerbread cake under a snowfall of powdered sugar has poached quince and the apple liquor, calvados, to mellow the spice. It was too mild for my taste. Charming cookies such as gingerbread men, woman and children with boots of dipped chocolate, snowmen, animals and Hanukah draedle cookies. Also: Bishop’s bread, Mont Blanc, Mint Melissa, Christmas Charlotte, Eggnog cheesecake <A href=" http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/42129#204138 " hasbox="2">Info</A> <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/42129#205123" hasbox="2">More info</A>
9. Crixa Cakes
2748 Adeline St, Berkeley, CA 94703

Some of the holiday goodies at Crixa that I’ve sampled: The very rich, intense Buche de Noel is also available by the slice. The vanilla cake is very eggy and has a dense chiffon that held up nicely with the delicious mocha buttercream filling. Nice dark chocolate frosting. . Saint Nicholas gingerbread cookies – Nice soft gingery cookies with different paper pictures of Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas Gold Drop - round butter cookies with a gold icing. Chestnut kifli - buttery, crisp crescent with nice chestnut plates. There is fig and walnut panforte as well as the classic Sienna style with honey, spices, toasted almonds and candied citrus peel. The Crixa baker recommends to serve it sliced thin with a class of dessert wine. The fig and walnut panforte has been described as “softly spiced and has a hauntingly autumnal flavor.” Other holiday specials –torrone, tree of life honey cake, springerle cookies with elaborate stamped designs, ginger Madeira cake, Dresden Stollen, Dundee cake, cranberry walnut pie, and black current Linzer tart. <A href=" http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/42129" hasbox="2">More info</A>
10. La Farine
1820 Solano Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707

Also in Oakland at 3411 Fruitvale Ave and 6323 College Ave The stollen is dense, yeasty and subtly buttery covered with granulated rather than powdered sugar. There was a nice distribution of toasted chopped almonds and raisins in every bite. There was a pleasant little bit of orange peel also. I could see the marzipan center, but the flavor didn't stand out. It accentuated the flavor of the almonds which were delicious. . The moist, sticky persimmon pudding was a cake with chopped walnuts and raisins, the raisins mainly flavoring the cake. The Buche de Noel was the plainest and least pretty of all that I scoped out. It is decorated with fresh evergreens. It is described as chocolate mousse rolled into genoise cake frosted with chocolate buttercream and decorated with marzipan mushrooms. Frangelico liquor soak. The Marjolaine is described as a hazelnut / almond torte layered between chocolate ganache and crunchy, praline butter cream. Other holiday desserts include: Pumpkin cheesecake, Chocolate Chestnut Torte, Ginger cake.
11. Nabolom Bakery
2708 Russell St, Berkeley, CA 94705

Rum and schnapps soaked fruitcake: The fruit (mainly raisins with a little pineapple and dates I think) are soaked for three months in the alcohol. There are some nice slivered almonds and good pecans. It is a dense, sweet and slightly sticky dark fruitcake that is very good. Surprisingly the alcohol doesn't dominate the flavor They also have Danish butternut cookies and raspberry spitzruben, described as like a Linzer tart, but in the shape of cookie bars. <A href=" http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2004-12-10/article/20276?headline=Berkeley-Bakeries-OfferArray-of-Holiday-Treats-By-KATHRYN-JESSUP&status=301" hasbox="2">More info</A>
12. Frog Hollow Farm
1 Ferry Bldg # 46, San Francisco, CA

Frog Hollow's Christmas cake is a dark fruit cake. Ingredients in order of quantity are butter, rum, flour ... this really produces quite a buzz. It is wrapped in rum soaked cheesecloth and very moist due to the ... rum. There also flour, eggs, molasses, dried peaches, dried cherries, candied orange peel, sugar, walnuts, baking soda and salt. Most of it is organic. <A href=" http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/33210" hasbox="2">More info</A>
13. Acme Bread
1601 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702

Also in San Francisco at Ferry Plaza Panettone has the classic brown wrapping. The flavor of the dough itself isn't very sweet, but sweetness comes from candied and dried fruit. that I see everywhere. Pine nuts studded throughout and on top. Texture was light and airy, but not dry. Overall: bright and balanced flavor, not cloying, very fresh. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/41969" hasbox="2">More info</A>
14. Sweet Adeline
3350 Adeline St, Berkeley, CA

Cakes: White Fruitcake, Chocolate Pavé, Eggnog Cheesecake, Persimmon Pudding Breads: Stollen, Cranberry Orange Bread, Gingerbread, Pumpkin Bread The list changes from the year. In the past they have offered: Buche de Noel, Desire de Roi (King's cake) - chocolate genoise, framboise, fresh raspberries, chocolate, Boule de Neige (Snowball), English Eccles cake
15. Liguria Bakery
1700 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133

Panettone: I really think of it as less of a Panettone and more of holiday bread. The advantage to it is that it is fresher than what you would get in the box from Italy and WAY less expensive at around $5.
16. Hopkins Street Bakery
1584 Hopkins St, Berkeley, CA

The Weihnacht's stollen is dense, almost scone-like and buttery. There are lots of currents, golden raisins, whole walnuts and some finely chopped candied fruit.The description of it says it also has brandy and rum. That isn't apparent except for the lovely aroma ... it is not alcoholic, just fragrant. Holiday desserts include Buche de Noel, Desire de Roi (King's cake), Boule de Neige (Snowball), English Eccles cake <A href=" http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/579711#4261383" hasbox="2">More info</A>
17. John Campbell's Irish Bakery
5625 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121

The plum pudding is available in mini and large-sized versions. It is moist and filled with currants, raisins and the best, thinnest slivers of almonds. There are also tiny mince tarts with a crumbly topping and excellent filling of chopped raisins and dried fruit with a touch of vinegar to the taste. Also avaiable are Barm back bread and Celtic Irish bread.
18. Fiorini
248 W Napa St, Sonoma, CA

Polentina cake, panettone and sarzana. These are available all year, but are beautifully wrapped at Christmas
19. Chloe's French Cafe
3883 Airway Drive 145, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

1" slices of beautiful Buche de Noel for $3.25
20. OctoberFeast Bakery
1954 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704

German Christmas bread is really a brown bread loaded with dried figs, nuts, bits of orange peel and some spiced dried peare They also sell stollen