French Bakery in Mount Pleasant: Check out French Made Baking

If your hankering for French edibles wasn’t satisfied by Les Faux Bourgeois or Che Baba Cantina, there is a new French bakery option just a few blocks away: French Made Baking. You may have seen French Made’s Parisian treats at some of the local farmers’ markets since April, or the Make It craft fair this past November. They’ve been working hard on their shop at 81 Kingsway and as of December 22, they’re open for business. French Made Baking is fairly unassuming from the outside, tucked in between Brownie’s Florist and the new Mount Pleasant Community Centre. Inside, the classical-inspired decor of the bakery is open to the back so you can see the bakers hard at work in their shiny new kitchen.

French Bakery Offers Colourful Treats for the Sweet Tooth

This small, family-run French bakery specializes in delicious macarons. Macarons, in case you didn’t know, are not to be confused with what we would usually call macaroons. Proper Parisian macarons are light and airy little almond-based biscuits sandwiched around a layer of ganache. They come in many different colours, each with its own flavour: Earl Grey, raspberry, yuzu, passionfruit, chocolate, coffee and many more. The flavours vary seasonally and for special occasions like Movember and Breast Cancer awareness. These macarons also happen to be gluten-free, too! Macarons make a great present and are available in gift boxes of various sizes. French Made also takes special orders for things like wedding favours.

Another hard-to-find-in-Vancouver specialty you’ll find at French Made is Canelés de Bordeaux, which are lovely little rum cakes, traditionally eaten with coffee in the afternoon. I tried one for the first time and loved the caramelized outside and rich, moist inside. Also available: brioche (a sweet, rich white bread sprinkled with pearl sugar), Financiers (almond flavoured mini sponge cakes), pain au chocolat and many, many more treats.

Not Just Sweets

Stop by the French bakery to pick up pastries for brunch or a simple sandwich made with Terra Breads baguettes and quality local meat for lunch. If you get there by 10:30 am, you can take advantage of their breakfast combo: tea or coffee, a pastry and a Happy Planet juice for $7.50. French Made Owners David and Catherine have plans to expand their offerings to include grilled sandwiches like Croque Monsieur as well as including seating inside and out.