My Favorite Baked Goods in Cleveland by Meg Hahnenberg

Macarons

When I was little I loved to help my mom bake in the kitchen. We would knead dough, decorate cookies, and occasionally I would have the privilege of licking a frosting-covered spatula. I got so much joy from watching a recipe come to life (not literally though, I’m traumatized enough from the gingerbread man book already). In middle school, I spent countless hours watching baking tutorials and shows. My favorite will always be Cupcake Wars, which inspired my ever lasting love for aesthetic cupcakes. I loved baking everything from brownies to cakes to cookies. I even attempted macarons and croissants, although neither of them turned out to be what I had hoped. After the COVID-19 lock-down, I’ve barely had time to bake, mostly thanks to my workload from IB. Thankfully, I still have some time every once in a while to drive around Cleveland in search of my next favorite baked good. Below I have included some of my favs.

  1. Salted Caramel Macaron from Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes
    • Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes (KEC) is my FAVORITE bakery in all of Cleveland. Her pastries are adorable and at time sugar-coma inducing, but she never fails to amaze me with how delicious everything is. Over the years she has sold hundreds of different flavors of macarons, and the salted caramel flavor is one of my favorites. They are baked perfectly every time and the frosting compliments the cookie so well. Although I love salted caramel, I simply cannot ignore another favorite flavor of mine: peppermint. Her peppermint macaron is only available near the holidays, so get yourself one while you still can!
  2. Killer brownies from Dorthy Lane Market
    • I wasn’t sure if I was going to include this one on the list, but I couldn’t see why not. These have been a longtime favorite of mine, but up until recently I was under the impression that they are only sold at Dorthy Lane Market in Dayton Ohio! Now KEC carries them in store along with the rest of her incredible baked goods! I don’t think I could even tell you what is in this brownie, its just delicious. They have a variety of flavors so if you like caramel in your brownies, they’ve got you covered! To be quite honest, these are some RICH brownies; I find that a quarter of one is just enough for me.
  3. Chocolate Chip Walnut Blondie from On the Rise
    • This was the first baked good that I ever liked that had walnuts in it. I used to be a big walnut hater, but after falling in love with this treat, I’ve been converted. Like the killer brownie, this blondie is rich and chock-full of walnuts and chocolate. Honestly, this blondie is just a giant chocolate chip cookie with walnuts. Yum!
  4. Cinnamon Raisin Bread from On the Rise
    • Although On the Rise has some great sweets, I might love them more for their variety of breads. I absolutely love their cinnamon raisin bread, which comes in a small loaf with, you guessed it, cinnamon and raisin inside! I love to eat this with my breakfast and preferably a bit of butter.
  5. Scone from Juma
    • Unfortunately the Juma cafe near Van Aken is long gone. Thankfully before they shut down I had the chance to try one of their scones! The first time I went to Juma was after the Sunday matinee of a show I was in, Willy Wonka or Hello Dolly maybe. I must’ve been really hungry after the performance, because I remember that scone as one of the best things I had ever eaten in my life!

Thank you for reading my rambling on about my favorite treats! I also wanted to mention Koko bakery, where I LOVE to get strawberry boba. However, boba isn’t a baked good so I couldn’t really include it in my list. Again, thank you for reading and please leave other bakery suggestions in the comments!

8 thoughts on “My Favorite Baked Goods in Cleveland by Meg Hahnenberg

  1. On the Rise is my number one favorite bakery of all time, and (in my opinion) is the best bakery in Cleveland. Their brownies are such a foundational part of my childhood that anytime I’m having a rough day, I’ll stop by and pick one up. It always fixes my mood instantly.

  2. This was fun and informative! I happened to bake my second batch of Christmas cookies just last night, the Chocolate Crinkle cookie recipe from the America’s Test Kitchens cookbook…and they are amazing! I am a diehard Luna Bakery and On the Rise fan. I think the OtR croissants are every bit as good as the ones I had in Paris, years ago. Luna’s crepes and cinnamon roll croissant are also swoon-worthy. I will bookmark these recommendations of yours and check them out.

  3. i’m so glad someone understand the magic of the on the rise cinnamon raisin bread. best breakfast with a cup of tea!!!

  4. NOOOO! I’m learning about Juma’s scone now after they closed! I live so close that I wish I had known to try their scones while they were still open. I guess I’ll just have to go to the rest of the bakeries and try their sweets to make sure I don’t miss anything. 🙂

    Also, I need to hear your thoughts about the Great British Bakeoff. Personally, it’s my favorite cooking show.

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