Semi-Sweet Bakery in Downtown LA has been hotly sought after once they announced the creation of their crullant. Following the craze in New York, Semi-Sweet fashioned a treat similar to the notorious cronut from Dominique Ansel. Both pastries are meant to be a cross between a donut and a croissant. To my despair, all the crullants were sold out by the time I arrived; however, the cashier let me know that the bakery usually still had a few until 9:30 am. You know these HAVE to be good if they are all gone within an hour and a half of opening!
The interior of the small bakery was bright and cheerful with hanging lightbulbs over the desserts’ counter.
I had a very difficult time choosing between the carrot cake ding-a-lings and the red velvet ding-a-lings.
In the end, my inner chocoholic won, and I decided on the red velvet.
The pastries counter offered brownies, pocket tarts, macarons, and triple chip cookies.
The strawberry pocket tarts and the samoa macarons called my name.
I was soo excited to dig into the treats that I had picked. First up, the red velvet ding-a-ling.
The ding-a-ling had a slightly soft outer layer of dark chocolate. Inside, layers of moist red velvet cake sandwiched a generous layer of cream cheese frosting. There was a surprise dotted throughout the cream cheese frosting — chocolate crunch pearls that added wonderful texture to the ding-a-ling. All the elements came together in this not too sweet and luscious treat.
I wondered how closely the samoa macaron would taste to the girl scout cookie favorite. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it tasted even better than the classic!
The macaron shell was perfectly crisp with a chewy interior while the salted caramel filling added even more chew to the sweet treat. The distinct combination of caramel and coconut was elevated with the touch of salt in the caramel.
Last but not least, the strawberry pocket tart appeared deceptively simple.
However, once I bit into the pastry, the dough proved to be excellent and addictive due to its crisp flakiness. The icing was perfectly sweet with tart freeze-dried strawberries sprinkled all over. Inside, the strawberry jam added more sweetness and strawberry flavor.
Overall, the treats I enjoyed from Semi-Sweet Bakery were excellent and satisfying. I will be returning to Semi-Sweet soon to try their highly anticipated crullants!
la sweets 