I am always on a lookout for a great dessert spot or bakery that offers amazing sweets. I found one, unique bakery called Crown Bakery & Cafe in MA. They are Scandinavian bakery, offering all sorts of Swedish treats. They have pretty much everything you can think of, from cookies, Petit Fours, cakes, pastries, and tortas. I am sure everyone can find at least one thing they like. Of course, they also offer unique items such as Swedish Coffee Rings and Buns, and lots of marzipan stuff too. 

The inside was bigger than I expected, with limited number of tables and chairs, but not many people stay and eat/drink, so no issue with finding seats.  As soon as you walk in, you see the seating area, and coffee section. Easy access to different kinds of coffee, milk, sugar, etc. It is good that the counter is right next to the seating area.

 

Then, there were several Swedish groceries on their shelves, which I thought was really interesting! If you want some Swedish pancake mix, linonberries, or Nyponsoppa, you can find them here! I heard there used be much more Swedish population around this area.

 

Then, we move on to the baked goods section. They had lots of selections, from different kinds of bread, cookies, pastries… What they promised, they delivered. I was so mesmerized, you can imagine it took us a while to decide on what to buy!

When we moved to the refrigerated show windows, I was so surprised on how many different kinds of desserts they offer! And they all looked so pretty and delicious… The only issue was that I didn’t know what was what – there was no sign on any of them, so I couldn’t tell what they are, or what flavor they are. As I started ask question to one of the female staff, she acted very annoyed. I wanted to know what the Petit Four flavors are, so I simply pointed to them asked what they are. She responded “Petit Fours”… So, I asked “what are the flavors?” She answered “Chocolate and Carrot cake. ” No smile or no detailed information… I asked how much they are and at this point, she was REALLY annoyed. If you don’t want customers asking questions, then they should put up signs indicating the name, flavor, and price of their items. In my opinion, it is their choice to provide information in advice, or assist customers on the spot.

Anyways, I was not going to let rude customer service ruin my heavenly sweet time. I bought their Cream Puff ($3) to eat right there before leaving. It was large, and looked so good, I was excited to try them. As the puff pastry is placed on the bottom and on the top, with lots of cream in the middle, it was not easy to eat. With each bite, the filling comes out and can get a little messy if you are not careful. It had custard cream on the bottom, and whipped cream on top. It was tasty but not the best cream puff I ever had. I felt that the puff pastry was a bit too hard and crunchy, I prefer more airy, soft kind.

We also bought a bag of Assorted Danish Package (around $2.70) for breakfast/snack for later. It had 4 tasty danishes of different flavors, it was really good. Each one had great flavor and delicious. I am not sure if they were “day-old” danishes since they were at discounted price? Regardless, it was a great buy. Actually, it was so good that one of them got eaten before I could take a photo!

 

We also bought other items to take with us; Petit Fours ($1.30/each) both Carrot Cake and Chocolate flavors, and Marzipan Cake ($2.99). The Carrot Cake flavored Petit Fours were very pretty, coated in white chocolate, with sugar flowers on top. It was almost too pretty to eat. As for the taste, it was ok. Not the best Petit Fours I have ever had. It was not as moist as I would have liked.

The Chocolate flavored ones were also very pretty, with different sugar flowers and butterflies. It was simply “sweet” without any flavor, with chocolate cake inside, and chocolate coating. I didn’t get any special or delicious flavor. Not something that you would say “I want more!”

The marzipan cake,  I like to call “Green Monster” since the female staff didn’t want to tell me the name of it. (I asked what it was and received an answer “marzipan.”). It was lots of marzipan coating a chocolate cake, with jelly as its tongue. It was interesting, but really sweet.  In case you are not aware, marzipan is a soft confection primarily consists of sugar (or honey) and almond flour. So, it is naturally sweet, so if you don’t have sweet tooth, you might want to stay away from marzipan. This Green Monster was very cute and funny looking, but the taste was not so interesting.

 

I thought I came in here with too high of expectation, which can really bite you in the butt. I was starting to feel disappointed, that was until we got the main item we came here for;  Prinsesstårta, or Princess Torta ($15/small). I heard it is perhaps the best-known Swedish dessert since 1948. It is covered with spring green marzipan, and in a shape of a dome. I didn’t know if the $15 price tag was good or too much for this little cake at this point, but since we traveled all the way there to get this particular torta, we decided to get it. 

The color was very pretty, and had a little rose piped on it, which got a little smashed when the female staff tried to put it in a box that was too small for this torta. No, she didn’t apologize for it, and no, she didn’t exchange it with a prettier one. But I already gave up on getting any type of kind consideration from her at this point, so I didn’t even try to talk to her about it. Regardless, it was going to make a very pretty gift!

As we arrived to our final destination, and presented this adorable Princess Torta, we were all very excited to try them with nice cup of tea. As we cut though the marzipan covered dome, we could see the layers of cream, sponge cake, and fruit filling. It looked really great, and it actually tasted really delicious! Marzipan was a bit too sweet for some of us, but for the rest of us who loves sweet, it was no issue. The cake was light, airy, moist, and the cream and fruit filling was really nice and tasty. It was a great find!

 

They might not have a friendly staff or pleasant customer service, but they do know what they are doing when it comes to creating a beautiful sweets. Sadly, I can’t say that “everything” they offer is great, but I can say that Princess Torta really took the spotlight. It was worth traveling all the way there just to get this cake, and $15 price tag was totally worth it! Everyone enjoyed this cake tremendously.  I only wish if they have a nicer, more friendly staff who is willing help customers who are not regulars, and/or, have some signs for each of the offerings, which will make the experience mush easier and nicer. But, I might deal with the rudeness and go back again to get another Princess Torta in the future.

 Crown Bakery & Cafe – 133 Gold Star Blvd, Worcester, MA 01606