Eats

Deliciousness Unlocked: Our Top 5 Baked Goods of 2024

2024 was the year of the baked good for The Frugal Foodies. From croissants in Paris to paczki in Poland, I’m hard pressed to remember a year I consumed as many delicious baked treats. With the year coming to an end, I want to share our…

My top 5 baked goods of 2024.

5. Mystery Pastry Roll Filled with Chocolate from Boulangerie Du Palais in Lyon, France

Lyon, France was a spontaneous stop on our journey from Paris to Milan, and it turned out to be a highlight of our six week trip in Europe. It has everything you want in a travel destination: a few historic sites, a charming city center with plenty to do while not feeling too frenetic, and plenty of amazing food options.

We stumbled upon Boulangerie Du Palais, which after-the-fact research revealed is revered for it’s pink praline brioche. While the pink praline brioche was delicious, this mystery roll had me saying, “oh mon Dieu!” The pastry itself was a buttery, laminated dough with soft, nearly gooey layers and a flakey, slightly crunchy exterior. Big chunks of potent dark chocolate added a nice textural component and solid flavor.

4. Fresh Baguettes and Croissants in Paris

Our first night in Paris we wandered into a local boulangerie to procure a baguette. To my shock, it was fresh and warm with a texture that was chewy yet airy on the inside, and perfectly crunchy on the outside. It had a fresh, almost milky taste with a soft touch of sweetness. Jeremy and I stood on the side walk tearing pieces off exclaiming, “This is wild….” with every bite. We even went back to get another.

This was the first of many fresh baguettes and croissants during our week in Paris, and we didn’t have a single bad experience. Each croissant was rich and buttery. Every baguette was offensively delicious. Not to mention nothing cost more than €3. I can’t pick one, so the entire category “French Boulangerie” gets spot #4 on my top 5 baked goods of 2024 countdown.

(Get the scoop on 5 different croissants we tried HERE.)

3. Almond Chocolate Croissant from Ariscault Bakery in San Francisco

This might just be the best croissant I’ve ever had. The texture balanced flakey, soft, and gooey exquisitely. The delicate, not-to-sweet, almond filling was evenly spread throughout the croissant. Pops of chocolate (not unlike the chocolate in #5 on this list…) added a nice texture and exciting flavor. Each bite brought waves of joy over the chance to eat something so delicious couple with bouts of despair knowing I may never have such a croissant again.

2. Pączki from Dobra Pączkarnia in Wroclow, Poland

I thought I liked doughnuts until I tried Paczki. Paczki are so much more than “a Polish doughnut.” They are made from a yeast dough that has butter, eggs, sugar, milk, and flour. Doughnuts, on the other hand, are made from a more cake like dough that has fewer wet ingredients. This gives paczki a denser, richer, brioche like texture.

The result? A blissful melt in your mouth texture that emulates a “fresh from the fryer” sensation of an American doughnut, only better.

We tried them at Dobra Pączkarnia, which happens to be a chain across Poland. They were so darn amazing that we went back the next day. We tried passion fruit, kinder bueno, mango, and chocolate filled paczki, and each spiraled me into baked good bliss.

1. Passionfruit Koign Amman from Chai Guys in London

Every once in awhile, you have a food experience that is so mind blowingly delicious that you know you will thinking about it for years to come. We had said experience at Chai Guys Bakehouse.

The passionfruit kouign-amann was magnificent. The pastry was rich and buttery with a flakey interior and crunchy, caramelized bottom. The passionfruit curd was bright and acidic with a creamy texture that meshed with the pastry perfectly. This pastry was one I’ll be dreaming about. Coming in at around £6, it isn’t frugal, but I do think it is worth it!