Preview: Some Sweet New Offerings At Little Goat Bakery
By Lisa White in Food on Nov 11, 2014 8:45PM
From savory to sweet, Little Goat Bakery has expanded their menu to offer up a new bevy of items that totally encourage grabbing a cookie or swiss roll for breakfast on your way to work. We were invited to stop by yesterday and taste some of the new options that will now be up for grabs at Little Goat Bakery.
The Little Goat baking dream team of Executive Pastry Chef Matthew Rice, Pastry Sous Chef Mini Rafalski and Head Baker Gina Mangiameli passed around plates of both savory and sweet items. We gobbled up the Little Debbie inspired Oatmeal Creme Pie cake Rice whipped up for the evening, which perfectly showcased his playful style of baking, which first put the bakery in the spotlight after he made Izard a wedding cake last October that contained some of her favorite flavors— bacon buttercream frosting, a strawberry Nesquik layer and chocolate-covered Cheez-Its. Other new cake options include the Fat Elvis, with layers of banana cake with bacon buttercream, peanut butter crunch and peanut butter buttercream and a Devil's Food Cake with chocolate ganache and buttercream. The Oatmeal Creme Pie cake had a bit of crunch from a toasted oatmeal topping and was super dense and moist, a perfect frosting-to-cake ratio.
After indulging our sweet tooth, we ended up gravitating to our favorite bite off the new menu, the miso brioche. The miso added a buttery depth but the inside was still light, almost melt in your mouth. We wanted to try it with some butter or jam, but gobbled it up too quickly because it was just that delicious.
To save ourselves from a stomachache or sugar overload, we brought home some of the other new treats and tried them today. The wookie pie filled with malted buttermilk chocolate cream was lighter than expected for a sweet but not as heavy treat, the gooey butterscotch cookie was a sticky mess in the most perfect of ways and the swiss roll, seasonally filled with peppermint buttercream, put the processed version of our childhood to shame. On the savory front, the pumpkin parm bread had a great contrast of texture, the crackly crust breaking through to a savory, nutty soft center that would be perfect to serve alongside or dip in your favorite fall soup or stew.
Besides the treats we tried, Little Goat Bakery will also now be offering mini pies (the blood orange meringue and apple fennel flavors have us intrigued) and all the cakes will be available in 6, 8 and 10 inch sizes. Cakes can also be made gluten-free upon request. They'll also offer custom creations if you want to get creative with your cake or cookies. The Bakery will continue to serve their original menu items as well. Right now the new menu items will be available at the Randolph Street location (820 W. Randolph) but select items will also be available at the Little Goat Bakery stall at the Chicago French Market. And to celebrate the new menu items, tomorrow, Nov. 12, from 8 to 11 a.m. guests can enjoy one free mini dessert item at both Little Goat Bakery locations.