Scratch Baking was an Instagram and home-baking sensation in Edmonton, and now has a storefront close to the Legislature. Scratch Baking & Cafe isn’t an ornate spot filled with dainty doilies and cups bearing floral patterns. It’s very much an office-building-soup-and-sandwich spot, with some baked treats added on.
But these are the kinds of places the downtown core needs, especially with so many restaurateurs choosing to close their places for lunch.
So, I stopped in for a filling Italian cold cut sandwich, pressed and toasted, and something that caught my eye out of the baked-goods window — a brown-sugar cookie sandwich, stuffed with cinnamon icing. It was a tough choice between that and the espresso brownie, but I am only one man.
The sandwich was solid — more filling than you’d get from one of the bigger chains. There are a lot of cold cuts stuffed into this sandwich, and it’s a good thing the press was used, because it might have been tough to eat had this not been all smushed into a bite-friendly package.
But, I sense that you’re here to read about the cookie. And, yes, this was the highlight of the afternoon. It’s thick, like an ice cream sandwich. And, coming out of the cooler, the icing was cold, almost like ice cream.
The cinnamon from the icing really comes through, it packs a bunch in between the cookies that are so thick, so soft, it almost feels like eating cake. It’s a simple combination of comforting flavours — cinnamon and brown sugar is the kind of scent that real-estate agents pump through houses in order to make them feel warm and welcoming to prospective buyers.
Was it a good spot to stop for lunch? Sure. Next time, I’ll go for the brownie.
Scratch Baking & Cafe
Downtown | 10044 108 St NW, Edmonton | 825.480.7883
