When the original Glaze bakery closed earlier this year, it was like losing a friend we'd just met. The intricate and time-consuming method -- not to mention the special oven imported from Japan -- caught our attention at just the wrong moment. Thankfully, co-owner Heather Alcott and her crew were not ready to throw in the whisk. Instead, partnering with Wayne Conwell of Sushi Sasa fame, they re-opened the space as an unlikely combination of sushi bar and bakery, featuring immaculate sashimi, a brief menu of Japanese-inspired dishes, delicate macarons, confections and, of course, the beautiful cakes with concentric, tree-like rings.
See also: First Look: Glaze by Sasa opens Monday, June 16
When sold from the bakery, the cakes come in several different styles and flavors. Our favorite, the matcha green tea baum, offers earthy, grassy flavors from powdered green tea built in dense yet not too heavy layers. Make sure and ask for the mini or you'll be toting home a tire-sized slab that will feed six adults.
When ordered from the restaurant's menu, the orange mount baum comes as two artfully arranged wedges separated by a hemisphere of rosemary-citrus cheesecake. Glazed in orange liqueurs, the slightly sticky and chewy layers of the baum flake apart to reveal subtle almond flavor in addition to the orange. It's a sweet and savory duo that builds on the hint of rosemary and finishes strong with streaks of orange gel on the plate.
Whether you take your baum cake home or devour it in the cafe, it's a treat worth sharing for its elegance, beauty and flat out lusciousness -- just be prepared to defend your half. And watch the reaction of diners at nearby tables when they see your plate; they'll skip the dinner menu and order dessert first.
What are your favorite pastries and plated desserts in town? Let us know in the comments section below.
In advance of the Best of Denver 2015, we're already loading our plates with contenders for the best dishes in the city. And over the next nine months, we'll be sharing many of them with you, counting down (in no particular order) one hundred of our favorite dishes before the the Best of Denver 2015 hits the streets on March 26. In the meantime, if there's a dish you think we need to try, tell us about it in the comments section below, or shoot us an e-mail at [email protected].
Hungry for more? All the dishes in our 2014 countdown are linked below.
No. 100: Chile Relleno at La Fiesta No. 99: Gurage Kitfo at Megenagna Ethiopian Restaurant No. 98: Cochinita Pibil at Work & Class No. 97: The Greggers Tongue Sandwich at Olive & Finch
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