Muffins, scones, cookies, cheesecakes and wedding cakes made without butter, cream or eggs? Huh? It just so happens that they’re all available at vegan bakeries in our fair city, thanks to a growing number of young, post-health-food-generation bakers committed to culinary creativity and the local-and-organic ethic.
There’s no need to be a card-carrying vegan to enjoy their sweet and savory offerings or to expect an inferior version of the muffins or quiche you find elsewhere. Do expect top-quality coffee. You’ll also likely find at least a small selection of gluten-free items.
Black Sheep Bakery
Amanda Felt opened Black Sheep Bakery in 2000, as a small wholesale business creating vegan baked goods she hoped that anyone would want to eat. Today the bakery has 50 wholesale accounts, including Peet’s Coffee stores. Black Sheep will be at three Portland Farmers Market locations this season. A café opened two years ago serves vegan and non-vegan lunch fare in addition to baked goods at the main location on Northeast 19th Avenue. A mini café with bike-through window is located on Southeast Main Street.
THE COFFEE: Peet’s.
BEST SELLERS: the Smart Muffin, Blueberry Cornmeal Muffin and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownie.
Black Sheep Bakery, 523 NE 19th Ave., 503.235.1419
Sweetpea Baking Company
Lisa Higgins’ started Sweetpea Baking Company as a wholesale business in 2004. Four years later she opened a retail bakery and café on Sourtheast Stark Street in the Buckman neighborhood. The menu includes homemade soups, sandwiches, bagels (made elsewhere but served with a non-dairy schmeer), pastries and cakes, plus doughnuts on Saturday and an all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch. You can also find Sweetpea treats at Whole Foods and New Seasons as well as other locations.
THE COFFEE: Stumptown.
BEST SELLERS: Snickerdoodles, Gluten-Free Brownies, the Charlie Brown (a layered cookie bar).
Sweetpea Baking Company, 1205 SE Stark St., 503.477.5916
Back to Eden Bakery Boutique
On Northeast Alberta Street, two small vegan bakeries have opened in the past year. Back to Eden Bakery Boutique is a narrow jewel box of a bakery with limited seating but a large selection of baked goods plus handmade chocolates, Italian sodas made with organic syrups, and several non-dairy frozen desserts. Lunch options include a daily quiche and calzone. One shelf is reserved for gluten- and wheat-free items. Owners Garrett Jones and John Blomgren opened the doors after a short wholesale stint.
THE COFFEE: Cellar Door.
BEST SELLERS: Coconut Cream Pie, Indian Curry Calzone, Pumpkin Whoopie Pie.
Back to Eden Bakery Boutique, 2217 NE Alberta St., 503.477.5022
Dovetail Bakery
Dovetail Bakery’s storefront on Alberta opened in January. Owner Morgan Grundstein-Helvey previously had a wholesale bakery in St. Johns and also sold at the St. Johns Farmers Market. Dovetail has recently teamed up with Wealth Underground, an organic CSA farm, as a Community Supported Bakery, supplying bread, pastries, cookie dough and coffee for the CSA’s customers. Dovetail regulars can also buy a weekly share of bread, cookie dough, pizza dough, coffee beans and more.
THE COFFEE: Courier.
BEST SELLERS: Aunt Miriam’s Sticky Buns, Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies, Salty Sweet Trail Mix Cookies, and Blueberry Muffins.
Dovetail Bakery, 3039 NE Alberta St., 503.288.8839
New Cascadia Traditional
New Cascadia Traditional on Southeast 6th Avenue, less than a year old, offers a number of vegan items at what’s known as a dedicated gluten-free bakery. Because there is no gluten on the premises, its breads and baked goods are safe for people who have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant. Additional location: Portland Farmers Market at PSU.
THE COFFEE: Stumptown.
VEGAN BEST SELLERS: pizza, Chocolate Chip Dookies, Chocolate Cupcakes.
New Cascadia Traditional, 1700 SE 6th Ave., 503.887.4392
My favorite treats in town are in these bakeries (and I'm not vegan!): charlie browns at Sweetpea, pumpkin whoopie pies and peanut butter fudge at Back to Eden, and chocolate/vanilla cupcakes at New Cascadia Traditional.
There's another addition to the list. Petunia's Pies & Pastries specializes in vegan and gluten-free baked goods. Petunia's is a vendor at the King Farmers Market and the Pioneer Square Farmers Market (opens June 21).
Pumpkin whoopie pies at Back to Eden are so decadent, and the New Cascadia cupcakes are absolutely delicious. I think people should forget the notion that vegan doesn't taste as good. These bakers prove otherwise!
These look so Yum! Wish I were there right now!
And, Back to Eden's serving up the finest vegan soft serve. Mmmmm - creamy cold deliciousness.
Thanks for this terrific article, Martha!