If you’re gluten and / or dairy free, I’ve got you covered!
Over the years, I have discovered the best gluten and dairy free restaurants for all types of desserts from cinnamon rolls, to brownies, cakes and more. Follow along to see my favourite bakeries catering for a gf and df diet. If I missed anything, let me know which dessert you’d like me to add to the list or which restaurant is your favourite resto for gluten free and dairy free treats:
Brownies
The best brownie I have tried is from Kelly’s Bake Shoppe. They make a rich decadent brownie called The Mile High Brownie, that features a rich vegan chocolate ganache and a mini brownie on top. We shared this dessert, and it was heavenly. I had my brownie delivered to my home in Toronto, but I saw that Kelly’s has vegan soft-serve ice cream available in-store and we are excited to venture to Hamilton to try the brownies-a-la-mode in the summertime, since the brownie was so good. Have you tried Kelly’s brownie-a-la-mode? Where is your favourite place to get a gluten and dairy free brownie?
Cakes
Over the years, I have discovered 3 places where I can get the best gluten and dairy free cakes and boy have I tried a lot of cakes. My mom is also a phenomenal baker so the bakeries had a high benchmark to overcome.
- Cock-A-Doodle-Doo on Bloor
- Community Kitchen located on Port Carling
- Whisked Gluten Free Bakery located in Scarborough
All three bakeries make delicious cakes and we’ve ordered birthday and anniversary cakes from both Cock-A-Doodle-Doo and Whisked Gluten Free Bakery. The cake from Cock-A-Doodle-Doo gluten free bakery is light and chocolately with a delicious raspberry Ganache and fruit on top including my favourite, golden berries. This cake is light, tasty and heavenly. It freezes really well and provides us with months of sweet treats, long after our celebration.
If you’re looking for a chocolate cake that is a little richer, that also comes with a Ganache, Whisked GF Bakery is definitely your go-to. This cake has three tiers and the 7” Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Cake provides us with more than 20 servings when we cut it up, and freeze it. We cut the middle tier in half and get two slices for every “slice” and it thaws out beautifully and tastes delicious on the date you slice it and later when you release it from its frozen state.
Recently we discovered the Community Restaurant and they have the best gluten and dairy free chocolate caramel cake I have ever had. It is called the Rolo Cake and it is so decadent. It is three tiers high and it definitely needs to be shared. I think it would be too rich for one person. This cake reminded me of the cakes from the Cheesecake Factory but with one huge bonus! I could actually eat them! This is a hidden gem and is located in Port Carling. It’s a cute town with twinkle lights, that provide the perfect ambiance for a romantic stroll before or after getting dessert. I was most impressed with their caramel sauce because I have not seen a vegan cake with caramel sauce until the end of 2023 and this is a game changer for my future gluten and dairy free self.
All of these bakeries make incredible cake and I’m sure you’ll be happy with any of them. Have you tried any of these bakeries? Which gf and df cakes are your favourite in the gta? Which bakeries do you love? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.
Cinnamon Rolls
The best and most delicious gluten and dairy free cinnamon rolls are from Bunners and they are called the Cinnamon Bun – Mama Bun, the Cinnamon Bun – Baby Bun or the Cinnamon Buns Bake at Home pack. I’ve bought the mama bun, a bigger version or the baby bun and these are scrumptious. They taste just like the real thing (I know from the days before I discovered most of my allergies) and they are vegan, gluten free and nut free. Have you tried the bake at home ones? How did they turn out?
Cookies
At this point in time I have not found my favourite gluten and dairy free cookies. Do you have a favourite bakery in the GTA for warm soft cookies? Let me know in the comments below.
Cupcakes
I recently tried the best cupcake that I have had to date and it was from Kelly’s Bake Shoppe in Hamilton, Ontario. I ordered a bunch of cupcakes to try (you can read my review here) and my favourite was the Cookie Dough Cupcake (it might be limited edition but periodically check the site to see if it’s available). This cupcake had vegan chocolate chips throughout and it tasted just like cookie dough. The texture was soft and not too hard the way a cookie would be. The vanilla buttercream frosting was not too sweet and it had the perfect amount of sweetness. Until I tried this cupcake, I had never tasted a delectable vegan buttercream frosting. The frosting made each bite of the cupcake taste perfect.
Donuts
The best vegan and gluten free donuts I have tried to date are from Tori’s Bakeshop in the beaches. These donuts are phenomenal. They have a delicious frosting on the outside and are tender on the inside. They have great flavours and my favourite is the dark chocolate donut or the any seasonal chocolate donut. They are rich in flavour and have a great texture that has not been beat by competing donut shops in my opinion. Do you have a favourite gf and df donut shop? Please let me know in the comments below.
Gelato
One of my favourite desserts is gelato. If you want to get technical, my favourite dessert is actually sorbet, since it’s made with water, but all the places I get it from are gellaterias. Although there are many wonderful gelato shops, my favourites are the following because they have more unique flavours than the others I have been to:
- Death in Venice Gelato in Trinity Bellwoods
- Gemma Gelateria Toronto located in Yorkville
Death of Venice is like the craft beer of gelato. They have so many unique including a variety for for vegans and anyone who is lactose intolerant. They have vegan flavours including Chocolate & Sour Cherry, Raspberry Ginger Lime, Passion Fruit & Lemon Grass, Strawberry Basil Lemon and so much more. You will definitely be impressed! It’s worth calling ahead to make sure the flavour you want isn’t sold out. They make unique flavours each day and once they are gone, they don’t make more for that day.
Gemma Gelateria is located in Yorkville and it’s located next to Hemingway’s. This Gelateria always has about 6 flavours of sorbet and they always have their dark chocolate sorbet, which many gelaterias don’t carry. It’s rich, decadent and definitely a good fix if you’re craving something rich. If you’d like something lighter, they always have the fruity flavours and they let you sample a few to make sure it’s the one or two that you want.
Ice Cream-Sandwiches
Since you know my favourite dessert is nice-cream (aka gelato/sorbet), I was super excited to discover Bang Bang Ice Cream and Bakery because they have gluten and dairy free cookies and quite a few vegan ice-cream flavours to make an intricate ice-cream sandwich that anyone suffering with food allergies would enjoy. The cookie that comes with the ice-cream doesn’t crumble and it is the perfect flavour to go with Bang Bangs vegan mint chip sorbet and their chocolate sorbet. They will even let you put two flavours on the cookie for two different palate experiences. Which vegan ice cream shop is your favourite? Have you been to Bang Bang or is there another one you think I should try? Let me know in the comments below.
Nanaimo Bars
The best Nanaimo bar is hands down from Sweets from the Earth. I love the peppermint Nanaimo bar, which is both gluten and dairy free. It tastes delicious and is not too sweet or too bland. It has the perfect amount of sweetness and is phenomenal. You can even custom order a half slab and have it cut into two Nanaimo bar cakes, which can be delivered on a Thursday. I had two events in the same week and used this technique to get two cakes out of my favourite sweet treat. You can also purchase these individually or in packages via their website or in their home store or other stores like Ambrosia Natural Foods.
Which dessert Should I Add to the list?
Cheri Shares 