The NC Bakery Tour continues! I met my sister at Gugulhupf, a German bakery in Durham. In case you were wondering, there are a whole bunch of bakeries in Durham, but most of them are closed on Sundays. Now I know!

Anyway, it was a beautiful spring day, so we chose our pastries and sat down at a table outside. Pictured above is Rachel’s choice, the mango mousse torte.

We quickly learned that 2pm was probably too late to get the best out of Gugulhupf. Rachel’s first reaction to the cake was that she wished it wasn’t cold. Her second reaction was that the cake was a little dry. Both of these problems probably could have been avoided if the slice hadn’t been in the refrigerated case for a couple hours.

Because of this, the mango mousse was definitely the best part of this dessert. It was light and fluffy, with just the right amount of mango flavor. It was also beautiful!

I chose my dessert partially out of curiosity. I love apples and almonds, so when I saw a sign for an apple almond tart, I had to try it because I’d never seen them together before!

I didn’t know what to expect when I took my first bite, but I definitely made the better choice! The refrigeration didn’t seem to have any negative effects on this tart.

The texture and flavor were both very interesting – it was almost like a firm mousse or custard. Almond was the dominant flavor, although I could taste undertones of apple, and perhaps cinnamon. The crust was buttery and delicious! The whipped cream was a beautiful accompaniment, although there could have been more of it. (Although, isn’t that always true of whipped cream?)

Overall, we liked Guglhupf, and I know what we would do next time to make the experience even more enjoyable. We also discovered that it’s right next door to another local eatery – Foster’s Market! We had been there once for lunch, so now we’ll need to return to sample their baked goods.

Any other Durham suggestions?