On the Subject of Pastry

It had finally happened. The moment I had been waiting for- anticipating, knowing that it would eventually happen, but fearing it at the same time. No, my water didn’t break while I was at the white board at school (now that would be mortifying!), but there were NO. STICKY. BUNS.

Pastries are an interesting food group- they run the gamut from the delicate and fou fou petit fours, delicate sfogliatelle, and Napoleons, but also include hearty Lobster Tails, tarts, scones, and other delightful concoctions. There’s the fruity tarts and oozing lava cakes, éclairs, madeleines, and those new fangled cake pops. However, the true star of the pastry case at Wegman’s is the sticky bun. From humble beginnings, the sticky bun is a basic homespun treat- yeast based dough, butter, cinnamon, sugar, sometimes raisins (GROSS) or nuts (which can sometimes turn a sticky bun into a pecan bun, which I deem acceptable) that your mom would serve Christmas and Easter mornings. Well, at least my mom did, and they are freaking amazing. DELIGHTFUL. Chewy, yeasty, gooey. Childhood in a swirl. I honestly tasted nothing better until I discovered Ellie’s Bakery- a little storefront in West Cape May, NJ. Ellie is a genius with dough- she can create both visual and gastronomical delight with simple, local ingredients. Brownies, cuppy cakes, and of course, the sticky bun. Ellie even made ones, every day no less, WITHOUT NUTS!!!! When I discovered the still warm sticky bun, sans nuts, it was as if the heaven’s opened and Handel himself descended singing the Messiah. Yeah, they were that good. Or so I thought. A Wegman’s sticky bun is slightly different- they use a flakier dough, which I don’t even think is yeast based. It’s like the pain aux chocolat got it on with a Cinnabon and had a bastard child. Every bite is caramel-like goo.

Back to my current crisis. I looked to the left, where the sticky buns usually shared a tray with the blueberry scones, directly above cranberry orange and raspberry.  I looked to the right, where sometimes a confused baker switches a Danish tray with the sticky bun tray. None in sight. I moved down the line, thinking maybe they were sandwiched between the fresh-baked bialys and the bagels. NO STICKY BUNS. Frantically, I retraced my steps, shushing Mr. M in the cart with a “quiet, Mommy’s thinking!!!” I couldn’t see them anywhere. I checked the coffee line- none there. The manager of the bakery noted the panic in my eyes and asked how he could help. Gasping, I asked where the sticky buns were. “Oh, we don’t have any today- the batch turned out poorly and weren’t up to par. We’ll have them tomorrow morning!”

Not up to par? I think I could have been the judge of that.