Jump to content

The Happy Tart: Gluten Free Patisserie in Del Ray


KMango

Recommended Posts

The Happy Tart is open and has a case full of gorgeous tarts, pastries, cupcakes, and even bread. We tried the raisin / pecan baguette - quite good - and took home a regular baguette. It's not the same texture as a wheat baguette, but is a very nice bread that we liked even better toasted a bit. Mr. lperry ate his first pastry in over a year and is a very happy man. It was an apple danish, I think, and I didn't get a taste because he ate the whole thing making happy pastry noises the whole time. We really hope she succeeds!

On one of our Famous Friday WalkaboutsTM, we meandered over to and all through Del Ray last night.

We wound up in front of The Happy Tart, beckoned by the cheerful lighting on the small storefront. The store was not open for business. But two people were inside, conducting final preparations for today's Grand Opening event featuring the mayor, ribbon cutting, etc. One of them saw us bundled up outside, came to the door, and insisted we step in to try their latest creation. We tasted the raspberry with almond mini-tart and just about fell on the floor with admiration. Nevermind that this is gluten free---no one would notice. They would be too busy enjoying the skilfully prepared masterpiece made from top-notch ingredients and exceptional flavor results. Coupled with the enthusiatic, warm welcome of the owner, I echo lperry's wishes for long-term success and will be trying more creations soon.

Website is out here, including the menu.

Celiacs, rejoice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We finally got to The Happy Tart today. The larder was a bit bare because of the crowds that attended the grand opening yesterday, but we left with two lemon mango squares, two tiny lime tarts, an apple turnover that was still warm, and a large baguette. The turnover was awesome with coffee when we got home. The crust is lovely, light and flaky, like a nice pie crust. It's the sort of pastry I thought I'd never taste again after going gluten free. I can't wait to try the rest of our loot tonight with and after dinner!

The Happy Tart is a welcome addition to Northern Virginia, and I wish them years of success.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Happy Tart is still producing fantastic products. Since opening, they have had such demand that another oven has been purchased, and the bread prices have dropped while the loaves got larger in size. Mr. lperry went by a couple of days ago and reported crowds at lunch during a weekday. He picked up a raisin-pecan baguette, and I believe it has better texture than the first one we tried several weeks ago, so I think they are definitely getting into their groove. He also admitted to having a danish (or two), the one type of pastry that I don't care for, so I never learned how to make it with wheat flour, much less GF. It feels like an incredible luxury to have this bakery so close by.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happy Tart pie crust is very good. We had preordered apple and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, faultless. Wish we had preordered brioche, it looked amazing. But alas, it's a small store and everything was spoken for, but for a few things in the display case.

I was able to snag the last slice of quiche, which I fell upon like a hungry wolf.

Haven't had pie or quiche for a long time. This place is wonderful.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello fellow DonRockwellers! The Happy Tart is going strong in Del Ray, we celebrated our two year anniversary in January!

Here is a sneak peak of what we having coming up for Spring and the Easter Holiday:

Starting this weekend, and through April we will have Hot Cross Buns, Easter Cupcakes and Easter Sugar Cookies.

post-488-0-00956500-1395349007_thumb.jpg

We will also be doing special cakes for Easter,  a Chocolate Sacher Torte Lamb Cake, and a Coconut Lemon Easter Bonnet!

Ordering will open April 4, check back for more details and let me know if I can answer questions about what we do!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello fellow DonRockwellers! The Happy Tart is going strong in Del Ray, we celebrated our two year anniversary in January!

Here is a sneak peak of what we having coming up for Spring and the Easter Holiday:

Starting this weekend, and through April we will have Hot Cross Buns, Easter Cupcakes and Easter Sugar Cookies.

We will also be doing special cakes for Easter,  a Chocolate Sacher Torte Lamb Cake, and a Coconut Lemon Easter Bonnet!

Ordering will open April 4, check back for more details and let me know if I can answer questions about what we do!

I stopped into The Happy Tart last week for the first time. What a delightful bakery, and what a great location - just a few steps removed from the action, but still so full of life - this bakery screams "Del Ray" and is a wonderful addition to an already-wonderful neighborhood.

None other than Rachel Horoschak herself (our own clayrae) sold me my Apple Turnover ($3.00). Walking out, I regretted not trying more things to sample, but I was in a hurry and wasn't thinking long-term.

By the time I actually enjoyed the turnover, it was the following morning with my coffee, so it was a day-old pastry. Yet, I still enjoyed it very much, and perhaps most importantly - I don't think I would have had any idea this was gluten-free. This was three dollars very well-spent, and I'm looking forward to returning to The Happy Tart for a broader sampling of their wares.

Rachel, what type of grain do you use to mimic wheat flour so effectively? And, do your pastries freeze well?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for stopping by Don!

Emma Cech our owner and head baker found out she was Celiac while in pastry school at L'Academie de Cuisine. She had to alter her plans of opening a French Patisserie and spent two years tweaking and testing the recipies to be gluten free. We custom blend flours depending on which product we are making, and the blend may include some or all of the following: Millet, Sorghum, Brown Rice, Sweet Rice, Teff, Potato Starch and Tapioca Starch.

And yes, most of our products freeze very well (including the apple turnovers) so you can stock up :)

Our Easter menu is up and open for online ordering...I bet you haven't had a cake shaped like a lamb in a while...

Lamb-Cake.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...