All photos taken by Sophia Naylor, besides the photo of the cookie Biscoff cake, credited to Paris Baguette, and the photo of apple cider, credited to allrecipes.com
With fall being a season so profoundly rooted in its cozy, autumnal aesthetics, going to a cafe is the perfect way to embrace it. From warm drinks and seasonal pastries to a warm ambiance, the Champaign-Urbana area offers an extensive selection of places to celebrate the season with a treat. I visited three local cafes: Paris Baguette, Art Mart and Espresso Royale to explore their seasonal menu items and provide an overall review along with a rating for each item.
Paris Baguette
220 N Broadway Ave, Urbana
Firstly, from Paris Baguette, there is the maple pecan pastry, with a crispy, smoky exterior, a layer of maple pecans, and a gooey pecan pie filling. The outer layer texturally reminded me of a palmier cookie, with notes of maple and smokiness that made this pastry lean towards a strong breakfast territory, as if you were eating a plate of waffles. As someone who loves pecans, the pecan pie filling is truly the star of the show, with a perfect sweetness that balances the drier, crispy outer layer.
I rate this pastry a 6/10. While the concept of a pastry that is definitive of a fall homestyle breakfast is ambitious and unique, the outer layer was not to my personal taste.
For the fall season, Paris Baguette is offering a Biscoff cookie butter-themed line featuring cronuts, donuts and cake. I ended up ordering their Biscoff cookie-butter cake, and if Paris Baguette has mastered anything consistently, it is definitely their cake. The cake consisted of very fluffy, moist vanilla sponge layers, wedged between a cookie butter frosting, garnished with a layer of cookie butter, a Biscoff cookie and a small chocolate emblem. I think what makes any cake truly good is how it balances the sweetness between the frosting and the cake, and for
Paris Baguette’s cake slice, it all works together very harmoniously. The cookie butter itself has a flavor profile that reminded me of a graham cracker with a slight gingerbread flavor. At the same time, however, the cake does not feel too close to a stereotypical holiday dessert.
My rating for the cake slice is an 8.5/10. The cake itself was really delicious, but in the context of a fall product line, I wish it had embraced spicier flavors and incorporated a stronger cinnamon presence in the frosting to pair well with the subtle cinnamon notes in the Biscoff products.
From their seasonal fall drinks, I ordered an iced pumpkin pie latte, alongside a quintessential fall classic from their standard menu, an iced chai latte. Pumpkin-flavored things are usually a hit or miss for most people, but in the case of this latte, the pumpkin flavor tasted almost absent. That is not to say that it did not taste good, but ultimately, if blindfolded, I do not think I would be able to differentiate it from a regular iced latte. On the other hand, their iced chai latte, a regular menu favorite of mine year-round, is a simple yet effective drink that captures the essence of fall. It has a perfect balance between its chai and milk ratio, with a really nice frothy top and the taste of the chai’s spices lingering in every sip. If you are someone who enjoys chai lattes during the fall, Paris Baguette is the place to be.
I rate the iced pumpkin pie latte a 5/10 and the iced chai latte a 9/10. For the pumpkin pie latte, its lower rating is not necessarily due to its taste but rather that its autumnal flavors fall flat. Although the iced chai latte is a simple item that is not on their seasonal menu, my high rating is contributed to by its classic status as a fall drink, and more importantly, that taste-wise it holds that status remarkably well. In terms of improvement, I would love it if Paris Baguette added chai to its seasonal menu in the future, alongside another fall flavor like pumpkin or cookie butter.
Art Mart
1705 S Prospect Ave, Champaign
The first pastry that I tried from Art Mart was their cranberry-orange scone, as shown in the photo on the right. Initially, I had high hopes for this menu item, as the pairing of cranberry and orange is very underrated for fall desserts; however, the scone left me fairly underwhelmed. Texturally, I found it on the dry side, and while cranberry and orange are typically known for their brighter flavors from their citrusy, tart profiles, they barely came through, leaving the scone with little flavor beyond the iced glaze on top.
I rate this pastry a 4/10. While I love the idea of having a cranberry-orange pastry, the concept outweighs its actual execution. However, I think the criticisms I have with this pastry can be easily fixed, and it has a lot of potential to be great, since the base of the pastry, in terms of general sweetness and the dough’s flavor, was done very well.
The next thing that I tried from Art Mart was their pumpkin cream cheese danish. The danish consisted of a pillowy dough stuffed with a cream cheese and pumpkin filling sprinkled with a brown sugar topping. The danish being on the sweeter side, combined with the dough’s thickness, made this a very filling pastry that could not be eaten in one sitting. Oddly enough, something about the dough’s consistency and the spiced elements of the pumpkin filling reminded me of the Pillsbury Mini Cinnis, pull-apart cinnamon rolls.
My rating for this pastry is a 6/10. Usually, a cream cheese pastry like this would be in my wheelhouse, but I felt as though the emphasis on sweetness rather than other elements, like the sourness of the cream cheese or the cinnamon flavor from the pumpkin, was ultimately greater, and at times, overpowering.
On their seasonal menu, they offer steamed apple cider, and among the Art Mart items I ordered, this was by far my favorite. On a cold day, this is the perfect item to warm you up. Additionally, after they steam the drink, they top it with cinnamon, elevating the flavor compared to what you might get with a typical store-bought cider.
I rate their apple cider a 9/10. While it is simple, apple cider is not an item I typically see on seasonal menus, and it serves as a really nice non-caffeinated option for the fall.
Espresso Royale
2401 Village Green Pl, Champaign
At Espresso Royale, the first thing I tried was their pumpkin gooey butter bar, and out of all the pastries covered in this article, it was my favorite. The bar consisted of a soft, cookie-like base with a layer of pumpkin puree on top. For me, this felt like a more exciting spin on the standard pumpkin pie, with the base of the dessert being equally as delicious as the top half of the bar.
My rating for their pumpkin gooey butter bar is an 8.5/10. This menu item, or even similar non-seasonal variations of it, is definitely something I can see myself getting in the future. While I personally did not find the sweetness to be too overpowering in this item, it does lean towards the sweeter side of the pastries I tried. If that does not pose an issue for one’s personal taste, it is a pastry I highly recommend trying.
I ended up ordering another iced chai latte to see how it would fare up against the one from Paris Baguette, and while I did not enjoy it as much, it was still terrific. Notably, the Espresso Royale iced chai latte has a very milky and creamy taste, which I assume might be due to a higher milk ratio than, for instance, Paris Baguette’s chai latte. Another unique thing about this chai latte is that many of the chai flavors really come through in the aftertaste.
My rating for this iced chai latte is a 7/10. Out of personal preference, I typically want a chai latte to be less milk-based; however, it was still a delicious drink that nailed its sweetness balance and that I would order again.
If there is anything to take out of this, visiting and supporting your local cafes and businesses is a really enjoyable and delicious way to celebrate fall, especially in the Champaign-Urbana area, where there are countless spots with diverse selections and an incredible fall ambiance. With fall aesthetics already resonating with many people, grabbing a seasonal treat only adds to the magic that is fall.
