A new year has brought a number of new items, as well as a pair of returning favorites, to Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe in Disneyland. But do they satisfy our sweet tooth? Read on and find out!
Chocolate-Strawberry Macaron – $6.99
Chocolate Macaron with Dark Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry Compote Filling
The macaron is decorated with a drizzle of chocolate and an edible flower decoration.
This is heavy on the chocolate and light on the strawberry. There’s a disc of strawberry compote in the center which, when we break open the macaron, slides out of the center and can be eaten on its own. The menu says it’s a compote, but it’s really more like a jelly.
The texture on that strawberry disc is odd, but the flavor is good. And when eaten along with the chocolate, the strawberry is almost completely lost, buried under the decadent chocolate flavor. So one has to choose: bright, fruity strawberry flavor but a weird texture, or chocolate on chocolate on chocolate, with a very subtle hint of strawberry underneath.
Overall, it was a fine macaron, but not the best one served here at Jolly Holiday.
Strawberry-Stuffed Croissant – $4.99
Strawberries, Pastry Cream, Strawberry Coulis and Powdered Sugar
This was absolutely fantastic! So often in Disneyland foods, fruit is either canned or preserved or straight up artificially flavored. But having a handful of real strawberries combined in a bright, refreshing strawberry coulis is a very welcome alternative.
The strawberries are sweet and fresh, bringing a bright pop of fruit flavor to the denser, baked flavor of the croissant and the heavy yet sweet cream beneath.
This is one of the better pastries available on property, and far and away our new favorite treat at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe.
Chocolate-Caramel Shortbread Tart – $6.49
Caramel and Chocolate Ganache in a Shortbread Tart with Red-colored White Chocolate Mousse, Sea Salt and Chocolate Pearls
This is very similar in flavor and texture to the bourbon chocolate-flavored tart from the Visions of Sugarplums booth at last year’s Festival of Holidays in Disney California Adventure. The main difference is that the chocolate in this tart is rigid, where that chocolate was smooth and silky. But the caramel and the shortbread work in the same way and it’s a nice revival of the flavors and textures that worked so well in the previous tart.
The shortbread is dense and crumbly. Meanwhile, the chocolate and caramel meld together in a sweet, melty and rich filling that is complimented by the white chocolate mousse, which brings an additional creamy element to offset the shortbread.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed this tart and while it might not be our very favorite thing on the menu here, it’s a close second.
Chocolate Mousse Brownie – $5.99
Chocolate Chip Brownie, Dark Chocolate Ganache, White Chocolate Mousse, crunchy Chocolate Pearls and White Chocolate Decoration
The brownie previously appeared here in January 2022, The decoration on top is themed to the stained-glass windows on the outside of Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, which feature the penguin waiters from “Mary Poppins.”
This chocolate brownie, while adorable, is just kind of run-of-the-mill. It’s a chocolate brownie to be sure, dense and rich and chocolatey. But nothing really wows us about this. It just seems like the same kind of chocolate brownie you might get at your local grocery store.
The mousse on top is good, but doesn’t really meld with the brownie and so it just becomes two bites of adequate treats. It’s nothing to write home about, but it does the job.
Mickey Mouse-Shaped Blueberry Scone – $5.49
This is a thick, dense scone that is absolutely full of blueberries.
It’s more moist and chewy than one might expect from a scone, but it’s not unpleasant. This might pair well with a cup of tea on a cloudy day.
It’s less sweet than a lot of the other treats here, but that’s not unwelcome. It’s the perfect amount of sugar for the scone that it is.
This is definitely a treat that is easy to eat two or three of in a sitting without feeling overpowered.
Specialty Tea – $5.29
Sweetened Iced Tea with Vanilla Whipped Cream
This one was weird. It’s a glass of sweet tea with cream mixed in. It’s somewhat whipped, much like the taro cream in the Nitro Cold Brew Black Caf at Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, where it’s light and doesn’t mix in to the drink straight away but sits a while and takes its time to sink in.
But sweet tea isn’t something we usually want cream in, whipped or otherwise. Hot tea can handle some milk, but iced tea doesn’t usually get the same treatment. Sweet tea is more of an iced, “sitting on the porch on a hot day” kind of drink, in which you don’t necessarily want cream. Adding it in here feels strange and off-putting, in addition to just not bringing much benefit in terms of flavor.
We could handle defying convention if it was for a purpose, something that benefitted the drink, but this just goes to reinforce why we never put cream in iced tea to begin with.
Beef Birria Toasted Cheese – $14.49
with Pepper Jack Cheese, Onion, Cilantro and Salsa Verde on Sourdough, served with Consommé
This sandwich is back again at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, having previously debuted in April 2022. This is a delicious and hearty grilled cheese sandwich. It has lots of shredded beef, making it very filling.
There is a slight kick from the spices and Pepper Jack cheese.
The sourdough bread is perfectly toasted.
It is served with consommé soup on the side, which is perfect for dipping.
If you liked the beef quesabirria taco from Disney California Adventure, then you’ll like this sandwich.
Which item looks good to you? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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