Treat your loved one, or just spoil yourself, with any of these mouth-watering options from the cutest independent bakeries around SA.

Cakes By Emily Jane

Email to order from this too-cute bespoke bakery run by a Cape Town-based baker extraordinaire.

Visit cakesbyemilyjane.com

Just Teddy

Visit this global award-winning Parisian and Middle Eastern-inspired Pâtisserie & Boulangerie in Hyde park and Sandton in Joburg.

Visit justteddy.co.za

Buns Bakery

Nestled in the oh-so-hip Biscuit Mill in Cape town’s Woodstock, Buns Bakery has an ever-changing menu of sweet treats on offer for walk-ins and takes personal orders too.

Visit bunsbakery.co.za

The Pantry

Pantry by Joburg’s Marble Group is a hybrid model of a petrol station, supermarket, deli, take-away and retail store. The bonus is that it’s open 24/7 for all your sweet cravings.

Visit pantry.co.za

Cafe Chiffon

Cafe Chiffon offers Asian-inspired desserts in a cool, contemporary setting in Cape Town’s trendy De Waterkant.

Visit instagram.com/cafechiffon.cpt

The Frosted Cakery

Not your Aunty’s bakery, The Frosted Bakery in Joburg specialises in artisanal buttercream cakes with cloud frosting.

Visit instagram.com/thefrostedcakery

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Say hello to Breadway Bakery, where breakfasts, lunches and freshly baked goods are enjoyed amidst pastel pinks and shades of blue.

Located in the middle of Odessa, Ukraine, this whimsical café was designed by Lera Brumina and Artem Trigubchak.  Lera was tasked with the conceptual design while Artem tackled the technicalities and the realisation of the interiors. Their brief was to create a welcoming environment that made its patrons want to linger a little longer. It is a fanciful space that boasts an alluringly playful palette of brilliant colours and bold textures.

The grand 85 m² bakery features towering ceilings donning custom-made chandeliers and specially designed, built-in furniture. It is divided into three sections, each of which has its own function. The intense blue is the take-away area. A pink box in the centre of the space functions as a welcoming waiting area. The light grey area offers patrons a cosy space for washing down a crunchy-soft croissant with a steamy cappuccino.

See more projects by Lera and Artem.

(h/t) archdaily.com

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Designer Tristan du Plessis of the award-winning StudioA Signature Projects is behind the look of the newly renovated Friends Bakery in Johannesburg’s Glenhazel.

“Our brief from owners Craig Lazarus and Norman Stein was to turn a long-running family kosher bakery into a contemporary kosher food market and meeting place for the local Jewish community, as well as the broader Johannesburg community,” says Tristan.

Inspired by a trip to Tel Aviv, the design and vibe of the space, especially the finishes and fixtures, aim to be reminiscent of a modern and vibrant seaside city.

“The challenge from a design perspective was to (try) and understand the Kosher regulations, as the store sells both milk products and meat products, meaning we had to create three kitchens and two separate seating spaces and wrap it all together so it felt like one restaurant experience,” explains Tristan.

Displaying the bakery’s beautiful baked goods was, of course, of utmost importance, hence why StudioA approached this element of the design in the same way as they would a high-end retail store, featuring custom armoires with built-in lighting and multiple display levels.

“The store is a comfortable space that has grown the clientele,” says Tristan, “while still making the long-standing friends of the bakery feel right at home.”

We’ve featured a number of Tristan’s projects before, including the Rosebank News Cafe, Hell’s Kitchen in Melville, Fuel at IBM’s headquarters, Dakota Lee Tattoo Parlour in Kramerville, Arque Champagne Crescent in Sandton and Gemelli Cucina Bar in Bryanston.

To view more of StudioA’s work, visit studioa.co.za.

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Foxcroft, the second restaurant to be opened by La Colombe’s Scot Kirton, is an exciting new addition to Constantia’s list of eateries.

Headed up by chef Glen Foxcroft Williams, the restaurant and bakery prides itself on selecting locally farmed, seasonal ingredients to create a simple, sophisticated dining experience.

Designed by Bone Interior Design Studio, the space itself is equally chic. “The brief was to create a symbiotic union between bakery and restaurant,” says interior designer Hayley Turner. “The bakery needed to provide an overspill for restaurant seating and therefore the two spaces (night and day) needed to complement each other.”

Hayley worked together with Glen and Scot to make sure the union worked. “Working with such culinary visionaries was inspiring and creating the perfect setting for the food to shine was an enjoyable challenge,” she says.

The space features a combination of earthy tones and warm hues that aim to showcase the food on offer. Locally designed pieces have been used throughout the restaurant, from Dark Horse’s leather bar chairs and lighting by Emerging Creatives to joinery by Bespoke Joinery and custom-made tiles from Southern Art Ceramic Design.

Foxcroft, located at Shop 8/9, High Constantia Centre, Cape Town, is open daily for lunch from 12pm until 2pm and for dinner from 6pm until 8:30pm. You can book online at foxcroft.co.za or contact 021 202 3304 for more information.

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Stylist, cook, baker extraordinaire and free spirit, Tina Bester has conjured up an atmosphere new home and patisserie in Cape Town’s laid-back suburb of Observatory.

There are those people who plan their lives down to the minute, and those who don’t. The latter usually take the road less travelled, finding themselves in unusual places and not always sure how they got there – or why.

This road less travelled has always been Tina Bester’s preferred route through life. A prolific and talented décor stylist, Tina has worn many other hats, too, including that of graphic designer and, until a few years ago, country bumpkin – a time that saw Tina and her daughter, Alexandria (now 12), exchanging the relative glitz of Cape Town for the calm of Calitzdorp.

Fortunately for city residents, Tina is back in town and firmly committed to her newest undertaking – her charming pâtisserie and lunch stop, Queen of Tarts, in Lower Main Road in the Bohemian suburb of Observatory.

Inspired by a recent trip to Paris, Tina’s popular spot is enchanting and has foodies stopping by for her freshly baked breads, delicious cakes and chunky savoury tarts – all enjoyed in beautiful, vintage-inspired surrounds. A poster girl for multitasking, Tina can keep things creative in her shop, fit in school lifts for Alexandria, catch up on emails, cater for small gatherings and plan an occasional décor shoot – all from the same address.

The original building was also a restaurant and shop, but with a series of mismatched rooms. Tina’s renovation, mindful of the building’s historical frame, has rendered it a practical business premises that’s also perfectly suited to her busy family life.

Sturdy, purposebuilt concrete counters dominate the candy-coloured kitchen downstairs. This space is the perfect foil for her pride and joy, a pink Smeg fridge. Tina’s love of all things vintage is revealed when she opens the doors to her kitchen cupboards: Great Depression-era glass and kitsch collectables are lovingly grouped beside family keepsakes in colour-coordinated displays.

Her casual eatery with its display of authentic kitchenalia reflects her magpie tendencies, and is pulled together with all the irresistible charm of an ice-cream sundae.

Above the bakery

Upstairs, away from the clinking of glasses and the buzz of the cappuccino machine, is Tina’s and Alexandria’s private world. Traipse past the wall of family photographs and up the narrow staircase – one of the charming original features Tina has retained – and the colourful spaces downstairs fade from memory to be replaced by more subdued but just as engaging decorating schemes.

The living room, painted in a rich, Bloomsbury-inspired green, is home to Tina’s favourite possessions. These include a sofa that’s ‘been covered and recovered a thousand times’, a collection of faded paintings, picture frames waiting to be filled and an old lamp rescued from her mother’s home. ‘Some people don’t understand why I keep a ripped lampshade, but that rip’s exactly why I love it,’ she laughs.

Tina’s bedroom is mysterious; this boudoir is dressed in shades of black (Plascon’s Midnight [E26-7]), rich purples and a myriad of collected vintage fabrics and furnishings she’s held onto over the years. The insides of people’s wardrobes are telling reflections of their personalities. In Tina’s bedroom, drawer upon drawer is filled with designer shoes on skyscraper heels, revealing a penchant for fashion and the finer things.

Already following in her mother’s stylish footsteps, Alexandria’s room is a prettied-up space that reveals her teenage tendencies as well as a striking inherited talent for showing off the things that make her tick. New additions to the building include an outside deck with a view. It introduces a contemporary edge to this Victorian home and provides Tina and Alexandria with yet another nook to call their own.

What both the public and private spaces of this building reveal is the owner’s talent for tying together different looks, making them work together in a colourful patchwork. The result is a multidimensional and always entertaining affair.

• Queen of Tarts: 021 448 2420, 213 Lower Main Road, Observatory

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