I was so excited FINALLY to stop in at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe recently and sample many of the treats and dishes!
Heather gave you a thorough tour of Jolly Holiday when the bakery first opened AND introduced you to the lemon meringue bar! And you know how much I love those Mickey Ganache Tarts that I wrote about earlier. But today, we are going to talk about a couple more must-try items!
Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe
Atmosphere
As the name implies, Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe takes its theme from the classic live action Disney film, Mary Poppins. As a result, you see many decorative touches that echo the time period in which the film is set, the much-beloved Edwardian Era. Façades of the building are sprinkled liberally with gingerbread cutwork – perfect for both a bakery AND Mainstreet U.S.A.!
Inside, no detail has been left out. We absolutely adore the stained glass penguin windows, which bring in the animated elements of the film — touches that were celebrated as groundbreaking at the time the movie was made. It’s just plain neat to see the “cartoon” portions of the story highlighted in this upscale way.
Stained Glass Penguin
The grandeur and “over the top” feel that crowned the time period is evident in the decorative details, right down to the rose trim on this chandelier. I loved this touch!
Chandelier
Looking around at the lovely space lent to our excitement about the food to come (and helped with the UBER LONG line that Jolly Holiday almost always has ;-D), so let’s get right to it!
Eats
I was meeting a friend for lunch that day, which was a lucky move on my part. Not only did I enjoy some great company and conversation, but I also got to try some additional treats since there were two of us ordering. 😉 She started out with the Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Now, normally, I am a big fan when the words “flourless,” “chocolate,” and “cake” appear all together, because it means that I’m about to dive into something so so rich and decadent that I’ll need a moment to form words. This cake? Totally that.
This was so intensely flavorful that it almost tasted like there was coffee in there somewhere. (Why does that happen, food gurus, when chocolate is super dark and intense? Why does it have a coffee tinge to it? No idea.) I don’t think there was, but it was that sort of heavy, bittersweet, complex flavor that hints at chocolate’s deep character.
Now, this is a pretty big portion for that level of super rich wonderfulness, so I would recommend this one for sharing — unless you just don’t wanna, which is OK with me. (Thanks, Carrie, for sharing!)
Chocolate Cake Cross-Section
I was happy to see that the Matterhorn Macaroon from Blue Ribbon Bakery days was still available. I think this is an fantastic example of Disneyland creating unique, themed food items — something that doesn’t happen nearly enough in Disney parks! The lovely confection really does resemble its namesake, too.
Matterhorn Macaroon
The dense, sweet, chewy oversized coconut macaroon is baked to golden brown, and then its peak is dipped into white chocolate and layered with white sprinkles for a lovely, snowy effect. (BTW, you can have your Matterhorn snowed or un-snowed.)
While not as rich as the flourless chocolate cake, this large confection is very dense and moist, and leaves you feeling like you just had a Swiss Alps-sized treat. This one could easily be shared as well, especially if you’d like to try more than one pastry.
TIP: Don’t eat this on the go! Sit down and savor it, because it really is so good, and its flavors should be your focus while you’re eating it. There are plenty of comfortable seats here, so go ahead! Take a load off. 😉
Matterhorn Macaroon
Finally, I knew I had to give the Practically Perfect Punch a try. With a name like that, how could I go wrong? The flavors here are pomegranate and lime (the same stuff is available in Cars Land, I think).
This is really good, but strong-tasting. The overall impression is sugary, although there is a nice balance of sweet and sour. I almost wanted to cut it with water or club soda, though. It made me wonder if this were a little more concentrated than it was supposed to be. I think the kids will love it, though.
Practically Perfect Punch
Overall
Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe has already become an instant Disneyland Classic, with a parade of unique treats and themeing that calls to mind a film we all grew up loving. And don’t forget that it doesn’t stop at pastries. There are incredible sandwiches and soups, too! 🙂
I hope you get a chance to stop into this great counter service location soon, and if you need more recommendations, stay tuned — we have more mouth-watering pictures and descriptions coming your way!
Have you stopped by Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe yet for a spoonful of sugar…or tomato soup? What treat are you planning to get when you visit?
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The way to get that rich, dark, chocolaty flavor is to actually add a smidge of coffee or ground espresso. I usually add about a half teaspoon of ground instant espresso to my brownies as a “secret ingredient”. It really makes them rich and indulgent.
Sharing flourless chocolate cake? Does not compute. LOL
I would bet the reason intense chocolate reminds us of coffee is because they are both made from roasted beans (right?), so they both have that roasted beans flavor that may typically get overshadowed with milk and sugar in regular chocolate? Just a hypothesis.
I wrote about my experience with the Matterhorn Macaroon on my blog too – I was surprised!
Now if only I could get Disney to mail order me some of that cake and a Mickey ganache back east . . . .
Loved Jolly Holiday during my first rip to DL last spring–I can’t wait to go again!
Many recipes for deeply chocolatey desserts actually add a little coffee, often in the form of espresso powder. It helps intensify that lovely chocolate flavor even if there isn’t enough to get a mocha flavor.
What scrumptious theming and luscious treats (or is that luscious theming and scrumptious treats) the Jolly Holiday bakery does seem to have! Your photograph of the flourless chocolate cake almost looks as if someone abandoned propriety and bit into it with their teeth! I think I echo the practically perfect Mary Poppins when I say that I hope decorum was maintained inside the Jolly Holiday bakery!
The cake most likely had coffee or espresso powder in it. It is common with chocolate desserts. I can always taste it in there because I don’t like coffee so the taste stands out to me more.
Becky J — Thanks for the tip!
V — FYI, the Mickey ganache can be found at Art of Animation these days! 😉 Also, I agree completely about sharing cake, but we had SO many treats (lots more that I haven’t written about yet) that I’m pretty sure neither of us could have finished a whole one of anything. (Hoping Disneyland will figure out how to mail me a hot link corn dog soon.)
NancyB — What were some of your favorite items at Jolly Holiday last Spring?
Prof. Brainard — Ha ha! I PROMISE those are fork marks (not saying that we haven’t had teeth marks on the blog before!).
Patty — Thanks for your feedback!
My favorite treat at the Jolly Holiday is the cheesecake brownie. It has a brownie base with cheesecake on top with chocolate ribbons running through the cheesecake. I always get one and it is very hard for me to share! I tried one that looked the same at Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe and sad to say it was not the
same. It was not as good as the one at Jolly Holiday!
I had the matterhorn macaroon on my last DL trip and April and it’s FANTASTIC (and I don’t even like white chocolate)! As is the punch. But I agree, it is a bit strong and the idea for some soda water is a great one.
The punch, macaroon, and one of their egg souffles make a great breakfast!
The next time I make it to DL, my first stop will be at Jolly Holiday Bakery. Everything sounds so wonderful!!
Two wonderful looking wheat free/gluten free treats, just wishing they were available at the Main Street Bakery too. : )
That looks like my kind of cake! I just know it would taste awesome.
That looks like an amazing slice of cake! I can’t wait to try a slice for myself!
Those are the best macaroons ever!
If you add just a bit of ground coffee or a little shot of espresso to brownie, cake or cookie batter, you’ll get that rich taste. The coffee really brings out the chocolate flavor.
You know what else will do that? Just a HINT of cayenne pepper. Not too much at all or you’ll have steam blasting out of your ears (probably frowned on at Jolly Holiday) but just a lil’ pinch.
p.s. Those penguin windows are amazeballs.
Agreed. It’s likely there’s espresso in it. Coffee and chocolate are best buddies.
i was going to say, i thought it looked like teeth marks as well!!! ha ha ha!
I didn’t read all the comments but coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate. Many of the best chocolate cakes I’ve had have had actual coffee or espresso poured into the batter at some point, and every batch of brownies I make has espresso grinds mixed in!
Recently got to go to Disneyland after 30 years, and ate at the Jolly Holiday. Had the grilled cheese and tomato soup, loved it. The soup was super thick to dunk the sandwich slices in. Also had the Practically Perfect Punch, which I thought was perfect. But I can’t believe I didn’t get a dessert! I was there at night, and the dessert case seemed dark and I really didn’t even get a good look inside it! I am regretting not trying a Matterhorn Macaroon…will be a requirement on my next trip (not waiting another 30 years!)