Marigold Cafe and Bakery has won multiple awards for its cakes and deserts. Since Colorado Springs is my (more-or-less) hometown, I decided to take on the task of trying every single dessert the bakery offers and rank them so you can make an educated choice on your next visit. It was a tough, grueling challenge to be sure, but someone had to do it…
The ranking is based solely on my opinion, from my least favorite to most favorite. I’ll also indicate which are the bakery’s best sellers, as this does not always correlate with my choices. Marigolds also makes a selection of baked goods that are not included on this list (bread, cookies, croissants etc). I’ve also broken up the desserts into categories, since it’s a bit hard to compare drastically different sweets.
Without further ado, let’s talk cake!
Chocolate Cakes Category:
German Chocolate: I have always disliked this cake; for its combo of heavy chocolate and coconut, but mostly for it’s terrible name (hint: this cake does not come from Germany.)
Black Forest: Very similar to the double chocolate, but this one comes with brandied cherries and topped with a layer of cream. The double chocolate is already a very rich cake, so the boozy cherries and cream makes a single slice decadent.
Triple Chocolate: A Chocolate cake with milk chocolate and white chocolate mousse. The favorite pick of chocoholic customers. Best Seller.
Double Chocolate: Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse. Less sweet than the triple chocolate, but very rich. Best to split a piece, or enjoy with a big glass of milk/coffee/tea. Best Seller.
And the winner…
Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake: All the goodness of a double chocolate cake, but the added bonus of raspberry mousse on top. The raspberry mousse is very tasty and very helps balance out the sweetness of the chocolate cake. Because of the added raspberry mouse, this cake is less rich than the double and triple chocolate mouse cake, and therefore is my choice for best chocolate cake.
Cheese Cakes Category:
Brownie Cheesecake: While all the cheese cakes are advertised as “New York” style, this one is closest to the creamy, thick New York texture. With the big chunks of brownie lodged into the dense cheese cake and covered with chocolate ganache, it’s just a bit too rich for my taste.
Raspberry Cheesecake: “New York” style cheese cake topped with raspberry… stuff… Lighter than the Brownie cheese cake.
The winner…
Citrus Cheesecake: Although label ‘citrus’, this cheesecake is closet to a tradition cheese cake… While also labeled “New York” style, it is more light and fluffy, closer to a European style of cheesecake.
Non-Chocolate Cakes Category
Coffee Cake: The bakery only makes one of these cakes a day, and it’s because it’s nothing too special. While a decent coffee cake, it doesn’t really compare to the other sweeter desert cakes.
Frasier: Marigolds take on a strawberry shortcake, but with extra Bavarian cream. Although it’s their ‘signature’ cake, I find it to be way too sweet. The strawberries get kind of soggy in the cream, and even though it’s made fresh daily I don’t care for that squishy-slimy strawberry texture.
Carrot Cake: The carrot cake is a great choice for people who don’t care for traditional cake. The cream cheese frosting is excellent, but the amount of walnuts in the cake keeps it lower on the list for me. Best Seller
Hazelnut Tort: A close runner up, this cake is one of the lightest in the bakery. The hazelnut cream is delicious; the white cake is nice and light and not overly sweet. Only bummer is the chocolate ganache on the outside…
The winner is…
Coconut La Raz: The first time I saw this cake I assumed I wouldn’t like it. I was mistaken. The cake of layers of white cake, raspberry and lemon cream, are topped off with whipped cream and toasted coconut make for a great flavor combination. This is the cake I most often order.
Tart Category:
Apple Tart: A light, apple tart that is naturally sweet. Like the coffee cake, it’s a great tart by its self, but it just doesn’t stand out among the other tarts.
Pecan Tart: Basically, a mini pecan pie.
Lemon Tart: A tart, lemon cream tart that is nice and tart. A tart tart. Yum.
Fresh Fruit Tart: The prettiest item in the display cake. The variety of the fruit on the tart adds to the almond butter crust and cream to make a great combo that comes in a close second. Best Seller
The winner is…
Lime Tart: This sweet and sour tart, made of lime cream and topped with meringue is my all-time favorite. Every bite is the perfect combo of almond butter crust, lime cream, and toasted meringue.
Miscellaneous Category:
Napoleon: Fondant plus puff pastries… no thanks. This combo has been off putting to me, but it has a pretty design.
Brownie: The brownies are pretty average compared to everything else. They are covered in choco,late fondant on top, which make them extra rich.
Tiramisu: Extra rummy, very rich. A few bites go a long way.
Crème brûlée: Who doesn’t enjoy a good crème brûlée? They put the custard in a flat dish, so you get the perfect torched sugar to custard ratio.
The winner…
Éclair: The best way to enjoy the great Bavarian cream made at this bakery is in the éclair. The pastry and chocolate perfectly complement the cream, and made for a great treat that’s not too rich.
There you have it, my list of Marigold deserts. Again, this is my biased opinion. Some are better than others, but the bakery has some of the best items in town. So, like I tell any customer that comes in, you can’t make a bad choice! Enjoy life and eat some cake.
More information on Marigold Café and Bakery
Address: 4605 Centennial Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80919
Phone: (+1) 719 599-4776
Hours:
Café: Mon-Sat, 11:00am-2:30pm, 5:00pm-9:00pm
Bakery: Mon-Sat, 8:00am-9:00pm
Marigold official website
Marigold FB Page
Marigold on Trip Advisor
Marigold on Yelp