Laskiais bunraat tasted 11 buns from the cafes.
This year too, alongside the familiar jam and almond buns, there are different laskias bun versions, such as pistachio, hazelnut or Biscoff.
Grocery stores have a large selection of laskias buns, but so do cafes.
We decided to test a selection of different buns from the laskias bun offer of Helsinki cafes. Pastries from Fazer, Ekberg, St. George, Levain, Juure and Bakerika were selected for the test.
The tester evaluates both appearance and taste. Kaisa Vehkalahti
Bakerika’s Biscoff flatbread is not bought from the bakery, but from Prisma, which sells it exclusively. A bun bought at a bakery has a different appearance. However, there was no opportunity to get a bakery bun for the test.
The test also includes Fazer Cafe’s Geisha bun, suspected to be the most expensive laskias bun in Finland. Its price is 7.10 euros.
Kämpi’s chef de cuisine evaluates the buns in the test panel Clarence Lozanatraining center Salpaus food industry lecturer Katariina Ilonen and St. George’s pastry chef and baker Rosa Tuomi.
The buns were tasted as a blind tasting, so the testers did not know the makers of the buns. Nevertheless, Tuomi’s points have not been taken into account in the evaluation of St. George’s bottles.
Grades were given in school grades from four to ten.
Clarence Lozana and Roosa Tuomi focus on tasting. Kaisa Vehkalahti
Jam buns
1. Levain
Price: €6
Grade: 9
Comments:
– A modern-looking flatbread. Funny tricorn hat. It’s nice that there is a lot of cream. Really good jam, it tastes strong and fresh raspberry. The cream is very good and the bun is soft.
– The bun is nice looking and well finished. Tasty raspberry jam. Uniform quality and a good whole.
– The appearance is interesting and a bit different. There is plenty of cream, and the powder on top of the bun promises a berry filling. Great jam, tastes like raspberry. The cream is good, and the bun tastes like cardamom. The structures of the bun are fine. The thin cover has dried out a little. The appearance inspired us to taste, and the bun did not disappoint.
2. St. George
Price: €6.60
Grade: 8 ½
Comments:
– The hat is quite jaggedly cut, and the bun looks a bit dry. There is plenty of raspberry jam and it tastes good. Dense bun, but not dry. A good whole
– Attractive looking, and there is plenty of cream. It looks like a handmade bun from a bakery. The bun is compact and looks a little dry. The bun tastes like cardamom, the jam is tasty and fresh. I liked it. The cream has a high-quality taste. The bun is not dry. A great ensemble.
3. Fazer Cafe Geisha
Price: €7.10
Grade: 8+
Comments:
– Showy and good color. The chocolate praline and the hazelnut melt nicely. The cream could have had a little more flavor.
– The appearance of the bun is beautiful and tall. The pink cream is a cheerful color. There are three layers of filling, which is really good. The crunchy praline filling is really delicious.
– Hazelnut and chocolate are good flavors together. However, they would need some fresh cream to accompany them, even a little acid. The bun is really good.
– Beautiful and attractive extrusion. There are plenty of fillings. Especially the fact that the fillings are visible is a plus. It looks luxurious and high-quality. The hazelnut in the filling tastes good, and the bun has a good taste. The cream just tastes like cream, I would have expected it to have something like raspberry in it.
– The cream is soft, and the fillings have texture. All in all, a stylish ensemble. Points were reduced by the lack of cream taste.
4. Ekberg
Price: €4.90
Grade: 8
Comments:
– The appearance of a classic laskiäis bun. Beautiful. Tasty cream. The jam has flavor, and it tastes of high quality. Cardamom tastes nice in a high-quality bun. The structure of the bun is good. It is dense, not fluffy. This is a laskias bun.
– Tasty jam. The bun is a bit tough, so it was difficult to cut it into a test piece.
– The cream is a little loose and the bun dense. The cream tastes really good. The jam also has flavor and freshness, it’s good.
5. Leipomo Juuri (two buns in a package)
Price: €5.49 (2 pcs)
Grade: 7
Comments:
– The cream is loose, so its pattern has disappeared. However, the cream is suitable. There is plenty of jam. Lubrication of the bun is a little lacking, and the color is dull. The strawberry jam tastes industrial, and the cream has the taste of yesterday. The bun is hard and dry. Overall weak.
– The bun doesn’t look finished. The bun is dry, and there is little jam. The cream is loose and slightly watery.
– The bun is perhaps a little over-inflated, because it is dry and a little hard. The jam is not homemade. The cream is special, a little crusty. Was it done the day before?
Almond buns
1. Levain
Price: €6
Grade: 10
Comments:
– Interesting and different appearance. There is plenty of cream. Almond chips are nicely sprinkled on top of the cream. The cream is good, not too sweet. Some good additional flavor in the almond filling. Nicely different. The bun is good, and it tastes like cardamom.
– The bun is soft, and the texture of the almond filling is good. There is texture to it. Overall great. I would eat again.
– Showy, nice abundance of cream. A different, good bun. I liked it.
– A good amount of almond chips, the lid is a little dry. The bottle has a good composition. Cream is good. Almond paste is really delicious and nice different.
2. St. George
Price: €6.60
Grade: 9+
Comments:
– The bun is too high, and the hat is badly cut. There is a fair amount of almond on top. It’s good that the fillings appear plentiful. A good-tasting, dense bun with plenty of cream and almond mass.
– Quality looking. There is plenty of cream, and the almond filling is visible, which means there is a lot of it too, so that bodes well. The cream tastes good. Likewise the almond filling. The bun is a bit dense. A stylish luxury bun.
3. Bakerika (bought from Prisma)
Price: €3.49
Grade: 8½
Comments:
– A big bun. The cream is not visible, there is a nice cookie decoration on top of the bun. Interesting as an idea. Cream is good. There should be more paste. The bun is a bit dry.
– It’s nice that you can immediately see what flavor it is from the bottle. The cream is good, it could be more. The filling is good. A rather dry bun, but a very good whole.
– Cream is good. There should be more paste. The bun was a bit dry. Average.
4. Ekberg
Price: €4.90
Grade: 8-
Comments:
– A beautiful bun and cut with an edge. It’s nice that the cream shows up so well. The bun is tight, maybe not risen enough. Almond paste does not taste homemade. The cream is really good, not too sweet.
– Classic-looking, knife-cut bun. Look the part. The cream is too loose, and the bun is a bit dry.
– The appearance of a classic laskiäis bun. Attractive and beautiful. There is plenty of cream. The almond filling tastes like almonds and the cream like cream. A good-tasting basic veal bun.
5. Leipomo Juuri (two buns in a package)
Price: €5.49 (2 pcs)
Grade: 7½
Comments:
– Cream is loose electricity. The almond meal in the hat is a nice addition, and there’s a lot of it. There is also plenty of almond pulp. The lid is thin and the base is thick. The bun looks like it was made by hand.
– The taste of the cream is ok, but it has a small, weird aftertaste. The almond paste tastes good, although its texture is hard and grainy, maybe because of the sugar. The taste of the bun is good.
– Tight almond paste and a slightly dry bun.
– The almond meal on top of the bun is nice. The bun looks a bit dry. Almond paste is hard, which is not a good thing. Of course it’s a matter of taste.
6. Fazer bakeries pistachio (two buns in a package)
Price: €6.98 (2 pcs)
Grade: 6½
Comments:
– Beautiful appearance. The color of the cream gives an indication of the pistachio flavor. Pistachio flakes look attractive. The pistachio flavor is challenging to find. The taste of the filling is interesting, I’m not sure if I like it. The whole thing is a threat.
– The pistachio bun tastes more like an almond bun. The bun doesn’t taste like cardamom at all. The strong taste of salt in the filling is not good.
– The appearance of the bun is really cool. The pistachio crumb in a strange color doesn’t look real. Too salty and sweet. The paste tastes like almond, not pistachio. Crumble is not pistachio. You feel cheated when the bun doesn’t taste like pistachios.