CakeSpy Undercover: Corina Bakery, Tacoma WA
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 
CakeSpy Note: This is a guest post from Cake Gumshoe Roxanne. View more of her work at roxannecooke.com!
Corina Bakery, located between Tacoma’s Theater and Stadium districts, offers a wide assortment of baked goods for a variety of dietary restrictions. The bakery recently celebrated its 4-year anniversary. Happy birthday, Corina!
Among Corina’s many goodies: cakes, cheesecakes, pies, cookies and bars, scones, muffins, and savory goods such as quiche. There are also options for vegan, gluten free, soy free, or low sugar diets. You’ll see most of the goodies in the main display case when you walk in, but don’t forget to look around the corner for the refrigerated display, with puddings, cheesecake, quiche, and more.
Corina recently moved to a larger space. The shop’s old location was nice and cozy, but lacked seating space. Now there are plenty of places to sit, with lots of beautiful natural light shining in through big windows. Plus, the bakers get a much bigger kitchen!
Because there are so many different sweet treats at Corina, I’ve sampled something new during each visit and selected my favorites to review.
Valhalla brownie: Corina serves organic, fair-trade coffee from Tacoma-based Valhalla Coffee Co., and one of their most delicious desserts makes fantastic use of it! The brownie is rich, flavorful, and moist, with just a faint taste of rich coffee flavor. Decadent, for sure, so I couldn’t finish it in one sitting (that’s okay—more for later!).
In addition to Valhalla Coffee, Corina serves tea from Mad Hat, an organic, fair-trade tea purveyor in Tacoma. My go-to is the black lavender tea, pictured above with the Valhalla brownie, but there are many others, including decaf and herbal varieties.
Lavender honey cake (pictured top): This is just one of several different types of specialty cakes Corina offers. So far, it’s my favorite. Dried lavender is baked into a vanilla cake, topped with lemon-honey buttercream, and sprinkled with more dried lavender. I couldn’t stop eating this (gigantic) slice, with just the right amount of sweetness.
Pumpkin loaf (vegan): The pumpkin loaf apparently goes really well with coffee, but since I’m not a coffee drinker, I didn’t try it. I did, however, eat the entire mini loaf in one sitting. The pumpkin seeds on top provide a contrasty crunch to the soft, moist bread. All in all, it’s a good, flavorful choice if you’re not in the mood for something as sweet as cake or a brownie.
Peanut butter cookies (gluten free, vegan): I used to avoid peanut butter cookies. They’re always so dry and crunchy! But not these peanut butter cookies. They’re soft, and yummy, and pair perfectly with a glass of milk. They’re quickly becoming my favorite Corina item.
This is really only a tiny sampling of what Corina has to offer. For prices, bakery hours, and a detailed menu, check out Corina’s website. Or, even better, stop by for a cookie and a cup of tea before catching an indie flick at the Grand Cinema next door!
Corina Bakery, 602 Fawcett Avenue, Tacoma, 253-627-5070; online here.
bakeries, cakespy undercover, tacoma, washington
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