HeartBaker Bakery — Restaurant in Madison

North Alabama stays winning in the realm of baked goods. There's a lot of awesome stuff around here, but the newly opened HeartBaker might just be a new favorite for me.

This small bakery is tucked away next to Big Bad Breakfsst off Highway 72. It's named such because the owner's child has a congenital heart defect and she wants to bring awareness to the condition through baking. Sweet and commendable goal.

It's definitely a come-and-go type of place; there's not much seating inside, but it is very cute and clean! There's a large shelf of fresh breads and then a display table and display cooler of amazing baked goods.

The owner identifies as Hispanic and Italian and it's reflective in her baked goods. There are some truly creative and unique goodies to be found here -- beautiful to look at, executed impeccably, and delicious to taste.

A young woman -- heck, maybe a teenager -- greeted me when I walked in. She was soft-spoken but very polite and helpful. They had sold out of a few things but still had reasonably ample displays when I arrived after lunch. A small plate with one of their breads and olive oil for dipping sat for sampling next to the register.

I selected a sweetened condensed milk mini pie, a dulce de leche turnover, and the viral chocolate chip cookie croissant. ALL were delicious.

My least favorite was the dulce de leche turnover, simply because I'd have liked a teeny bit more filling in it. The pastry itself was golden and flaky and the Dulce de leche was smooth and super sweet. Still like a 8/10 but the other two items I got...

I'd not had a chance to nab a chocolate chip cookie croissant yet. I know The Moon offers them as well but I think that's the only other spot around town that does. This first try already has my heart, though; I don't need to try elsewhere. Somehow the croissant was flaky and buttery while the cookie baked on top of it was perfectly chewy. There was more cookie goo inside that was still, well, gooey. The texture was amazing and somehow it wasn't overly sweet and the chips weren't overly chunky (which is usually a problem for me in CC cookies). Also, the croissant was ENORMOUS. My husband was glad I was willing to share. ;)

The sweetened condensed milk mini pie was unlike any treat I've had before and I loved it. Sweet, creamy, chewy, sticky...the meringue on top was an amazing marshmallow-y texture and the crust on the bottom was a crumbly delight. I loved this!

They also have coffee drinks available but I didn't buy any this time.

I cannot WAIT to return and try more delicious treats. Even though it's out of the way for me, this bakery is worth a...

Probably some of the rudest workers I have ever interacted with in a bakery. The girl serving me today was so annoyed acting by me being in her place of employment then proceeded to talk down to the other girl about what she was prepping. I got a chocolate walnut cookie and while it was good, Walmart has better. I don’t care how good the baked goods may be, I won’t be back to an establishment that treats its customers with such an unpleasant attitude about simple questions concerning the products after being told the cards were incorrect that were out in...

I wanted give a try to this bakery and I bought, choco almond croissant, mini sweetened condensed milk pie and pistachio puff pastry. The croissant was ok, It was a little hard to cut, and the filling has a strange flavor, the pistachio pastry was a little stale, not soft at all, its filling was not soft, I didn’t like it, though. The mini pie was the only one that the filling was soft because it has dulce de leche but the flavor and taste for everything is not what I was looking. I like more...