It Takes a Village

Sweets

The world of sweets and pastries at the new Whole Foods Market is fraught with danger on several levels. The most steely-eyed, determined dieter will have his or her willpower tested against inhumane levels of temptation. Sensitive souls will suffer a sugar contact buzz of unprecedented proportions. Frugal shoppers' budgets are likely to see deficits of D.C. standards as they succumb to the seduction of the selections. For anyone with even the most minutely sized sweet tooth, this place offers the full range of fulfillment from candy to baked goods to pastries and beyond.

My 12-year-old and I surveyed the landscape and sampled a few of the treats (a full tour of the offerings is a long-term endeavor) with eyes wide and saliva running. The pastry case caught my eye first. Glistening fruit tarts with artfully arranged berries beckoned, along with delicately and ornately decorated cakes. My favorite finds, though, are the selections of mini pastries, sized about that of a mini muffin. These are easily rationalized treats: two bites, maybe three, of lemon meringue pie or vanilla butter cupcake with buttercream or bittersweet chocolate cake enrobed with ganache and gold dust or a tart filled with chocolate mousse, for example. These dainty desserts are priced by the pound, averaging to a little over a dollar for each morsel. See? Two bites and a buck or more: easily rationalized in the mouth, on the hips, and in the wallet.

While these artistic treats were appreciated by my daughter, she felt most keenly the lure of Candy Island. If she has to be stranded on an island, make it this dessert island rather than the clichéd desert one. Encrusted by a giddy and colorful mosaic, the island's outer rims are cases of candies, from bon bons to truffles to caramels to glistening lollipops, most of which are made in-house. The crown and heartbeat of the operation is the chocolate "enrobing" fountain, an undulating sculpture of dark chocolate, constantly in motion and at the ready for a dunk from pretzels, dried fruit, madeleines, etc., etc. S'mores take on a new lusciousness, composed of homemade marshmallows, organic graham crackers, and the melted chocolate from the fountain. Unable to resist, we sampled dipped pretzels and madeleines. The yin/yang of salty sweet pretzels was perfectly realized, and the tiny, spongy cakes made an utterly satisfying dessert thanks to the liberal dunk in the fountain.

The freezer case offers a clever solution to time-pressed cooks: baked cake layers and tubs of buttercream to take home and assemble. Cakes come in chocolate or yellow butter varieties, and the buttercream's current offerings are springlike pastel shades of white, blue, and pink, all colored with natural ingredients (natch) that are so much more appealing and delicious than the screaming neon shades and shortening-based frostings of typical supermarket cakes.