Candle Cafe in Your Dessert Case

On my last trip to Whole Foods I noticed something special in the refrigerated section of the bakery. Normally I'll spot a couple Chicago Diner treats or Vegan pumpkin pie, but this time I found Candle Cafe Cheesecake and Tarts! The three flavors of the tarts were Raspberry Linzer, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Mousse. The lone Cheesecake flavor was Vanilla. As someone who has been to Candle 79 I can tell you that they are one of the best Vegan restaurants in the country. So to have them do some prepackaged stuff is exciting to me. Now let's talk a little bit about the goodies!

The Raspberry Linzer Tart had a nice tangy zing without being, too, uh, tart. The rich buttery crust was a plus. And one thing that applies to all of the tarts is that they are very rich. Being rich isn't a problem but you will underestimate the small size and assume you can down one and still be hungry. Not that I know anything about that...

The Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart is just what a PB lover like me wants. Smooth peanut flavored cream cheese with a hint of chocolate topped off with some peanuts.

Holy crap! My favorite of the four is this vanilla cheesecake. The vanilla taste is strong with an explosion of vanilla bean. Slightly smaller than then the tarts but oh so worth it!

And last but not least is the Chocolate Mousse Tart! Creamy and chocolaty goodness in such a small package. Thank you Candle for branching out to the poor souls that have not been to your restaurants. Now, can you package that cannolli?