It’s all the fault of a cube. «A great business for those who make molds», claims a pastry master like Iginio Massari. However, based on his experience, he has many theories – such as “cassata is too sweet, you can’t eat it abroad” – and perhaps this is also why he is unable to stem the trends. Because pastry making is changing all over the world, the news today starts on social media – like TikTok – and spreads, triggering the race to see who can get there first.
Brief summary of the last few years: geometry takes over the art of pastry making, traditional shapes (a rectangular mille-feuille, a round cream puff, two banal examples) are joined by the let’s make it weird: cube, cylinder, sphere or pyramid. The dimensions first reduce in the name of the single portion, now struggling with the quantity of exaggerated brioches. The croissants themselves lose the right to be called such, because they are frustrated during the leavening phase – and thus the flats are born – or they are transformed into the good old Girella, giving life to the New York Roll.
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The Turin pastry shop, which has always been at the forefront and admired throughout the world, adapts, becomes modern, is seduced by the 10-15 seconds of a reel on Instagram. With one advantage: it stimulates a challenge between the classic and the modern and never before has it given concreteness to one of the most abused theories in the world of food: “Innovation and tradition”. Il Gusto – the hub dedicated to the world of food of the Gedi group – follows the evolution of the pastry world on a daily basis and weekly with a column – On the tip of the tongue – which stops in Italian cities. From this point of view, Turin is pure effervescence. Because the Italian version of the cube (the Crubik della Farmacia del Cambio) was born here, that is, the shape studied by a Swedish pastry chef, Bedros Kabranian, and discovered and reworked by Matteo Baronetto and Maicol Vitellozzi. Who, now, has set up his own business and plays a delicious derby with Il Cambio with shapes, raw materials and queues in front of the shop. And if Roberto Miranti of the Orsucci pastry shop has launched himself into the pyramid shape of the brioche (the pandoro version is also excellent, during the Christmas period), there is a modern bakery in Grugliasco that anticipates the trends. At Antonio Puddu you can find everything that gets thousands of clicks on social media. Not a simple commercial operation, however, but an authentic passion and expertise that allow him to amaze customers. Because today it goes like this and just a few days ago another big name in Italian pastry making, Roberto Rinaldini from Rimini, remembered it. «Today it is one of the rapidly growing sectors, the modern or innovative artisanal pastry breakfast is increasingly sought after and appreciated». So, space for flaky croissants and refined creams (mascarpone, Bourbon vanilla, to give two examples).
In the face of all this excitement it must be said that classic pastry shops also resist in Turin, because try one morning to go to Uva, Pfatisch, Beatrice and there will still be a pleasant queue of lovers of sweets waiting their turn. The classic croissant, the festive one, the supir, the tropeziana do not suffer the passage of time. In the modern versus traditional challenge there could be only one defeat: the frozen and reheated brioche that is still in many bar windows. If so, are we sure we will regret it?
But here are 7 pastry shops to try in Turin and its province
The Exchange Pharmacy
Piazza Carignano 2
Today in the world it means Cubrik. The cube brought life, the sphere filled with gianduja – the latest creation – reaffirmed the ability to try something new. Which, be careful, is not just “let’s make it strange”: it is months-long work, in search of perfection.
Maicol
Via San Tommaso 27
That is, read Maicol Vitellozzi: the pastry chef who launched Crubik at the time of the Farmacia del Cambio has set up his own business (or rather, in partnership with Francesca Corbo) and continues his journey through shapes: the cube has been joined by the sphere and then the interstellar mission with Saturn.
Bears
Via Borgaro 65 or Via Salbertrand 41
Tired of the “usual” cube? Here is the Pyramid. A geometry that recalls the Egyptian museum, it is delicious and exists in a pandoro version. The idea came from Roberto Miranti who would have liked to be even more daring: «I would have liked to do the Mole Antonelliana – he says – but it wasn’t possible and what’s more the tip would always break».
Puddu’s Bakery
Via don Caustico 162 – Grugliasco (To)
Antonio Puddu is very good at intercepting and anticipating trends. From the oven to the showcase, his is a journey into curious gluttony. Like flat croissants, flattened during the leavening phase and then “pucciato” into soft creams. They go abroad a lot, they are a triumph on tik-tok.
Stratta
Piazza San Carlo 191
In the heart of the city, with a thought turned to Rosa, “a special woman in our family”. Here is the flower to taste with gianduja cream, caramel heart, ruby red covering and decoration of dew drops. If you are looking for delicacy, elegance and love, this is a rose without thorns. Perfect.
The Zeppola
Corso San Maurizio 63
Nomen omen, because the zeppola must be tasted to immerse itself in the cream. But here the shapes matter and the brioche becomes a cylinder or is in a flattened shape (remember the Girella? Here, something similar, but it’s called New York Roll) still revealing a rich heart, pulsating with creams.
The Sweet
Via Roma 24, La Loggia (Turin)
It isn’t prepared every day, but the “Croccaboom” says it all in its name. The croissant is fried and rich, with creams and fruit and sugar covering it. Fabio Lanfranco and his wife Jessica have registered the trademark. And now they dive into the cookie embedded in the croissant.
Blanco
Via Torino 145, Nichelino (To)
Go on a diet for a few days and then dig into the brioches: jokes aside, here the croissant is enriched with whatever you want. It is one of the new trends, choosing the fillings (creams or jams) and the topping (for example strawberries, but also sprinkles or even macarons).
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