Paris-trained (at a 300-year old patisserie) Marc Heu, who is of Hmong descent, left native France for St. Paul over two years ago. Here, he started his namesake bakery and brought over the kind of intricate wizardry commonly found in only the most storied of pastry ateliers. Some of his finest creations, such as vanilla Saint Honoré, are sculpted with an accordion-like symmetry; others, such as isaphan (a nod to Heu’s idol, Pierre Hermé) and several of his viennoiseries, are appealingly furled. Even his “craggier” offerings, like a rich and eggy flan, are not to be missed. A second location is in the works. 

Trung Nam’s vaunted banh mi need no introduction. But the rest of its pastry program may. With a dizzying variety of fruit-filled croissants (apricot, blueberry, raison, raspberry, strawberry, apple) and more unique flavors, like coconut, on offer, chef-proprietor Tony Le nails the French Asian culinary diaspora with aplomb. His pastries are ethereal and fruit-forward without being too sweet. Cash only. 

Like the gold leaf that adorns Bellecour Bakery’s magnificent crepe cake, everything that Gavin Kaysen adds to the Twin Cities’ already bustling food scene is more than polish. Kaysen and acclaimed pastry chef Diane Moua opened Bellecour in Wayzata, originally — after a pandemic closure, it now lives within Cooks of Crocus Hill on Grand Avenue and in downtown Minneapolis. The kouign amann here are exceptional — they’re caramely and buttery and intricately layered — and Moua’s famous crepe cake, layered with rich pastry cream, is a must.

Tara Coleman has worked under such heavyweights as Stephanie Izard and John Kraus, but make no mistake: She makes St. Paul’s Snelling Avenue Hot Hands Pie her own. Home-style chicken pot pies and fried chicken biscuit sandwiches (flaky and buttery) are served atop retro red-checkered parchment in a space awash with blush pink walls and an Instagram-friendly wooden installation. Similarly, her retro-ish sweet pies (also flaky and buttery) are towering and rustic but have contemporary flourishes, such as enormous swipes of mascarpone shaped like teardrops, meringue burnished with concentric patterns, and a candied peanut topping molded like a crown.

Asa Diebolt got his start selling to bagel-hungry Midwesterners at farmers markets throughout the metro — his trademark is dense, doughy, coastie-approved bagels and bialys. (Bialys are not bagels, though they may seem similar — they’re only baked, not boiled, and have a depressed center filled with sweet roasted onions.) Now at a new, bigger location on 34th Avenue, Asa’s Bakery is serving both old favorites and new: Think smoked whitefish and lox sandwiches and an array of cream cheeses, from pink radish and shallot to a vegan smoked variety. There’s fresh bread, too. Stop by Thursday through Sunday to grab a loaf of sourdough, cheddar scallion, or deli pumpernickel before they sell out.

Run by Sunny and Paulina Kwan and their daughter Michelle, Keefer Court has been a gem of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood since 1983. It may be the Cities’ best bet for traditional Hong Kong-style pastries (not to mention noodles, congee, and rice plates). Start with a savory bun for lunch, like the curry beef or barbecue pork: dense pockets of meaty flavor encased in pillowy steamed dough. For a sweet bite, the classic, custardy egg tarts can’t be beat — or try a chewy red bean sesame ball, or a coconut bun stuffed with whorls of cream.

Kentucky-native, London-trained pastry chef John Kraus is several things — lauded chocolatier, former instructor at the French Pastry School in Chicago, and a one-time team captain representing the United States at the Coupe Du Monde de la Patisserie, the famed Olympics of pastry competitions. But he’s a baker at heart. Now, he presides over the Bread Lab, a production and training facility, while running both Patisserie 46 and its newer outpost, Rose Street, with his wife Elizabeth. All a roundabout way of saying that his breads — like a stellar miche and a unique baguette, made with a combination of rye and wheat flour — are flawlessly constructed. As are the kaleidoscope of cakes and confections on offer. 

It’s not just the vaunted kouign-amann — buttery with an armor of caramelized gloss — that makes Black Walnut so iconic. Everything on its menu lures us back. There’s cassis vanilla Bavarian cake, layered with an airy chiffon sponge and an intense ganache. In addition, find radiant lemon tarts, and, of course, for croissants (consistently flaky across both sweet and savory offerings). Custom order cakes, sized up to 9”, are recommended for special occasions.