Hidden Gem: Bake For You

After two decades of living in the Capital Region, discovering new things has remained at the top of my priorities list over the years. Time and time again, I find that the truth of the matter is that there is much left to discover and experience in our city. Last week, breaking up a seemingly dull work week in the dead cold of “winter, was the discovery of the kitchen of Linda Kindlon and Bake For You, hidden under a church building overlooking Washington Park.

When Linda e-mailed us asking if we’d be interested in doing a taste test, it was hard not to reply with a one-word-all-capital-letters-email-saying-yes back.

The gist of what Linda does is simple enough: she is a baker and she bakes. But the bigger picture is that even just one week later, and I’m still talking about her baked goods to my friends. And so are her clients, which include the Irongate Cafe, Hudson River Coffee House, the Daily Grind, Bonobo Cafe, Andys Imports, and Bob and Ron’s Fish Fry to name a few.

Linda bakes out of a commercial kitchen space, which was rather quaint and cozy given that it was located in what felt like an otherwise unused and forgotten space in an older church building. Linda’s positive and tell-it-like-it-is energy was also refreshing as we talked with her about her business, and it didn’t come as a surprise when she told us she’s been in the industry for 25 years as a former bar owner. Simply put, this woman knows what’s up – and lucky for us, also knows her way around a kitchen and the ins and outs of traditional baking in a modern world. Also notable is that she is a self-taught baker who combines her talents with a forward-thinking business model. Bake For You is in its second year of operation with foreseeably more to come.

Linda works in small batches that are made-to-order and she also delivers locally, which ensures freshness right out of the oven. She uses mostly organic ingredients, fresh local eggs and other ingredients, as well as butter hailing from Vermont.

What we tasted:

Biscotti, red velvet cupcake with vanilla frosting and red sprinkles, the classic chocolate chip cookie and a white chocolate chip and cranberry oatmeal cookie. All of which were “I’ll never make something that tastes like this” level amazing.

And for dessert to our dessert, we had butternut squash square with fresh pears and apples sautÃ©ed in Knob Creek whiskey, which was by far my favorite of the selections.

Whoever dubbed Bake For You as “Albany’s Best Kept Secret” was definitely right, but we’re always one to spill.

Bonus: Like Bake For You on Facebook for weekly specials and updates!