Tucked away in the West side of Milwaukee is one of the International Restaurant & Hospitality Ratings Bureau’s Top 25 bakeries in America. I was lucky enough to grow up in the neighborhood where Simma’s Bakery has been located since it opened nearly 30 years ago. I remember how my mom used to come home bearing a few treats for us kids to celebrate a milestone, a birthday, or a holiday. However, in my opinion, enjoying desserts from Simma’s is its own occasion.
Simma’s cheesecake is much lighter than most cheesecakes I’ve come across. Quite frankly, I’m turned off by the ones that sit in your stomach like a tank. With Simma’s cheesecake squares, you get a perfectly portioned dessert with just the right amount of the whipped yet creamy cheesecake base, as well as a bit of variety with the sweet raspberry confit and the chocolate ganache. I would add that these squares taste best when they are slightly chilled. When cooled, the flavors are a bit sharper and the dessert takes on a refreshing quality.
Black bottom cupcakes are a marriage made in heaven of chocolate cupcakes and chocolate chip cheesecake. The cheesecake is nestled in the chocolate cupcake base and covered in chocolate ganache. There’s no wrong way to eat this masterpiece, but I prefer to take a huge bite so I get a bit of everything in one fell swoop–but maybe that’s just the greedy little child in me.
Last, but certainly not least, is the fruit tart. I relished in this simple dessert with its shortbread-like pastry crust, cool custard and fresh, flavorful fruit–clementines, kiwis, pineapple, strawberries and a single blueberry to finish it off.
The pricing at Simma’s is reasonable for the single-serving desserts. The cheesecake squares are $2.25. I splurged on a decorated black-bottom cupcake at $2.75, while the regular black-bottom cupcakes are just $1.75. The fruit tart costs $2.95. Most of the other treats are between $1 and $2, including the peanut butter bars at $1.60, the fudge balls at $1.50, the turtle danishes at $1.95 and the honey buns at $1.95 as well.
If you have a chance to come to Milwaukee for a day trip or a longer stay, be sure to visit this Milwaukee-area legend so you can find out for yourself what all the buzz is about.
