Bella’s Italian Bakery

Today I visited Bella’s Italian Bakery on SE Woodstock and 91st for their cinnamon roll! Well, they actually call this a “mascarpone sweet roll”, but I’m pretty sure there’s a little cinnamon in here! Now that I have had (almost) every cinnamon roll in town, I felt it was time to hit up Bella’s- as I just knew this one would be great. I got to the bakery when they opened this morning at 9 and there was already a line of 10 people ahead of me! I was so tempted by all their amazing pastries! We dug into this roll back at home and you’re immediately hit by the unique flavors Bella puts into this pastry; this is a real Italian twist on the cinnamon roll. The mascarpone frosting has a good amount of lemon in it and tastes better and more luxurious than any cream cheese frosting! There’s a small amount of cinnamon flavor inside, but you’re really hit by the fennel seeds and anise flavor that mixes very well with the mascarpone. The bread is expertly baked, with great caramelized sticky sugar along the bottom and outside. I loved it! A very untraditional cinnamon roll which made me extra excited to try all of the other pastries the offer!

Favorite part: Loved that mascarpone lemon zest frosting!

Least favorite part: Anise is good, cinnamon is better :)

*Rating are according to my preferences, scaled from 1-10

Overall Sweetness rating: 9

Moistness rating: 9

Frosting rating: 10

Cinnamon/spiciness rating: 7

Dough rating: 9

Freshness rating: 10

Heart/center rating: 9

Cafe experience rating: 9

Overall rating: 9 /10