3 Instagram pastries you need to try now

Cottage industry of eclectic eclairs, flaky Jamaican patties and delicious pies is booming

One day in August, I woke up and opened my fridge to find it looking not unlike a bakery cooler, filled with boxes on boxes of shiny eclairs, hand pies, cheesecakes, fat wedges of crunch cake and cookies. And I didn’t get any of it from a store. Rather, I fell prey to the insistent call of FOMO and couldn’t bear to let another beautiful pastry dash by my Instagram timeline without ordering one to try.

I don’t eat that much dessert in my normal life; I maybe down a slice of cake once every few months. But as my refrigerator filled with saccharine gold, I realized what generations of home bakers before me already knew: baked goods are perfect for sharing with loved ones and neighbors. The act of slipping a friend an eclair out of the blue makes everybody feel good, and we all need a little extra dopamine these days. So I kept ordering and kept distributing the wealth, accompanied by grateful, socially distanced waves.

During the pandemic, when many culinary professionals have found themselves laid off or with extra time on their hands, cottage industry businesses selling homecooked food have flourished. We’ve already covered a few at The Chronicle, too — our new restaurant/food project roundup includes cult hit Basuku Cheesecakes, which continually sells out online at a supersonic pace, and pastry chef Angela Pinkerton’s Pie Society popup.

I’ve tried about a dozen of the current class of homecooked baked goods, which are largely found online. Like many of their nonpastry compatriots, these bakers are operating on the margins of the industry, unable to get completely aboveboard due to a stalled permitting process that has only become more urgent with the pandemic.

But some of the goods showed that legality isn’t a prerequisite for restaurantlevel quality, and for me, their professional food world backgrounds instilled a level of trust on their cleanliness standards. The following three enterprises stood out as ones you shouldn’t miss — delivering on Americanstyle pies featuring seasonal fruits, fine diningquality French patisserie and veganfriendly Jamaican patties. Here’s what to try and how to order.

Soleil Ho / The Chronicle Mango and matcha eclairs from Tartes de Feybesse.

Soleil Ho / The Chronicle A beef and cheese patty from Tasty Tings.