I hate that I have to preface this by saying that a “3” means “OK”; it’s not indicative of a bad thing/place/experience. Also, this is a vegan review. I was in this area for work and was looking for some gluten free vegan sweets. It appeared that Healthy Body Bakery could satisfy that craving, as they cater to those with dietary restrictions. It’s a small business, tucked behind the main street-facing businesses of a building. I was warmly greeted upon entry. They only had one gf vegan cake option on the day that I went (vanilla cake with vanilla icing), but they had several gf cupcakes and muffins available. I grabbed a cake slice (for half off!) and a cupcake. VANILLA CAKE SLICE Vegan and gluten free vanilla cake and vanilla icing. The cake was moist and the taste was ok to a seasoned vegan. What I mean by that is, for decades I’ve watched (and tasted) as the vegan food game evolved. Back in the 90s, vegan vanilla cake had this same beige/light brown color and flavor. So I actually knew what it would taste like before I even bought it, based on the color. However, it did not taste gluten free and that is a flex. The icing was slightly lighter than a buttercream icing, but definitely not a whipped cream icing. For people who don’t like “too sweet”, this icing would be perfect for you. It was sweet without the sugar rush. I would love to see them improve on their vegan vanilla cake though. If they can get it to that light and fluffy yellow vanilla color, they’d join the dozens of awesome vegan bakers across the country who’ve mastered this feat. MANDARIN ORANGE CUPCAKE A tasty orange flavored cupcake with the same aforementioned vanilla icing. It was moist; it did not have that typical grainy gf texture or dry gf taste. It was a very good cupcake. I believe they also have a peach gf vegan cake in their rotation. If I was in the area again, I’d definitely return to try that peach flavor.
Healthy Body Bakery
Excerpts
I hate that I have to preface this by saying that a “3” means “OK”; it’s not indicative of a bad thing/place/experience. Also, this is a vegan review. I was in this area for work and was looking for some gluten free vegan sweets. It appeared that Healthy Body Bakery could satisfy that craving, as they cater to those with dietary restrictions. It’s a small business, tucked behind the main street-facing businesses of a building. I was warmly greeted upon entry. They only had one gf vegan cake option on the day that I went (vanilla cake with vanilla icing), but they had several gf cupcakes and muffins available. I grabbed a cake slice (for half off!) and a cupcake. VANILLA CAKE SLICE Vegan and gluten free vanilla cake and vanilla icing. The cake was moist and the taste was ok to a seasoned vegan. What I mean by that is, for decades I’ve watched (and tasted) as the vegan food game evolved. Back in the 90s, vegan vanilla cake had this same beige/light brown color and flavor. So I actually knew what it would taste like before I even bought it, based on the color. However, it did not taste gluten free and that is a flex. The icing was slightly lighter than a buttercream icing, but definitely not a whipped cream icing. For people who don’t like “too sweet”, this icing would be perfect for you. It was sweet without the sugar rush. I would love to see them improve on their vegan vanilla cake though. If they can get it to that light and fluffy yellow vanilla color, they’d join the dozens of awesome vegan bakers across the country who’ve mastered this feat. MANDARIN ORANGE CUPCAKE A tasty orange flavored cupcake with the same aforementioned vanilla icing. It was moist; it did not have that typical grainy gf texture or dry gf taste. It was a very good cupcake. I believe they also have a peach gf vegan cake in their rotation. If I was in the area again, I’d definitely return to try that peach flavor.
I battled between four and five star. For great service, clean shop, great variety and conscience quality, they actually are five star. They have cold food ready, and list it in their refrigerator so you can order a meal and not just desserts. They have keto desserts, a few vegan, and many other desserts with better ingredients than a normal bakery. They should be commended for making healthier desserts. There’s a nice coffee shop attached also. I hear the brownies are really good and I should have gotten them, but I tried the cakes and a muffin. I appreciate that the muffin had real blueberries and made of great ingredients. It wasn’t wow tasting, but it was good and I ate it all first. The cakes were fair tasting, but they weren’t Wow either, they aren’t very sweet which is not a bad thing. For the price, it’s a good big slice and fair pricing for quality ingredients. The consistency of the cake is moist, but it’s a bit more moist than I prefer. I like the airy softness of the highly processed way of doing desserts. I know that this cleaner ingredient way was going to change the texture and all of the cakes and muffins have the same moist texture on the bite through. The texture is sort of like if you baked a cake and pulled it out of the oven a bit fast. I made the mistake and thought that because this was a healthy dessert shop that all of the desserts were vegan. My stomach didn’t irrupt badly from the cream cheese icing, but I was mistaken. I wish they had more Vegan. Keto desserts look like play-dough. If I came back, I’d order something different than the banana, coconut, and carrot cake. Really nice staff and cool shop. I’d recommend this place if you have a gluten-free or keto preference.
I battled between four and five star. For great service, clean shop, great variety and conscience quality, they actually are five star. They have cold food ready, and list it in their refrigerator so you can order a meal and not just desserts. They have keto desserts, a few vegan, and many other desserts with better ingredients than a normal bakery. They should be commended for making healthier desserts. There’s a nice coffee shop attached also. I hear the brownies are really good and I should have gotten them, but I tried the cakes and a muffin. I appreciate that the muffin had real blueberries and made of great ingredients. It wasn’t wow tasting, but it was good and I ate it all first. The cakes were fair tasting, but they weren’t Wow either, they aren’t very sweet which is not a bad thing. For the price, it’s a good big slice and fair pricing for quality ingredients. The consistency of the cake is moist, but it’s a bit more moist than I prefer. I like the airy softness of the highly processed way of doing desserts. I know that this cleaner ingredient way was going to change the texture and all of the cakes and muffins have the same moist texture on the bite through. The texture is sort of like if you baked a cake and pulled it out of the oven a bit fast. I made the mistake and thought that because this was a healthy dessert shop that all of the desserts were vegan. My stomach didn’t irrupt badly from the cream cheese icing, but I was mistaken. I wish they had more Vegan. Keto desserts look like play-dough. If I came back, I’d order something different than the banana, coconut, and carrot cake. Really nice staff and cool shop. I’d recommend this place if you have a gluten-free or keto preference.
Wish I could give 10 stars. My fiancé and I used to come in all the time for their healthy cupcakes.....I even got a whole bunch to take to my family. We lived in TN temporarily for two years and I was so sad that we found it in our last year because I was so incredibly sad to be moving away from them back to Illinois. They are the kindest, sweetest people and while being on a diet, it's so hard to find healthy sweet options. I swear I would pay them to have an order shipped out to me here in IL. If I ever go back I'll be sure to stop by and spend money.