OMG, the pastries and pie at the Miami based Doce_ e_ Salato_ Home_ Bakery.  With several of the pastries I thought I was at a café in Vienna or Budapest, and with the apple pie it could have been the best bake shop in apple country.  Plus, there’s homemade pasta too.

In the past few months, with restaurants and bakeries closed, a number of very talented bakers and chefs have started selling their creations through Instagram which is how I found Dora Kovacs. It has been a blessing to them, as the startup and marketing costs on instagram are nominal. For the customer, the upside is everything is made to order so it’s very fresh, and the products are generally made by the owner as opposed to staff.

But back to Dolce e Salato Home Bakery and the owner and hobby baker, Hungarian born Dora Kovacs.  Dora learned to bake with her grandmother but never did it professionally . She’s passionate about what she does and it shows. In fact, prominently displayed in her kitchen is the slogan, The Secret Ingredient is Always Love. All of the ingredients she uses are organic and high quality, and of course, there’s lots of butter.

From her native country, she makes buttery cinnamon roses ($42, 12 pieces) and braids ($36, 8 pieces) that have just the right amount of density with a hint of flakiness, the buttery dough laced with cinnamon sugar. Sometimes she’ll do a twist on a classic, like the same braid but made with Nutella rather than cinnamon sugar, one of her more popular offerings along with challah bread (2 loaves, $38).

My hands down favorite is the lattice topped apple pie ($38, serves 8) that has to be one of the best pies in Miami. Honeycrisp apples are moist and juicy, the filling cooked to perfection, not the sugary almost syrupy kind you find in many fruit pies. The pastry is flaky, but also has a texture that makes it a trifle chewy. That really works. She also makes a full crust pie that can be personalized for a special occasion with writing in pastry on the top.

Next time I’d like to try the mango cake and the citrus bundt cake.

Dora and her Italian husband lived in Italy for a time, and there she learned to make pasta from her mother in law. On the menu are pansoti ($18, 15 pieces)  like ravioli but larger,  and tagliatelle, the former stuffed with spinach, ricotta and parmigiano. Once again, you can taste the freshness.

To go to her online store on Instagram, go to @Dolce_e_Salato_Home_Bakery. To get prices and  purchase, direct message her or call her at 305-781-0210. As you can see, prices aren’t cheap but they’re worth it.

For more on pies in Miami and best desserts….

Best Desserts Miami 2019