Civitello’s for the win – and the rum cake!

Bakeries in the Capital Region have generally been a disappointment to me since I arrived in Albany in 1988. I recall being confounded that I could not find a source for Sunday morning powdered sugar dusted crumb cake or my beloved black and white cookies.* At the time, there were two bakeries within walking distance of my first apartment on lower Washington Ave, but neither offered these (to me) very basic favorites.

I consoled myself with Freihofer’s chocolate chip cookies and Stewart’s milk, but it was certainly not the same experience as eating a streusel topped slab of coffee cake with my morning coffee.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve had some very high quality baked goods. Placid Baker in Troy and Mrs. London’s in Saratoga both produce excellent pastry and breads, but I’ve struggled with the offerings in Albany. Prinzo’s does terrific bread and rolls, but there isn’t anywhere in my neighborhood where I can get in-house pastry, much less my preferred Italian pastries, like panettone and sfogliatelle.

I’ve grown more understanding of the fact that living in Albany means that I need to drive to get the baked goods that I crave. I’ve been to the two most popular Italian bake shops in the area – Latham’s Bella Napoli and Schenectady’s Villa Italia, with the first being the one with which I am most familiar.

My experiences at Bella Napoli have been…meh. I’ve enjoyed lunches of good soup and a solid sandwich there, but why in the world would I ever purchase pastry from an Italian bakery that prefills their cannoli? Sorry, but I find that practice to be abhorrent.

As for Villa Italia, I just don’t have much experience with their products. I know I’ve enjoyed their cookies but haven’t really explored their pastry case in depth. After my visit to Civitello’s (also in Schenectady) last weekend, I can’t imagine delving deeper into Villa Italia’s baked goods.

Why would I, when Civitello’s exists?

A number of years ago, a friend introduced me to Civitello’s rum cake and it immediately became the defining version of this yellow, rum soaked cake with both vanilla and chocolate cream between the layers. I absolutely loved it. For my birthday this year, I decided to order one and it did not disappoint.

I picked up the cake in the midafternoon, right about the time when I was feeling a bit peckish. I perused the glass display cases, finally opting for a small sfogliatella to sample, to sit on the stoop in the sunshine, the cake safely ensconced in my Mini.

I ordered the small version of this classic Napoli confection and it was excellent – and more than I could eat in a single serving. The layers of pastry were impressively flaky and the cream filling was vanilla scented, but not sweet. After my first bite, with a sprinkling of powdered sugar decorating my shoe and the pavement, my impulse was to return to the baked goods display and load up a box with pasticciotto, sfogliatelle and almond cookies, but I knew that there was a substantial cake to which we would have to devote our sweet tooth.

I resisted.

For now.

I fully intend to return to Schenectady’s Little Italy and explore more of Civitello’s offerings and I just might begin with cannoli, filled to order, just for me.

Where’s your go-to spot for baked goods?

*No, those upstate “half moon” frosted things don’t count and are not the same.