#35 Sweet Freedom - Sam's synopsis

Ah Sweet Freedom, what to say about you? Last time, my gluten-free friends were less than pleased with my review of Pure Fare, arguing that their bread choices are some of the best out there for those who can't tolerate the real thing. I think we will run into the same issue with my review for Sweet Freedom. While we got an assortment of treats to try, I would only rate one of them on par with a non-gluten/non-vegan baked good. Luckily for my (2?) gluten-free readers, our other review is a guest post from someone who shares your ailment, so you'll get a better assessment from that viewpoint. As for the whole vegan vs. not argument, that's not something I want to get into, but my general feeling is that if you're buying something from a local bakery, it's likely made with higher quality ingredients, so I'm not concerned with the whole "processed food is bad!1!!" issue. I'll admit, I think my baked goods are pretty tasty (although not local bakery-quality, but maybe a tier below that), so knowing what goes into your food is always a plus - I personally don't put a restriction on the types of food I eat... it's all about balance. But before this turns into a rant about food science (which I don't know a whole lot about), let's get onto the actual review.

We made a quick stop at Sweet Freedom on the Sunday of the Broad Street Run. They were apparently giving away free cookies to runners who finished, but since we decided not to partake this year (I've done the race twice, very slowly, while Sandya sold her bib and Steph may never have had the intention to run the full race) no free cookies for us. Oh well. The inside of the shop is quaint and cute, not unlike the now-defunct Philly Cupcake back at 20th and South, where if you remember ended in a non-food related trip to the emergency room. Except a lot less pink and a lot more pastels, which is a-ok in my book. Pink is fun, but in moderation. There were, of course, cutesy pictures of baked goods throughout the small shop.

Since there were three of us, we decided it would be acceptable to get several different treats to try. We went with the s'mores donut, the salted caramel cupcake, the fauxstess cupcake, two cake balls (one raspberry-flavored and one Samoa girl scout cookie-flavored), and a form of tiramisu. The clear winner for me was the s'mores donut, which I would put on the same playing field as non-gluten/vegan baked goods. All of the flavors melded well together, and it had a smooth taste to it - I often find the gluten-free substitutes to have a grainy texture, which is one of the reasons I don't particularly like them. 

it's always time for ice cream!

As for the other goodies, the salted caramel cupcake was very good - it definitely tasted like chocolate and caramel, but again it's that slight difference in texture that takes away from the flavor and makes the overall composition less smooth and fluffy. I've had the fauxstess cupcake (which is supposed to be like a hostess cupcake) before, and it was alright. I used to love eating hostess cupcakes as a kid - I had a very particular way I ate them: peel the chocolate frosting off on each side and eat that, then eat the curlicue frosting bit after peeling that off, split the cupcake in two and eat the filling, then either eat the cake or dispose of it. The fact that you can disassemble a cupcake that methodically probably means it is made up of terrible things for you, so I will give Sweet Freedom the one up on having a better quality cupcake. Also, I haven't had a hostess cupcake in years but I would probably think it's disgusting. 

The cakeballs weren't really up my alley, but they both had shredded coconut in them, which is one of my least favorite things out there besides mushrooms and olives, so that's biasing my thoughts on them. Fact: I don't even have Samoas in my top 3 favorite Girl Scout cookies. Obviously Peanut Butter Patties are #1. To be honest, I don't remember much about the tiramisu, which means it was probably pretty neutral (not terrible, not s'mores donut level).

I probably won't go out of my way to stop at Sweet Freedom - not because their baked goods are bad (in fact, they are probably on the higher end of gluten-free + vegan goodies) - but because unlike Cylons, they just don't go a good enough job of hiding their true nature.

Sweet Freedom
1424 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 545-1899