Once I knew I was going to spend the next four years living in Claremont, I started searching for the best restaurants in the area. I Like Pie Bakeshop caught my attention. After dozens of cupcake bakeries, donut shops, and frozen yogurt chains popping up across the country, a bakery dedicated solely to pies seemed unique and exciting. With pie season just around the corner, my friends and I decided give the treats a taste.
Chocolate Chip Chess
A brown sugar custard and semi-sweet chocolate chip filled this decadent pie, which is one of I Like Pie's only year-round flavor. We initially thought it was going to be too sweet, but after the tasting, we agreed it was a nice balance of cream and chocolate. This pie probably would have been warmed up a little so the chocolate chips could have spread throughout. Otherwise, this pie was our favorite.
Pumpkin Praline with Cream Cheese
Nothing says fall more than pumpkin pie, and rather than stick with the tradition, we opted for an upgraded version. The filling was perfectly smooth, sweet and fresh. We wished there was more cream cheese on the topping to make the pie creamier and more pumpkin in the filling. The combination of buttery crust, pumpkin, cream cheese and pecan praline crumble was absolutely delicious, but it was hard to find that perfect bite.
Caramel Apple Crunch
This pie was filled with cinnamon apples and topping with crumble, caramel, and an apple-shaped pie cut-out. The apple on top definitely made this pie the prettiest of the four, but like the cream cheese on the pumpkin pie, we wished there was more caramel on top. The pie itself was overflowing with cinnamon apples, which we all loved. This tied for a close second with the pumpkin pie.
Cherry with Oatmeal Crumble
According to the employee, this pie is the owner's favorite. Unfortunately, we disagreed. Loaded with tart red cherries and topped with oatmeal crumble and a drizzle of icing, this pie resembled a cherry danish. The icing added a nice sweetness to the cherries and complemented the oat topping, but we all agreed this pie would be more popular in the summer.
Overall, we enjoyed the variety of pies. The fillings were certainly unique, but we wished there were more in each of the pies. When the next round of seasonal flavors comes, I will definitely be back to I Like Pie.