Balcazar Bakery

Ordered a tres leches cake for my husband birthday and it was GREAT. Really good cake.

I go here just to get their «elephant ears» flaky pastry! Toast it a little when I get home cuz I like it a little darker. Far from where I live in Raleigh but only bakery that makes these so good! I always buy at least 4 – 6 of these and ask if they have oven-​fresh in the back… usually do.

We selected about 6 items from the different sections of the bakery. Some items did not seem very fresh, and others just did not taste very good. We were especially disappointed in the Tres Leches, which is a favorite of ours at other places.

I don’t think I have ever gone to a grosser looking bakery. Everything looked like it had been there for several days. I drove an hour to this bakery because it stated that they had Colombian bakery items. It was definitely not worth the drive. We were the only ones in the bakery at the time but service was still lacking. You had to ring a bell when you needed something. I also did not appreciate having to put my bread on a nasty tray that had been sitting out for who knows how long. I had to ask several times for a bag for the bread but the worker just told me to use the tray. She then took the bread and but it directly in a check out grocery bag. Needless to say we did not eat this bread. A health inspector should definitely check them out.

Let me just say I will never go to this bakery ever again!!! They sold me a piece of moldy cake from the refrigerated section… it was the blackberry roll cake. It looked good so I bought it. I just sat down to enjoy it and like I do with all food before I eat it… I smelled it. It smelled a little funny so I had my teenager smell it. He said it must just be the blackberry. So I decided to nibble the piece on my fork… thank God the cake fell over because the other side revealed 2 – 3 moldy spots. I immediately spit out the cake and of course gagged. I will never go here again… they must just leave the unpurchased cakes in the fridge for weeks!!! I am totally disgusted! If I could score lower they would get negative 10 stars!!!

I visited Balcazar Bakery on a Tuesday night. I was on a mission to find a last minute birthday cake for my significant other. Using Unilocal’s mobile app on my commute home from work, I searched for nearby bakeries and found the well-​reviewed and conveniently located Balcazar Bakery.
The bakery is located in the same shopping center as Burlington Coat Factory and is fairly easy to find. The location is small but quaint, and there are many special occasion cakes on display. I imagine they do a lot of custom cake orders based on the displays.
I did find a section with refrigerated cakes, but only two were out on display. I asked the woman behind the counter what other cakes they had for same day (aka right now) pick up, and she said they had a greater selection in the back. Glad I asked! I ended up getting their mocha cake, over the tiramisu or the fruit flavored options they also had available. The woman behind the counter even offered to write «Happy birthday» on the cake for me. Score.
When it came time to eat the cake, we weren’t disappointed. Do be aware that this cake, and all of their cakes from my quick bird’s eye view, are Latino inspired through and through. The mocha cake, for instance, had a hazelnut tasting gel with nuts included, and was much lighter than I expected for how chocolatey it looked/​sounded. The quality of the cake and the overall deliciousness won me over though — despite not being as chocolatey and maybe not quite as indulgent as I expected, I ended up with seconds. My fiancée went back for thirds. :)
I also grabbed a slice of red velvet cake while I was there. Although they didn’t offer the red velvet in a full cake for same day pick up, they had it available by the slice. The red velvet was actually made with strawberry cake and the same traditional cream cheese frosting I’m used to. Not what I expected when tasting the strawberry cake, but still delicious!
If I had one piece of suggestion for this bakery, it would be to consider people’s expectations in naming their cakes (but then again, this suggestion is probably a result of my more thorough knowledge of American vs. Latino desserts!) For all I know, red velvet may be traditionally made with strawberry rather than cocoa elsewhere in the world. :)
I’ll be back at some point!

I had a craving for a dessert, so I looked on the Unilocal app to find a bakery that I had never been to for something different. I came across Balcazar Bakery. It is in this small hole in the wall shop that is crammed full of baked goods. I didn’t know what I was going to get, I just wanted to try something new. I ordered the Mariposa. (Means butterfly in Spanish) What can I say other than I regret my decision to visit. The Mariposa was not fresh, I mean, I don’t think it was made that day fresh. There might be some items to my liking there, but I wouldn’t know as I have only been there once, and tried one item. So I might have to visit on another day just in case the day I went they were having an off day. But if you are going to get just one item, I would suggest to bring cash, and the manager complained and said there was a minimal charge of $ 5 if you want to use the credit card. That is a stupid rule in a cashless society where everybody uses plastic now a days.
Oh well, just my two cents.

Some great pan dulce. A few things are a little dried out, so I do not think it’s baked fresh daily. Prices are not posted and there’s a bit of a language barrier, so be warned. I really enjoy most of the stuff I’ve tried, though.

Excellent Latino bakery.
I’ve gotten my wife the tres leches cake with the fruit and chocolate added on top (well worth the extra couple of bucks) for her birthday cake the last 2 years now and she has loved it!
The cake ingredients are fresh and delicious.
I was in today and tried a couple of other items which were every nice as well.
I would recommend highly.

Authentic and fresh. This place hits home for my wife who hails from Colombia… and to be honest, the food smells and tastes like I’m eating in her mother’s kitchen. The meringues, pan de queso, guava empanadas and bunuelos are absolutely outstanding and if and when you go you should ask for what’s fresh and what they have behind the counter. To my surprise the owner offered us some fresh beef and potato empanadas which were absolutely outstanding.
I’m not sure why some say this place is pricey. We walked out with about a dozen bakery items for under $ 20 and for those who have been to a decent bakery can attest, the price is better than most. The owner especially was very friendly and accommodating and offered his card for future catering requests.
Bottom line this place is the real deal and expect us to be visiting here often.

I’m glad we don’t live very close to this place as I’d be so fat from all of the tasty desserts here. The cakes are to die for, the cookies are so cute and delicious, the breads are so perfectly baked… Mmmm!

Excellent Colombian Bakery! GREAT Value! ! ! Clean Store! Self Serve, lift the glass and fill your tray… This is not my Favorite kind of Bakery so I’m comparing to other Colombian Bakeries… This one is the Best of it’s kind that I have visited! The Bread is a little drier which can be an advantage to me because it will SOAK up more of whatever I’m eating it with!
We got a Cookie, some different Breads and an Espanana? I think??? One was called Hawaiian and was stuffed wit Ham, Cheese and Pineapple!
Great Service! We were here Yesterday and we do not speak Spanish and were very comfortable speaking mostly English!

Drove here specifically for tres leche cake. It was just ok. I was not a fan of the fruit filling between the layers, especially the peach filling, nor was my sister or 4 yr old niece. I had been craving tres leche cake for months. No one in my family had ever had it before so I figured I’d surprise them with some yummy goodness. I picked up 2 slices of cake and a piece of cheese bread, which was actually more like a cheese croissant that lacked much of the main ingredient, «cheese». Unfortunately, we were left disappointed with both the cake and «cheese» bread. Not to mention the area where the bakery is located is less than desireable. So, my search continues…

Awesome bakery. I doesn’t matter if your specifically looking for a colombian bakery or have no idea what can be found at hispanic bakeries, the goods here are excellent.
Most of the items are sweets; pastries, rolls, cakes, confections, etc. But there are some savory items as well.

OK, I felt I had to stop work and write a review seeing that there are only 2. Maybe it’s a culture thing at this place.
I started coming here for desserts back in 2007 and have not stopped coming. Their breads! The Columbian bread there is DELICIOUS! They make their own tres leches cakes which are out of this world. If you like tiramisu, you MUST try a bite from theirs.
This place is definitely a hole in the wall and may be a bit intimidating especially if you do not speak Spanish, but trust me it’s a gem worth finding.
If you have an office party or a gathering and you need to bring boxes of desserts, stop by and just randomly pick from their fresh baked goods and make yourself a box to go. I’ve done this several times now and the price is right too!

I had the best birthday cake from Balcazar. It was a tres leches cake with layers of strawberries and peaches with whipped cream frosting. Beautiful presentation – just like a princess cake! And their alfajores and cookies are delicious too! One of the best bakeries in the Triangle!

Balcazar Bakery has been in Raleigh for 10 years. They are owned and run by a family from Bogota, Colombia. Thankfully, they have some of the Colombian baked goods and snack foods I crave. Pan con queso, pan de bono, arepas, bunuelos, empanadas, morcilla, tamales and all sorts of pastries and cakes.
These are foods that I can only find in Colombia or in US communities with enough Colombian immigrants to sustain such a business. I am very happily surprised to find this in Raleigh.
I had just finished lunch at a nearby Salvadorian restaurant and thought I had saved room for dessert, but I had to make my purchase to go. I do not have a big sweet tooth so, I bought some pan de bono
which is a chewy small donut shaped cheese bread. When it bakes it rises creating a hollow cavity. It’s great with coffee. I should say, it is great with Colombian coffee or traditionally with hot chocolate. This pan de bono was very good even by itself.
Planning ahead for a light dinner, I bought an arepa (a small white corn cake) and a piece of morcilla (blood sausage). Even though I reheated these hours later, the arepa was still quite fresh. The morcilla was definitely a Colombian style morcilla. Yum ! Now I just have to get there early in the morning when things are coming out of the ovens.
I got my fix.