[DFW] DoughMonkey

[Scott -- DFW]

About a week and a half ago, DoughMonkey opened in Snider Plaza. Beautiful, tasty cakes, cookies, and pastries. I'll post more details and some photos after another few trips. But I wanted to go ahead and alert people that this shop is open and definitely worth visiting.

From what I've read on-line, it looks like the owner, Rhonda Ruckman, is a transplant from Florida. Before setting up there, she was assistant pastry chef at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills (where she made a wedding cake for Christian Slater that was featured on the cover of People magazine). Looking for a larger market, she moved to Dallas.

Scott

[Scott -- DFW]

Well, I've gone back once (sometimes twice) a day, working through the offerings.

The mornings mostly feature breakfast pastries: scones, cinnamon rolls, brioches, filled croissants (e.g., chocolate, smoked ham and gruyere, etc.), and sticky buns. (They open at 8:00 AM and close at 6:00 PM on weekdays.)

Closer to lunchtime, the dessert pastry options expand: tartlets,

...cakes,

... eclairs,

...cookies, biscotti, mousses, and other goodies.

The pastries are as delicious as they are beautiful, featuring premium ingredients (e.g., Valrhona, Cluizel, and Scharffen-Berger chocolates, Tasmanian honey, etc.).

DoughMonkey is one of the brighter newcomers in the Dallas food scene. For a dessert-addict like me, it's a godsend.

Scott

[Richard Kilgore]

Rhonda Ruckman does beautiful work. Thanks for posting about this shop and including the photos, Scott.

[ExtraMSG]

Nice pics, Scott. Did she let you get inside the case for the photos? Prices seem pretty fair.

Do you have any pics of the shop itself and the breadth of offerings? Are there any breads or is it just sweets?

[Scott -- DFW]

Did she let you get inside the case for the photos?

Photos were taken through the glass (except for the croissant and eclair picture, which was taken with them sitting on top of my desk).

Do you have any pics of the shop itself and the breadth of offerings?  Are there any breads or is it just sweets?

I tried to take a few "big picture" pictures, but they didn't turn out, due to glare from the curved glass of the cases. They aren't doing breads--just sweets. (They do make brioche loaves, though.)

Scott

[Raynickben]

The Dallas Morning News had a quick blurb on DoughMonkey last week. They were impressed.

Check out the picture!

[ExtraMSG]

When I take pics inside, I generally turn off the flash (I have a museum mode on my camera that makes that easy) and try to be as still as possible. I'd love to see a pic from the entrance, though, of the whole place.

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks for introducing us to the DoughMonkey, Scott. I have been by a couple of times. They are starting to do some seasonal items, shown here:

Top Left: Roasted Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Pie

Top Right: Old Whiskey River Pumpkin Pecan Pie

Left Front: Pumpkin & Pecan tart

Center Front: Pumpkin Bread Muffin

Right Front: Roasted Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Tart with Toasted Mallow

And here are three others we found today:

Top: Almond Croissant

Left: Key Lime Tart

Right: Cream Cheese Brioche

Today PEC (Pastry Eating Companion) and I sampled (okay, devoured) a Bailey's Irish Creme Scone, a Rustic Apple Tart, a Roasted Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Tart with Toasted Mallow, an Almond Croissant, several other items, and the favorite for both of us -- the Key Lime & White Chocolate Tart.

[fifi]

This is increibly delicious looking. I am jonesing about the key lime thing. I want this stuff. We need this stuff in Houston, darn it!

[FoodMan]

This place sounds and looks (thanks Scott and Richard for the pics) awsome. It sure puts me in the mood for some pumpking baked creations.

Is that Streusel on to of the sweet potato/pumpkin pie? Or is the caption just mislabeled and the top-left one is actually the pumpkin Pecan?

It is definitly on my places-to-visit list next time I am up there.

Elie

[Richard Kilgore]

The photo captions are correct and that was a good guess, Elie. That's a very thick layer of delicious streussel.

[lovebenton0]

Yes! Next visit to Dallas DoughMonkey is a must! Salivating now, the pastries are gorgeous.

[Richard Kilgore]

Stopped in the DoughMonkey yesterday and spied a Sake Poached tart I could not resist. This confection consists of strawberry, blueberry, blackberry and sake poached plum elegantly placed on whipped cream in the individual size tart shell.

This is a wonderful combination beautifully executed. Try it before it rolls off their daily offerings.