Delicious Pastry Crawl In Miami

A spate of new bakeries prompted a pastry exploration of Miami last fall. Another series of pastry shops, all open within the past several months, gave us another excuse to exercise our sweet tooth.

We have unearthed our favorite pastry at each spot, along with our favorite time of day to eat each treat. If you have the time and inclination, visit them all in one day for a Miami-Dade pastry crawl.

Morning at Medialunas Calentitas: These medialunas resemble small croissants in appearance, but they are only slightly flaky (see the medialunas). For our favorite breakfast at this Uruguayan chain, a slightly sweet, doughy medialuna is sliced in half to sandwich ham and melted mozzarella ($3). Ed. Note: This bakery is now closed. 

Noon at BSweet Coffee Shop: Pistachio-cherry-anise biscotti ($1.50 each) withstand dunking in afternoon coffee, but don't require it. Pastry chef Thomas Worhach bakes in the tiny kitchen of this cottage-like café in the Design District.

Evening at Cao Chocolates: Chocolatier Ricardo Trillos lets cacao speak for itself, so his dark-chocolate mousse is only subtly sweet ($3). Made with Venezuelan chocolate, the chilled dessert is topped with mouth-puckering blackberry sauce. Trillos also makes grilled chocolate croissants to order: Try one with salted milk chocolate ($2).