We have been waiting patiently since we first heard the announcement, and the day has finally arrived. The doors to Amorette’s Patisserie have officially opened!

The brand new, upscale bakery joins other boutique sweets spots, like Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC, The Ganachery, and Vivoli Gelateria, at Disney Springs this week. The work on the newly re-imagined shopping and dining district is just about complete, and it’s pretty amazing.

But along with other carts and shops, Amorette’s Patisserie has been on our short list of places to anticipate! Let’s head in and take a look around.

Atmosphere

Step into the newly opened Town Center at Disney Springs and you’ll soon locate Amorette’s Patisserie. The Disney-created back story is charming: artistic sisters Kara and Sara are the current owners of the shop, which has been passed down through many generations of their family. The shop dates back to the earliest days of Disney Springs, around 1900.

But the sisters are as interested in artistic expression via beautiful and delicious pastries as they are in other forms of art. And so you see evidence of their handiwork throughout the shop. We’ll get to some sweet examples in a minute, but first, let’s look around a bit.

I was expecting more light from above, like an artist’s studio. Instead, ceilings are high, with warm wooden beams and whimsical painted touches outlining some of the wood.

This Tiffany-inspired chandelier is framed by beams, and stands out over the front entrance of the store.

The round pedestal table directly below gives you a hint at some of the treats you can enjoy at Amorette’s. You can see the artistic references in the presentation — like the cookies in the artist’s paint box.

I love the vintage-looking glass cloches — but don’t be tempted to grab a treat from beneath one. Those are for display only. 🙂

Ultimate Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies are packaged and ready to go, but you can also get them warm if you prefer.

Macarons in a myriad of pastel colors also make a nice take-along treat. They come six to an order, and flavors include Cassis-Violet, Caramel Sea Salt, Pistachio, Chocolate, Passion Fruit, and Citrus.

It’s an interesting aesthetic. Bumped up against the vintage decor and pink packaging, you have surprising “pops” of color, like this display in the show kitchen area. Looks a lot like a collection of paints for the artists, doesn’t it?

We also spied some colorful and surprising artwork on inspiration boards. Once again, the theme of Amorette’s being part artist’s studio, part patisserie is driven home by the translation of the painting’s palette into cake. 🙂

Beyond the main ordering area and to the left, you’ll find a separate counter for Beverages. Here, you can enjoy a variety of drinks. There’s milk for dunking cookies, of course. But there’s also a variety of Joffrey’s Coffee and Espresso. If you’re looking for dessert in liquid form, Amorette’s Hot Chocolate Ganache with Chantilly and Shaved Dark Chocolate will fit the bill nicely.

Fix your coffee just the way you like it at the Beverage Condiment area, which sits to one side. Check out the tile work!

Or you can elevate your pastry experience with a glass of Champagne or Sparkling Wine. At present, they offer Taittinger Brut La Française, Iron Horse Fairy Tale Celebration Cuvée Brut, Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco, and Banfi Rosa Regale Sparkling Red.

And — surprise! — there is seating here! You’ll find actual tables and chairs, but there are also bars at which you can stand and snack. The set up is similar to what you find at Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie  in Epcot’s France Pavilion.

There is additional seating outside too, if you prefer dining al fresco, and pergolas filter the light, especially as the sun is setting.

Back inside, you might be wondering how it all works!

Let’s take a little tour of the show kitchen and pastry cases to get a feel for things.

Amorette’s Patisserie Show Kitchen

Speaking of the Show Kitchen, it’s an extra special treat to watch the pastry team put together these edible masterpieces. This place really is equal parts art studio and bakery.

While watching the action, we spied Amorette’s Signature Cake on display.

We’ll be talking a little more about this one later (and we’ll give you a peek inside!)

Eats

The space is lovely and watching the the culinary team craft individual treats is mesmerizing. But at the end of the day, I wanted to dig in and sample. After all, pretty is great and all, but delicious is best. 🙂

To assist us in ordering on opening day, the bakery actually had card stock menus, so I snapped pics of them for you to see all that’s available.

It’s a lot to take in, so we’ll take them as they come.

We’ll start with the Mickey Financiers. Like the Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies we spied earlier, these are boxed up and ready to go for guests who are looking for a pastry fix tout de suite.

Financiers are small sponge cakes, usually with almond flour in them, and these are marked gluten friendly. (We’re seeing this term used more and more when a restaurant wants to indicate that there is no gluten in the recipe, but they aren’t prepared to declare an item totally gluten free due to the presence of gluten in the kitchen.)

Diving into the large bank of refrigerated pastry cases, it’s important to note what you will not find at Amorette’s. This is not a Disney Confectionery stop like Big Top Treats, Sweet Spells, or Zuri’s Sweets Shop. There are no Caramel Apples (Mickey or otherwise), Marshmallow Wands, Krispies, or other familiar treats. Likewise, you won’t spy boxed “generic” Disney candies for sale anywhere. For now, anyway, they seem to be staying true to the story. Yep, there are some Mickeys (and Minnies), but they’re all woven into the ethos of the spot.

As promised, Amorette’s is more than just a stop for a pastry. The shop also creates large cakes. We saw a few different varieties on display while there. The Macaron Cake is a showstopper. Featuring Lemon Chiffon Cake, White Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Pate de Fruit Jelly, and Italian Buttercream, the cake is trimmed with Macarons and topped with a Gold Leaf-Flecked Rose. How much would I love to see inside this one!

But I’m guessing that many Minnie fans will adore the Minnie Cake. Similar to the Macaron Cake, this one features a Lemon Chiffon Cake and White Chocolate Mousse as well, but the Pate de Fruit Jelly here is Strawberry. (Dome cakes fashioned after all of your other favorites — Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto — are also available for order.)

We also caught a glimpse of the shop’s Signature Cake, boxed up and ready to go.

Eleven layers here include (hold onto your hat): Red Velvet Cake, Chocolate Cake, Cherry Mousse, Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Pate de Fruit Jelly, and Italian Buttercream — all under a blanket of Hibiscus Fondant. (We’ll give you a look inside in just a sec.)

Which one do you want to try first? We can’t decide!

While we’re all deliberating, we’ll check out the individual desserts. Many come with whimsical names that sound like (surprise!) paintings.

For purists out there, there’s the 49th and Broadway — N.Y. Cheesecake. It’s dressed up with Lemon Curd, Blueberries, and Chantilly.

Next, you can savor the Avant-Garde, a Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Chiffon Cake.

We spied a Caramel and Coffee Eclair, but the menu hints that other flavors will be available.

Dancing with Pavlova is as delicate as a ballerina, and offers Meringue Crisps sandwiched together with Raspberry Pate de Fruit Jelly.

The dramatic Palais Garnier is Chocolate Opera Cake with layers of Almond Cake, Chocolate Ganache, and Coffee Buttercream.

But Reflections in Memphis is the answer to your salty-sweet cravings. The dome-shaped sweet includes Peanut Butter Mousse, Toasted Cake, Banana Pate de Fruit Jelly, and Caramelized Bacon. Is this the new King Cupcake, do you think??

Sunrise Tokyo Bay features some wonderfully unique flavors. This Yuzu Chiffon Cake includes Green Tea, Yuzu Jam, and Mandarin Orange.

The Viennese Waltz is Amorette’s take on another classic confection, the Sacher Torte. This version stays uber true to tradition with Chocolate Almond Financier Cake and Apricot Jam! I’m so excited to see this.

Strawberry Fields of O.C. will have strawberry-lemon lovers singing for sure. This square offers Lemon Curd, Strawberry Mousse, and Basil Sugar.

For our final treat, we travel to the Southermost Spot in the U.S. and pay homage to Key West with the Sunset on Mile Marker 0 Key Lime Tart.

So…what did we order?? Glad you asked. 😀

Here at Amorette’s it’s a lot like the set-up at the Ganachery — a cast member guides you through the process like a personal shopper. 

Lemme tell you — it wasn’t easy to make decisions! Since I was “eating in”, I was handed my order on this beautiful hammered copper tray. It was a nice touch.

Since it was still pretty crowded in there, I headed outside where the light was better and it was a little quieter so that I could enjoy my treats.

I started with the Avant Garde — Chocolate Mousse. Deep, rich, and chocolatey, this is definitely going to hit the spot for chocolate fanatics.

One word of advice, though — don’t plan to take this one home with you. The mousse isn’t going to stand up to the Florida heat for long. We loved the nod to the Big Cheese on the gold medallion.

This one is suuuuuuper rich, and you’re definitely going to get the hints of coffee here. Plan to share it if you don’t want chocolate overload.

But you know we’re lovers of Key Lime here! So we had to represent and get the homegrown choice. 🙂 Sunset on Mile Marker 0 is a lovely upscale tribute to this classic dessert. Besides, that tiny Macaron on top is too cute to pass up!

The light and crispy Macaron base and Graham Cracker Crust made this extra special, and the rings of sweet White Chocolate garnish complemented the strong and tangy lime nicely.

Speaking of Meringues (not AJ’s favorite, but we digress 😉  ), the Dancing with Pavlova was definitely very pretty.

The airy light dessert is perfect for someone who likes just a whisper of something sweet. With no overtly rich components, you definitely won’t feel weighed down with this one. It’s your ethereal choice.

We couldn’t resist the chance to sample Sunrise Tokyo Bay, which brings together the tang of Yuzu (an Asian Citrus Fruit that tastes a lot like key lime) and the herbal grassy notes of Green Tea.

Matcha lovers will dig this one, because those flavors are VERY strong. But the more I ate, the more the other flavors balanced out and came through. It was a showstopper both in terms of looks and taste.

While it would have been wonderful to dig into one of Amorette’s large cakes, you guys weren’t there to help me. 😉 And so, I settled for the Petit version.

The packaging really makes this something special. I could see splurging on a petit cake for a special occasion. (Like, you know,  Thursday.)

I really wanted to see inside the Signature Cake for myself, so it won today. (I have a feeling I’ll be back for others.)

The small version of the signature cake is enrobed in Fondant, but it’s Vanilla, rather than the Hibiscus Fondant that covers the larger version. The covering is pliable and delicious — not stiff or dry like I was afraid it would be.

And I love the beautiful decoration, including the White Chocolate Rose Petal. The piping is the same design you’ll see throughout Amorette’s in the decor and touches.

A ribbon trims the base, and it’s secured with a Chocolate Seal bearing the shop’s initial.

But cut into it, and you see the real drama. There are those lovely layers of moist cake, mousse, and jelly filling. A thin layer of Buttercream helps the fondant to adhere to the cake. The large version of this cake has 11 layers, and this one looks to have about 9 or 10.

This petit cake was absolutely my favorite thing I tried. And don’t let its demure size fool you — it’s so rich, you’re gonna want to share.

Overall

Amorette’s did a good job at kicking things off during our first visit, and we look forward to returning to see how the shop continues to evolve. Besides, we still need to try Reflections in Memphis and that Dreamy Hot Chocolate! 😀

As we wrap up this first visit, we’ll go over a few housekeeping items. At this point, it looks like only non-alcoholic beverages are available on the Disney Dining Plan.

Also, while there were a few large cakes on display when we visited, you’ll want to give Amorette’s 72 business hours advance notice when ordering a cake. To order, just call 407-934-3500. Cast Members let us know though that they hope to have online ordering available within the next six months or so.

Will you be visiting Amorette’s during your next trip to Disney Springs? Leave a comment and tell us what looks good to you!