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Brooklyn Brackets: Brooklyn Kolache Named Borough's Best Dessert Spot

 Brooklyn Kolache Co.'s sweet, Texas-style Czech pastries beat Baked's brownies and whoopie pies in Brooklyn Bracket's best dessert spot category.
Brooklyn Kolache Co.'s sweet, Texas-style Czech pastries beat Baked's brownies and whoopie pies in Brooklyn Bracket's best dessert spot category.
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DNAinfo/Camille Bautista

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Victory never tasted so sweet.

Brooklyn Kolache Co. took home the title of the borough’s best dessert spot in DNAinfo’s Brooklyn Brackets, beating out Baked’s brownies and whoopie pies.

Fans of the Texas-style Czech pastries brought the DeKalb Avenue café to the top with 253 votes, compared to 144 for Red Hook’s neighborhood shop.

Brooklyn Kolache Co.’s sweet treats stayed strong through four rounds, facing off against favorites like The Blue Stove, Ovenly, and fellow Bed-Stuy bakery, Le Paris Dakar.

The bakery draws locals and tourists alike with its house-made fillings, which include strawberry, sweet cheese, apricot, and peanut butter and jelly. 

“It’s interesting because there’s kind of a learning curve with kolaches,” said owner Autumn Stanford. “People know what doughnuts are, they know muffins or chocolate croissants, but when I introduce new people to a chocolate kolache, they come back for more.”

Stanford, an Austin native, said she grew up eating the popular treats in Texas and was inspired to open the café in 2012. 

“We were just thinking, if someone brought kolaches to the city, it would be amazing!”

Texans and other out-of-towners stop in regularly to get a taste, and Stanford touts the business as the only kolache bakery in the tri-state area.

Oftentimes, customers will drop by to sample sweets that remind them of their grandmother’s traditional Czech pastries.

While it's not your typical dessert spot, Stanford said, Brooklyn Kolache was still able to garner thousands of votes in the early rounds. The owner added that she’s a big fan of other competitors in the bracket, especially Baked.  

“If I could 'Kanye' our reward, I would love to 'Kanye' it to Baked,” Stanford said, referencing Kanye West's award show calls for Beyonce's victory. 

“Our friends just kept running with the voting and promoting, and it’s really flattering.”

The bakeshop and coffeehouse makes up to 400 kolaches a day and also serves up savory varieties like spinach and feta, and sausage, jalapeño and cheese.

Dessert favorites include lemon curd, chocolate ganache and strawberry sweet cheese.

Brooklyn Kolache Co. celebrated its three-year anniversary on April 1 and recently debuted its newest kolache, pan de coco, featuring a sweet coconut filling.