DISTINCT Desserts
By Lydia Kacala
Family parties and lifecycle celebrations are meant to be spent having a good time with your loved ones. They often involve dressing up and decorating your venue with fun and striking decorations – and the desserts and pastries should be given the same treatment.
Local bakeries can create custom designs to match your celebration. No matter what colors, themes or flavors you wish to incorporate during your party, consulting with a local bakery can be the way to find the perfect desserts.
Luna Bakery & Cafe and Unger’s Kosher Bakery & Food Shop tell Celebrations about some unique treats they’ve made over their many years in business, and what’s trending now.
Luna Bakery & Cafe
Custom and creative specialty cakes and cookies are a signature aspect of Luna Bakery & Cafe, with locations in Cleveland Heights, Moreland Hills and downtown Cleveland.
“We have a pretty set mini pastry and cake menu that we hold to as sort of the guidelines for what we bake,” says Brynn Keefe, director of pastry operations at the bakery. “However, when it comes to certain items we customize things.”
In the past, the bakery has made dessert shooters – or mini desserts served in a shot glass – with traditional, yet interesting flavors such as German chocolate and banana pudding.
And one way the bakery puts a twist on classic party desserts is by taking inspiration from a family recipe to create a dessert that could stir happy memories for those enjoying it, she says.
“(The type of desserts) are going to be more of our traditional dessert, but yet have the flavor profiles of things that maybe are reminiscent of something that people have memories of,” Keefe says.
Her favorite creation for a client’s wedding was a churro-inspired cake, she says. The cake, entirely from scratch, was made with vanilla cake batter, caramel sauce between the layers and cinnamon buttercream frosting to tie it together.
When it comes to finding inspiration for your desserts, she recommends looking at the theme of the party and going from there. Oftentimes, people will ask for cakes and desserts that have a specific color palette or “vibe,” she says.
“We take that and we go, ‘OK, you’re having a French-inspired party,’ and we might recommend frangipane or pastry cream,” she says.
Another way to incorporate colors or images from your party theme is by ordering custom cookies, which the bakery also offers, Keefe says. For example, a construction-themed bar mitzvah party can lead to cookies decorated with traffic cones or dump truck designs.
However, if you’re looking to order something that’s becoming more popular but still a little out of the ordinary, she says pies are on their way to becoming mainstream desserts.
“Pies are coming back around, which is one we haven’t seen in a long time,” she says. “I’ve gotten quite a few inquiries on pie this year for celebrations. I do have one (order) in … that has all pie, which is kind of fun because I don’t think people often think of pie for large parties.”
To check out Luna Bakery’s recent dessert creations, visit it on Instagram (@lunabakerycafe) and Facebook (Luna Bakery Cafe).
Unger’s Kosher Bakery & Food Shop
If you are looking for customizable kosher pastries, look no further than Unger’s Kosher Bakery & Food Shop in Cleveland Heights.
“(We make) different cakes and cups (that are) ready in containers you can come and just pick up,” says Malka Rosenberg, owner of Unger’s.
In the past, the bakery has made unicorn cakes and “naked cakes,” where the cake isn’t fully frosted on the outside and is decorated with flowers flowing down the side of the cake, Rosenberg says.
People hosting large parties often order mousse cups, which can be chocolate, vanilla, lemon or strawberry flavored depending on your taste, she adds.
For vegan customers, the bakery can also make celebration cakes without any animal products by special order, she says. These cakes – along with Unger’s other popular flavors, such as chocolate mousse, ganache and tiramisu cakes – can be made in any size from five to 12 inches.
And if you’re looking for a party treat that’s easy to grab and go – so guests can get back on the dance floor in record time – the bakery also offers party trays for any occasion, Rosenberg says. The trays can be filled with pastries and cookies or even fruit.
Party trays have become a popular order for the bakery and, depending on what a customer orders, can be put together with different pastries, she says.
For a more casual event, the tray may be filled with muffins, danishes or pecan rolls. For a fancier event, the bakery can make lady lock pastry cookies or hi-hat cakes, she adds.
“Whatever the person wants, that is what (we) make – and we make them that day,” Rosenberg says.
For party treats that can make you a trendsetter amongst your friends, Rosenberg recommends following the trends she sees in the bakery, which include an increase in orders for Russian tea biscuits and Hungarian nut slices, she says. Another popular pastry from Unger’s is its doughnuts, which Rosenberg says are so popular that people come from out of town to order them.
If you’re trying to figure out exactly what to serve at your party, Rosenberg adds that you can check the bakery’s Instagram (@ungers_kosher_bakery) or Facebook (Unger’s Kosher Bakery & Food Shop) accounts to view photos of some of its past creations that might help get your creative juices flowing.