Show Your Love with Sweet Treats from Local Bakeries
- Hilary Daninhirsch
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Sweetness as a metaphor for love is a long-established cultural association. As Valentine’s Day approaches, many local bakeries honor this tradition by creating special items that are only available this time of year.
The French bakery La Gourmandine, with five locations throughout the city, including its newest storefront in Oakland, is known for its hugely popular Valentine’s Day single-serving dessert, called Le Valentin. Claudia Coppola, the bakery’s COO, described it as such: “Dark chocolate mousse shaped heart with a raspberry coulis center, lying on a flourless chocolate biscuit,” she said, noting that it is gluten-free. Customers can order the Le Valentin in advance or pick one up in the store.
This exquisite pastry has been a staple at La Gourmandine for a decade. “Chocolate mousse is a big seller. We have a Marquise pastry, one of the most popular desserts, which has the same chocolate mousse cream as the Le Valentin,” she said, adding that in Europe, raspberry and chocolate is a popular flavor combination.
Coppola said that baked goods for holidays bring people joy. “It’s simple, it’s genuine, you can share it, and it will make you feel good,” she said.
Jak’s Bakery in Bloomfield specializes in Eastern European baked goods, specifically Bulgarian, and even though Valentine’s Day is not a major holiday in that country, the bakery nonetheless makes sure that customers can order specialized treats on that day. “We don’t do heart-shaped cakes, but we do try to do something fun. It’s always something different,” said co-owner Molly Latinova.
Last year, the bakery partnered with its neighbor, Trace Brewing, as well as an organization that promotes veganism, to provide treats for a Galentine’s Day event. “We took two of our pastries that are already vegan and modified a recipe for one, and the other we made a heart-shaped version. One was a heart-shaped olive bread, and the other was a braided pastry; the flavor was raspberry rose. They were really pretty; we had people coming in and getting gifts to bring home that night,” said Latinova.
Jak’s is also willing to tweak its regular recipes to create something more Valentine’s Day-esque for customers. And sometimes, people just buy ‘regular’ baked goods, such as their baklava cake, that is decadent enough to be a special-occasion purchase. And that is perhaps what sets Jak’s apart: They are not like every other bakery, so that element of surprise is why customers are drawn to them for Valentine’s Day.
There are two new bakeries in the region that have not yet been open on Valentine’s Day but do plan on offering something special to commemorate the holiday.
The Munching Moose in Zelienople is the brainchild of Michael Hall, who, after retiring from his rental center business last January, asked his daughter if she wanted to partner with him to open up a bakery. Relying on his small-business know-how, he bought the space formerly occupied by Sips and Sweets by Sarah and opened The Munching Moose in May.
“Everything is made from scratch here, with no frozen doughs. Cinnamon rolls are one of our signature items, and we do make a variety of cookies, pepperoni rolls, biscotti and scones,” said Hall, adding that they bake pies, though not cakes. His most popular items are moose balls, which he likens to truffles, as well as the award-winning emerald kiss cookies: cookies dipped in chocolate topped with crumbled pistachios.
Though as of this writing he hasn’t determined exactly what will be on the menu for Valentine’s Day, he said that his bakers, who are not afraid to try anything, will concoct Valentine’s Day-worthy baked goods that he promises will be “... delicious, affordable and eye-appealing.”
Hall, who said he has been having a lot of fun with his new venture, just bought a sister business to The Munching Moose: a freeze-dried candy business; they will also have Valentine’s Day candy treats as well.
Another new bakery is Under the Walnut Tree, a vegan-exclusive bakery that is Kimberly Puskar’s Wexford home-based business. By virtue of being a vegan bakery, the goods contain no eggs, dairy or animal products, not even honey. Though she does not yet have a storefront, she takes orders through her website and provides a neighborhood pickup location; Café Conmigo also carries her baked goods.
For her first Valentine’s Day in business, Puskar is planning to make heart-shaped white chocolate raspberry petit fours. “It will have two layers of vanilla white cake, raspberry filling, and covered in white chocolate,” she said. She will also offer heart-shaped shortbread cookies, dipped and drizzled in chocolate, and the third item will be cannonballs, a peanut butter and chocolate candy confection that is a family recipe. “All will be available in a Valentine’s box with a heart-shaped window.”
Though many people like to give flowers and chocolates for Valentine’s Day, Puskar said there is something nostalgic about giving baked goods. “Typically, everyone has a memory of a mom or grandma or aunt that they’ve baked with; that is where the gifting idea comes in. It’s something that made you feel special at some point, and it’s a way to show how much you care,” she said.
Not only is the deliciousness factor important for Valentine’s Day (and let’s face it, for other times of the year, too), but presentation is also key. “People eat with their eyes. You can have the best cookie or cake, but if it doesn’t look cute, it might get looked over. That is something I always really focus on. With the holiday theme for Valentine’s Day, you want it to look cute but also elite in a way; you don’t want it to be like something you can pick up in a grocery store,” said Puskar.
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