Interview; Penny's Pastries
May 05, 2011
Starting and ending my day
with a little somethin somethin sweet
is one way I find loveliness in the "everyday."
Speaking of sweet and lovely:
P e n n y ' s P a s t r i e s
is a yummy new biz
which recently blew into the Windy City.
Penny!
Pastry chef and owner Penny
trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris,
earned a master's in Gastronomy,
then returned to the US with a mission:
Customize pastry
for folks with allergies and restrictions
who thought they had to skip dessert.
From vegan to gluten-free to diabetic,
Penny's Pastries
focuses on alternative baking.
The other day we chatted in Chicago,
ummmm...can i just say if you have a sweet tooth it's never a bad
idea to make friends with a pastry chef...
As a baker and lover of pastry,
I HAD TO KNOW...you're going to wow me
without BUTTER and EGGS?
SWEET MOTHER, HOWWWWWW?
via mary ruffle
"First off, I say don't say you 'can't.'
It's that you just 'won't.'
And I can guarantee when
you make the switch, you'll feel much better!"
via mary ruffle
Of course she's right.
I sampled delicious cakes
(carrot, chocolate, and lemon)
and wanted MORE!
Confession: I like cleaning
with lemon products and washing my hair with coconut ones,
but as far as eating the stuff,
I don't do lemon or coconut. I just don't.
However, this cake made me weak in the knees, and it's possible
I may even be gay for it.
Also would never have guessed
these treats were created without
animal products.
No issues with butter or eggs here,
I sampled delicious cakes
(carrot, chocolate, and lemon)
and wanted MORE!
Confession: I like cleaning
with lemon products and washing my hair with coconut ones,
but as far as eating the stuff,
I don't do lemon or coconut. I just don't.
However, this cake made me weak in the knees, and it's possible
I may even be gay for it.
Also would never have guessed
these treats were created without
animal products.
No issues with butter or eggs here,
but plenty of others have them so I wanted
to know more about "alternative baking."
to know more about "alternative baking."
"It's a nicer way of saying baking for people
with allergies...I learned about substitutes in baking
as far as milk, baking soda, flour...you know the
'chemical reaction' type of stuff. But when it
comes to dairy, meat, things you can't just
snap your fingers and make, I had to learn.
I bake in different styles."
via mary ruffle
See, she's a stylish baker as well.
Also she's cute and does musical theatre
so paired with the pastry thing I'm thinkin
marriage proposals are a daily occurrence.
Penny says it's gratifying to bake sweets
for customers with diabetes or allergies
who assumed baked goods were off limits.
"I think people automatically assume
they can't eat it anymore.
So when I tell them I can provide for
them what they want, they think i'm a
magician or someone sent from heaven."
via mary ruffle
I can confirm. Heavenly.
Yep.
PENNY FROM HEAVEN.
***********
No, I'm not buttering up Penny to score more cake.
Come on, now.
After all...she also bakes brownies.
Penny bakes traditional treats for
those who prefer them and can
do 2-day shipping--just contact her at her site.If you visit
you can see what the chef is up to,
grab one of her recipes, and learn more about
alternative baking magic.
Peace to you right where you are.
INTERIOR DESIGN
RENOVATION
ART/DESIGN
CREATIVES
DIY
BEAUTY/FASHION
11 comments
Oh my gosh, butter? Just slap me upside the head and call me Paula Deen. I LOVE me some butter. (Sorry if that offends anyone.)
ReplyDeleteJust curious . . . does Penny make anything for us "normal" people who love butter? And where is she located? I'd love to go see her shop. Great post!
What a post! And what a blessing to have Penny in sweet land! A Le Cordon Bleu trained chef now focusing on chic alternative baking! Hello! It does not get much better than that!
ReplyDeleteI am actually a pretty healthy gal myself surrounded by raw foodists and vegans and everything in between. This is right up my alley! (I will share this this post with friends).
Does lovely Penny ship to other parts of the nation?
Warm hugs
Mon
P.S Thank you for your lovely comment today - just when I felt that blogging is no longer for me...!
Thanks for the heads up on this beautiful shop. I am always looking for gluten free treats for our daughter.
ReplyDeleteFondly,
Glenda
I've tried vegan and I didn't much care for it, it needed something like BUTTER AND EGGS! So if Penny can make vegan and make it taste good I'm all for it. Besides they say if you're menopausal you're supposed to avoid avoid alcohol, sugar, caffeine but it did not say anything about BUTTER!
ReplyDeletePenny bakes for everyone! She bakes traditionally AND alternatively so everybody stays happy and healthy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure her business will expand outside of Chicago soon--you can always visit her site pennyspastrieschicago.com and beg her to make you stuff. :)
Love the photos! Penny made cupcakes for a party I threw last fall and they were a HUGE hit. Everyone was asking where I got them from. Penny totally proved to me that healthy and alternative doesn't have to be tasteless.
ReplyDeleteOh yes love butter here!!
ReplyDeleteThese photos are great! How wonderful she bakes for people with allergies!!
Pamela xo
The photo of that cute little girl is just adorable. What a sweetie! I'd love to see that cake a minute later....did she eat it?!
ReplyDeleteSarahx
Penny WILL bake and ship it to you, but it must be 2-day shipping. Just email her through her site.
ReplyDeleteThey all do look delicious. I am a big fan of butter. I remember when we lived in Germany and they always had the best butter and brotchen on the table. I gained a good 10lbs from that butter alone!
ReplyDeleteHi Michele!
ReplyDeleteButter butter butter! Only butter!
No margarine. I once heard margarine was made to fatten up chickens or turkeys and they wouldn't EVEN eat it!!! So they added yellow food coloring and sold it for human consumption as "margarine".
Ugg. That makes me sick even thinking about it!
The French Normandy people make THE best butter in the entire world! Have you had it? OMG. My husband wanted to import it. :) Not many foods even get a reaction from him..... this is big!
I am soooooOOOooOOOOooo excited to see you are also in the midwest, Michelle. :) Yay!
The little shop I share is in Highwood IL.
See link for our blog:
www.bluecardinal.blogspot.com
Check it out!
xox
Alison
Your comments add to the beauty...thanks in advance for your kindness.