Delectable Desserts

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/07/2022 (894 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A little indulgence has perhaps never seemed sweeter than during this tumultuous time.

For anyone looking to satisfy a sweet tooth, an impressive array of local businesses offer delectable desserts to savour.

At Decadence Chocolates, an artisan chocolate shop located at 70 Sherbrook St., owner Helen Staines specializes in creating small batches of treats.

“We have a very wide range of chocolate bars with about 26 different flavours. We have over 20 bonbons in our case, and we make our own caramels too,” she says.

“We make anything we can from scratch and we don’t use added preservatives. We crystalize all our own ginger, we candy our own oranges, and we also make our own ice cream, which we sell by the scoop or in containers. We use fresh fruits and fruit purees rather than just adding in flavouring.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, the business has been booming with more people seeking mouth-watering morsels.

“We’ve been very fortunate. Our business has increased and we’ve increased our wholesale clientele as well, so we have more people retailing our products in the city,” Staines says.

“We sell into Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Yukon sometimes — all over the country. People deserve a sweet treat, not just these days but every day.”

As a self-professed passion fruit fanatic, Staines stocks a range of treats flavoured with her fave fruit.

“We make chocolates, ice cream, caramels — and all of those have some kind of passion fruit in them. It’s one of my favourite flavours,” she says.

“I like playing around with flavours as well so I put herbs in my chocolate. I do a Manitoba honey and thyme. One of the caramels I make is strawberry basil. I like adding a little bit of weirdness. Sometimes people aren’t sure about it until they taste it, and then they realize that it really works.”

While the flavours dazzle the taste buds, the esthetic appeal is also astounding.

“I think you eat with your eyes first, so I want things to look pretty before you eat them, and then the flavour is important too,” Staines says.

“Once you try it, you’ll realize there’s a difference. Not all chocolates are made the same; there is a difference in quality. Yes, you’re going to pay a little bit more but everything is handmade with love. We use only the best ingredients that we can find to put into our chocolates.”

At Sweet C Bakery, a Transcona-based business celebrating its fifth anniversary, owner Cori Poon has noticed an uptick in orders during the pandemic.

“A lot of people were just looking for a pick-me-up. I was one of the very few food service businesses that grew during COVID. I had to double my team size just to accommodate everything from the custom cakes to the walk-in traffic,” she says.

“We create a whole experience from the moment you walk into our neighbourhood bakery. We talk to people and try to create a welcoming feel. Because of COVID, we found that a lot 
of people were actually missing that.”

On a quest to reinvent ways to celebrate special occasions, folks flocked to the local sweet shop to find new ways to mark the moment.

“Because people couldn’t have big gatherings, our specialized birthday cakes went through the roof. On average, we used to only make one or two every couple weeks, whereas right now we do 12 to 14 a week,” says Poon, noting that DIY cookie-decorating kits are also a popular pick for festivities.

“Families want to make birthdays a little bit more special, especially for little kids who have now missed almost two years of birthday parties. They’re not spending money on the venues or the favours, so they’re putting it into cakes while supporting local.”

Sweet C Bakery’s glamorous gourmet cupcakes remain another a must-taste treat.

“We’ve really ramped up our flavours, our designs, overall everything about them. When people come in, they get really surprised at how decadent they are. We’re always creating new flavours and a new experience. I love making it look beautiful but it’s also delicious, made from scratch,” Poon says.

“For major holidays, we create a full set of alcohol-infused cupcakes. Some flavours we’ve done are vodka cranberry to Corona and lime to even a Fireball. They’re sometimes baked with the alcohol added into the fillings or icings. Then they all get a pipette of alcohol in the cupcake itself.”

And during these trying times, we all deserve to indulge a little, she adds.

“As much as things are going back to normal, we’re still not there. There’s a lot of animosity in society in general. A lot of people were set back because of COVID and that’s not going to change over night,” she says.

“Especially as parents, we do so much for our kids and others. We also need to take care of ourselves and our own mental health. There’s nothing wrong with saying, ‘I deserve this.’ It’s OK to do something for yourself too.”