By Katie Farrell Lovett
Staff writer
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In need of a sugar fix? You've come to the right place.
In a city already brimming with a variety of eateries, from coffee shops to waterfront restaurants, a new type of establishment has recently begun tempting taste buds in Newburyport — bakeries with a niche specialty.
For the past year, Chococoa Baking Co. on Winter Street has been satisfying the sweet tooth of many with its assortment of whoopie pies. Greta's Great Grains on Pleasant Street is an authentic Austrian bakery and cafe, while The Nutcracker Bakery in The Tannery Marketplace is known for its pies, cakes and crepes. Pralines on Liberty Street is branching out beyond its gourmet desserts to add dinner to its mix. And Alden Merrell on Graf Road has become celebrated for its decadent cheesecakes.
The latest arrival to sweeten the streets is Eat Cake! — as in cupcakes.
Owner Hilary Larson says the cupcake's popularity has been steadily growing over the last five years. The individual-sized treats have been spied at weddings and parties, and bakeries devoted to the small frosted cakes have become increasingly common.
So after spending seven years operating her wedding and party cake business from a commercial kitchen in the city, Larson opened a storefront on Prince Place a few months ago and made cupcakes the main attraction.
Cupcakes — and only cupcakes — in a wide assortment of flavors are the only items on the menu at Eat Cake! Customers can choose from key lime with lemon buttercream frosting, chocolate and peanut butter, chocolate fudge/Oreo dipped, butterscotch-dipped cinnamon swirl, chocolate cherry, chocolate-covered strawberry and white chocolate raspberry. And that's just a sample. New cupcakes flavors are constantly being added.
"If you're going to break your diet, you might as well do it right," says Larson, who continues to take orders for her specialty cakes and meet with clients at her shop as well.
Larson's sweet treats cost $3 apiece. Each day's offerings — flavor selections vary from day to day — are usually ready for customers by 10 a.m. They last until about midafternoon, so it's wise to get to the shop, which is located off the beaten path from busy State Street, early.
"When we sell out, we sell out," Larson says.
Julie Ganong and Alan Mons might know something about that.
Their Chococoa Baking Co., which they opened at the corner of Washington and Winter streets one year ago, is seeing more business since the completion of the Clipper City Rail Trail adjacent to the shop.
The first weekend the pedestrian and bike path was officially opened was "an absolute zoo," Ganong recalled recently. The shop gave away 1,000 mini whoopie pies in two hours.
But locals aren't the only ones who can indulge in Chococoa's whoopie pies. The bakery has launched a website, which allows for online ordering and shipping of its whoopie pies to anywhere in the country.
The whoopie pies, which are made with all-natural ingredients, are available with different flavors of cream filling: vanilla, espresso, peppermint, pumpkin ginger and raspberry. The newest offering — lemon — has been popular this summer. But Ganong says vanilla is still the most popular.
While Mons and Ganong only make whoopie pies, they run their bakery as a cooperative, selling items from other businesses, including Annarosa's and Blue Egg Baking Co. As they enter their second year, Ganong says they are always looking to add new flavors or baked goods to their cafe.
"You constantly have to be reinventing yourself," Ganong says.
Pralines did just that recently by adding "Pepper" to its repertoire. Owners Ron and Rhonda Weisheit decided to combine sweet and savory a few months ago and began offering prepared dinners to go, rebranding the business as Pralines and Pepper.
The idea grew out of Pralines' monthly tasting events, which feature seven-course meals, as well as its catering work. Ron Weisheit says customers were often requesting dinners to go.
"It just sort of carried," he says.
Calling the meals healthy, Rhonda Weisheit says, "They're not run of the mill."
Indeed. The menu choices, which range from $14 to $23, include gourmet selections like garlic grilled hanger steak, sun-dried tomato and basil-crusted swordfish, apple/spinach/shiitake-stuffed and bacon-wrapped chicken breast, andouille and thyme-crusted mahi mahi and herb-rubbed filet mignon.
While Pralines may be expanding into dinner, Greta Reineke is still catering to the breakfast crowd at her Greta's Great Grains. Reineke has a faithful following for her assortment of breads, muffins, scones, croissants, strudel and other pastries.
While she's always worked with all-natural and organic products, Reineke says there's been a growing interest in her gluten-free and wheat-free offerings as food allergies become more prevalent.
"It's getting more and more popular," Reineke says. "The brownies taste so good. Certain things you can't even tell are gluten-free."
