Dining
One year ago, Juanita Lane traded in her briefcase for baking pans, and just last week, the visions of sugar plums that have long danced in her head came to life in her newly opened bakery, Dulce Desserts. While the former industrial saleswoman has just recently gone pro, she has been baking almost all her life. “I was making French pastry when I was 7 years old,” she confesses. “Some people play music by ear, I started baking by ear. I admit, I’m obsessed by it. Normal people don’t make a batch of ganache at 5 in the morning before waking their child up for school.”
Probably not. But normal people will be able to partake of Lane’s passion in the form of cakes, pies, pastries, tarts, cookies and biscotti that will be displayed and sold in the small shop in the Villa Place redevelopment on Edgehill near Music Row. “Becker’s closing was such a loss,” she says. “I hope to fill some of those dessert needs, but my style is a little different. Less sweet, more European.”
When Lane hung up the business suits last year, she got her feet wet working for Mère Bulles in Brentwood, baking custom desserts for the holidays. She then studied cake decorating at Notter School of Pastry in Orlando, Fla. There she had the opportunity to work with Sue McMahon, a finalist on Food Network’s Wedding Cake Challenge. She has also participated in conferences at the French Culinary Institute in New York.
Signature items at Dulce will include chocolate hazelnut torte, chocolate turtle cake, coconut cream pie with macadamia nut crust, buttercake with truffle filling, and a secret family recipe for crustless pear cheesecake with sour cream topping and strawberry sauce. For the holidays, she is making Christmas cookies, pecan and pumpkin pies, as well as a buche de Noel. (Orders for this to be picked up on Christmas Eve must be placed by Thursday, Dec. 22.) Initially, only whole cakes and pies will be sold and, in some cases, must be ordered 24 hours in advance. The shop, at 1207 Villa Place, will be open 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday; for a price list and to place an order, call 321-8700 or email juanitalane@msn.com.
• Alyssa Leonard and Helena Snow are also satisfying sweet-tooths with their new business, Simply Desserts! Cakes, cheesecakes and pies—including sweet potato—can be ordered for dinner at home, parties, gifts and corporate functions. Call 262-8823 or email simplydesserts@bellsouth.net.
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