Amanda Mizen’s website is, quite frankly, food porn for fans of baked goods. And, after selling those baked goods online for about a year, she recently opened up Desmond and Beatrice Bakeshop and Cupcakery in Leslieville, expanding on her wholesale line.
Mizen, the mom of a young toddler, is the type to joyfully quote Cookie Monster and come in to bake at 5:00 in the morning. “It’s crazy, it’s busy,” she says. She’s eager to show off the cheeky greeting cards her store carries by Warm Fuzz, and gets her long time friend Tanya Labenski, who manages the store, to pose in a shot with her.
In fact, Mizen freely gives credit to many close female friends who have helped out in her venture. “I just have really strong women in my life, and people reached out because they wanted to help,” she says.
As for the baking, Mizen also believes in her goods.
“I’m a firm believer in whole foods. We use real ingredients,” Mizen says. “For the most part, it’s all butter, flour, sugar, pure chocolate, real vanilla. There’s no artificial ingredients or preservatives in this.”
The concept: Mizen calls it a “back-to-basics, down-home, momma’s approach to baking. Everything your grandma made on a Sunday morning.” And while some folks may want to grab cupcakes and go, Mizen likes to give people the option to sit and stay.
She says her store is an “authentic cupcakery” (no, she didn’t make up that word) where people can come, sit and have a drink with their treat, like fresh lemonade ($3); a jolt of awesome on one of Toronto’s hottest days.
The hood: Leslieville, near Queen Street East and Degrassi.
The eats: The cupcakes ($2.75) became popular with her wholesale line, Mizen says, and so she’s continued them in countless creative themes, such as mint cookies and cream. What’s unique about Desmond and Beatrice is that each cake matches the frosting.
The cookie dough cupcake sees a chocolate chip-filled vanilla cake stuffed with cookie dough and topped with vanilla butter cream and a mini version of the store’s chocolate chip cookie.
On the weekend, there’s more to choose from, like scones. But when we were there during the week, there were also whoopie pies ($2.25) and huge, thick cookies ($2.25).
Mizen thinks the cakes bring folks back to times when they were younger (birthday parties and such).
A cookie dough cupcake (above) and a whoopie pie (below)
Owner’s favourite: Mizen dares people not to like the vanilla bean cupcake. She says it’s the best in the city. “It’s über moist, and we have a really mean butter cream,” she says.
Coming soon: The menu is always changing. Watch for sundried tomato pesto scones and trail mix cookies. This fall, coffee and tea will be served, along with cinnamon buns and a variety of fall-themed cupcake flavours, like pumpkin spice with brown sugar cream cheese frosting. “You’ll never get bored with our menu,” Mizen says.
Published on: Jul 26, 2011
