March brings one good news story after another for dessert lovers.
First, the launch of Deep Dish Cookies; now, the opening of a brand new pâtisserie that offers "galette bretonne" cookies, madeleines, crumble cream puffs and more.
Angel’s Pastries opened in early March at the same spot where New West’s Empanada Gal, West Coast Pretzel Co. and Trove Desserts create their magic.
The bakeshop formerly known as Bread Away had been part of a few markets in White Rock before. But this year, Angel Huang, owner of the bakery, decided to give it a new name, a new face as an online pre-order custom gourmet pastry shop, and a new stable home in New West.
Since the opening, she has been getting as many as 30 orders per week — with the key lime tart the most in demand, she said.
All the desserts, including cupcakes, dark chocolate brownies, almond tuiles, and cheesecake slices, are made by Huang herself at the shared kitchen space in New West.
One-woman team
Huang starts kneading the dough and whipping the cream as early as 3 a.m. everyday. Having worked in the baking industry for the past 10 years, she's now used to rolling out of bed and into the kitchen before dawn, she said.
“All bakeries start work very early because sometimes they provide breakfast, fresh baked goods, for all customers.”
But with Angel's Pastries, Huang has moved out from under the wings of a company to start her own bakery for the first time. “This year, I just wanted to give it a try. I wanted to try out my special sweets,” said the Vancouver-based pastry chef.
Though being your own boss means that you could get away with snoozing the alarm, Huang continues to operate in the standard “bakery schedule” — 3 a.m. to noon.
“Even after I go back home, I still want to try out some recipes. Whenever my husband comes back home from outside, he goes, 'Oh, she is cooking again!'”
Inspired by childhood memories
But Huang doesn't tire of glazing and greasing. “I have had the passion for baking ever since I was very young."
"My parents were always in the kitchen making sweets. Even my dad would join my mom in the kitchen. They would make pastries, and I just loved the smell of it,” she recalled.
“My dad loved making crepes. I remember him cooking crepes for me. It was just so nice.”
Eventually, this childhood memory inspired Huang to learn how to turn crepes into a striking dessert. “The regular crepe is just like one crepe with honey or whipping cream. But when I went to China, I saw that they use crepes to make layered cakes.”
So, she learned to layer the crepes herself, and now offers crepe cakes in her shop.
Huang is on a mission to bring the learnings from her travel, her childhood and from her stints in Taiwan, Australia and Canada to her baking experiments in New West.
One time, she said, she made a maple bacon cupcake — a special custom order for a client. It was a trial, she admitted, but the customer “freaking loved it.”
“That's what I do; whatever is in your mind, I try and make it.”
“I try to make your dream come true,” she said.
Angel’s Pastries is located at 800 20th St.
