I arrived at Lauren Cortesi’s home bakery in Honey Brook, excited for the sweet treats that awaited me. Lauren owns and operates Bella’s, a specialty bakery that she started in 2002.The birth of her daughter in 2001 caused Lauren to imagine what her next career move would be as a stay-at-home mom—this is how she started her bakery. Bella’s offers specialty cakes, wedding cakes, tarts, cupcakes and cookies for all occasions. Better yet, everything is custom made and created fresh!
Lauren stressed that she works hard to create the best personal experience for each customer. “People can get things here that they can’t find anywhere else in the area,” Lauren explained.
The products she offers help fill a gourmet food niche in the area. The quality of ingredients is also excellent; Lauren uses creamery butter, local fresh eggs, gourmet vanilla and Belgian chocolate in her baked goods. Her hard work and delicious treats have not gone unnoticed—Bella’s won Best of the Main Line & Western Suburbs 2011 Best Wedding and Specialty Cakes!
Lauren baked a sampling of her sweet creations for me, and the quality of these desserts was amazing. I sampled four tarts and two cupcakes: a chocolate bourbon pecan pie tart, caramel nut tart, raspberry almond tart, lime curd tart, killer fudge cupcake and a vanilla cupcake with butter cream. They were all delicious, and it was fabulous to taste some of Lauren’s desserts for myself.Before I tried any sweets, Lauren told me that her butter cream really sets her apart, and I believe it! It was so light and creamy, I could have eaten a plate of those butter cream cupcakes with extra icing, please! The killer chocolate cupcake was decadent—it was definitely a chocolate lover’s dream. The icing was thick and fudgy, but not overpowering as the chocolate cake was fluffy enough to balance it out. The tarts were also delicious; the raspberry almond was my favorite! Sweet and savory, I could taste the real fruit in the filling and loved the just-right buttery shell.
Head over to Bella’s website for a menu and gallery. Lauren even keeps a blog, where you can read about anything from her vegan cupcakes to making sure your home baker is licensed, which Bella’s is! In the site’s gallery you can see the huge variety Lauren offers, and check out all the beautiful creations she has made previously!
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