Name: A little girl in Africa learned to bake with an American cookbook. Now, she has her own bakery in Racine
Brand: journaltimes.com
SKU: journaltimes-com-52
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

A little girl in Africa learned to bake with an American cookbook. Now, she has her own bakery in Racine

preview

Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisA little girl in Africa learned to bake with an American cookbook. Now, she has her own bakery in RacineShare thisRACINE — It started with a cookbook. “My late aunt had it. It was actually from America,” Roshan Elias said of her first memories of cooking, when she was 7 years old in her home country of Malawi, in east Africa.“It had all the American recipes, like pumpkin pie. The first thing I baked was a pumpkin pie.” That pie didn’t turn out well, Elias said.But the trial and error behind baking — as well as having her family serve as taste-testers — pushed her.“(My family) would be honest with me if something wasn’t nice,” Elias said. “The more I got better, the more my mom started encouraging me. My dad wouldn’t eat anybody else’s scones.”Now, she’s the owner of Sugar and Spice Cupcakes, which opened in 2014 and got its first storefront in January 2020, at 3751 Douglas Ave., just south of Three Mile Road.“I grew up in a family that cooks,” Elias said, adding she comes from an Indian background. “We use a lot of spices and we use a lot of sugar.”Her carrot cake cupcakes have spices like cloves and cinnamon; combinations like that inspired the name of the bakery — bringing spices and sugars together.In the future, Elias hopes to serve savory foods alongside the sweets. She’s considering , pastries that are either fried or baked with fillings like potato or beef.Mainstay delicacies like cakes, cookies, cake pops and even French macarons can be found at Elias’s bakery, but with her own touch. Her red velvet cupcakes are made with a “citrus twist,” she said, and her chocolate cupcakes are sometimes made with beer.Elias never forgets her roots when she’s behind the mixer. Sometimes, she throws in — made with with the sugar, cream and fruit of the — into her desserts.“A lot of people don’t know this, but the coffee I serve is sourced from Africa too,” Elias said.For more information on Sugar and Spice Cupcakes, visit&nbsp;&nbsp;or . The shop is located at 3751 Douglas Avenue. It is open 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays. Outdoor and indoor seating options are available.&nbsp;Elias started getting a following as a vendor at local farmers markets, working with Milaeger’s and fulfilling special orders. Opening a business was “definitely not not something I thought I would be able to do,” she said. “But now that I’m doing it, I enjoy the whole aspect of it.”One day while working at the bakery, Elias struck up a conversation with a customer, as she often does, but what she learned from the customer was unexpected.“She told me she drove all the way from Illinois,” Elias said.The customer told Elias that her daughter tried Sugar and Spice cupcakes at the about two years ago, and that her daughter specially requested them for her birthday.“I was shocked that she remembered me,” Elias said.Robyn Woodward has been a customer of Elias’ since she opened her storefront right before the pandemic. When it struck, Woodward said she bought Elias’ cupcakes to deliver to porches of family and friends, and a local veterinary clinic.“(Roshan) exceeds our expectations,” Woodward said. “She takes the time to talk to her customers.”Elias had to temporarily shut down for a few weeks when the pandemic hit, she said. There have been times she thought about quitting.“When no one shows up or I sell one cupcake, I’m like, ‘Why am I here?’ “ Elias said. On other days, she’ll get orders as large as 300 cupcakes or a customer comes in and makes her day. Support from her customers and her family keep her going, and keep her happy.“It’s a rollercoaster ride,” Elias said, “but I’m just riding the wave and hoping we can get over it.”Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.Roshan Elias founded Sugar and Spice Cupcakes in 2014 but opened her own bakery with a storefront at 3751 Douglas Ave. in January 2020. Top left:&nbsp;Elias prepares a batch of Wedding Cake cupcake, made of almond sponge cake and almond buttercream, one of her most popular offerings.&nbsp;Top right: Elias poses in front of her display case.&nbsp;Bottom right: A customer visits Sugar and Spice Cupcakes on Wednesday, April 14.&nbsp;Bottom middle:&nbsp;Elias' Galaxy Cupcakes.&nbsp;Bottom right:&nbsp;Elias packs an order of a half-dozen cupcakes.Sugar and Spices Cupcakes serves other desserts, such as these dark chocolate cookies and chocolate cake pops.&nbsp;From left, Donna Heusdens of Racine, Mary Weaver of Racine, and Pat Best of Waterford, buy cupcakes from Roshan Elias of Sugar and Spice Cupcakes in Festival Hall during a "Ladies Night Out" event in September 2017, years before Elias opened her own brick-and-mortar bakery on Douglas Avenue.{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.Topics

Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisA little girl in Africa learned to bake with an American cookbook. Now, she has her own bakery in RacineShare thisRACINE — It started with a cookbook. “My late aunt had it. It was actually from America,” Roshan Elias said of...

A little girl in Africa learned to bake with an American cookbook. Now, she has her own bakery in Racine

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS