Sweet Sensations Pastry Lives Up To Its Name
By Anthony Todd in Food on Sep 14, 2011 6:00PM
One of the best cupcakes in Chicago is hiding near the Montrose El stop. You wouldn't know it from the unassuming storefront and modest furniture, but the pastries that Sharin Nathan is baking at Sweet Sensations Pastry might just make your day. And how often can you get desserts from a Charlie Trotter's alum for $3?
We stopped in to visit Nathan a few weeks ago, and found her in the kitchen mixing up some cupcakes. We asked how she got into the food business - at age 18, she ate at Everest and was inspired by the meal so much, she emailed Chef Jean Joho (Everest, Paris Club, Brasserie JO) and asked him where she should go to culinary school. Years later, she staged with him before moving on to two years at Charlie Trotters. "Working the line was a pure adrenaline rush," she remembers.
She took some time off for her family (she has two children) but came back to the kitchen to open Sweet Sensations. She found the bakery on Craigslist while searching for a 20-quart Hobart mixer - like the cliche of a crazy industrialist, she came for the mixer and ended up buying the place!
Sweet Sensations is the neighborhood bakery we all wish we had. Small, comfortable and reasonably priced. Nathan works behind the counter, knows her regulars and hands out pastries and catering advice. Her own food photography (much better than ours) lines the walls, and the cases are filled with bars, cookies and cupcakes. Everyone seems to be gushing about her chocolate chip cookie, and we'll admit it's pretty good. But it's nothing compared the the Lemon Meringue Cupcake.
Made of lemon cake and filled with lemon cream, it's the "icing" - made of meringue instead of butter cream, Nathan toasts the meringue with a pastry torch as a final step. This gives the finished product a gorgeous look and the flavor of a silky toasted marshmallow. Thanks to the lightness of the meringue, the cupcake also doesn't make you feel like you've swallowed a loaf of bread dipped in butter - you might even be able to eat two.
Sweet Sensations Pastry is located at 1918 West Montrose Ave.