Babett Corcoran of Regester Avenue loves to bake.
Babett's specialty is German baked goods that are heiliger strohsack (holy mackerel) delicious! Her bakery isn't exactly a business; she bakes mostly for friends and neighbors at cost. Much like I developed my love for baking through working alongside my grandmothers, Babett, halfway around the world, got a similar start.
As a girl growing up in East Germany, it was normal to work alongside her parents as they prepared meals. Babett started out doing simple things like turning the browning meat, boiling potatoes and making gravy. For Babett's mother, Helga, her passion was baking. Helga taught Babett baking basics such as the importance of mixing the wet and the dry ingredients separately and how to fold in eggs. It became a family ritual to bake a cake on Saturday morning and eat it by Sunday afternoon.
Babett's sister, Yvonn, embraced baking and became a professional baker, until she developed a flour allergy and had to stop (although she did make Babett's wedding cake, which I hear was beautiful and delicious). Now she is a grocery store manager and bakes on occasion for her family.
Three years after the Berlin Wall came down, Babett left her hometown of Brandenburg, started a career in retail and moved to various cities as she advanced her career. On her own, she missed her parents and wanted to do something to keep the connection. She often grew nostalgic for the times in the kitchen working alongside her mother, so she started baking on weekends and giving the resulting cakes and breads to her neighbors, friends and coworkers.
When she met her husband, Casey, they, along with their two children, Mark and Maren Bleiss, made the biggest move of their lives—to Rodgers Forge. Rapidly assimilating to a new country even farther from family and friends, she turned to the familiar comfort of baking. (And her neighbors and Casey's colleagues were thrilled!)
Her neighbor, Jenn Meyer, suggested she start a bakery and boom—an idea was born. She started with a Facebook page simply posting pictures of her goods along with recipes. She also hosted a few baking parties and started attending shows and events. That was two years ago.
Since then she has given up the shows but she still hosts baking parties!
I recently attended one and was not disappointed: apple cake ala Babett's mom, Altenburger tangerine-almond cake, chocolate cake ala Mark, cherry-vanilla cream cake, gluten-free apricot-almond cake, gluten-free cream cheese cookies, German chocolate chip cookies, vegan German bread rolls with raisin or chocolate chips, granola-cranberry-breakfast bread.
Babett bakes every week in order to keep close to her mom. Sometimes Maren helps. Babett loves that this tradition is continuing with the next generation. Her baked goods are not what you would find in area stores, not to mention some of the ingredients aren't even available here, but Helga sends care packages with just what Babett needs. Lots of love and confection.