Gott Nytt År! Happy New Year!
Yes, it’s 2023. A chance to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.
It feels good.
Well, here we are at the start of a fresh new year. It’s the time of year to reflect on where we’ve been and where we are going, and that’s just what I’ve been doing during this two-week break following the busy-ness of the Christmas season.
This March, Fika Bakeshop will have been in business for two entire years! Those two years have been filled with challenges, some failures, and many successes. I am so grateful to all who have gone out of their way to find my little street in Ben Lomond to pick up fresh-baked buns, scones, cakes, and other goodies. Thank you, and I hope the search was worth it!
Something I love about Fika Bakeshop: it allows me to be in a small way a part of peoples’ lives — a part of celebrations, family gatherings, and lazy Sunday mornings with coffee. This is why, when I bake, I consciously pour love into my baking. Sometimes I say a prayer or two while I am stirring or mixing or kneading dough, mixing a hope for joy, light, warmth and love into my baked goods.
Mass-produced baked goods vs. homemade, made-with-love baked goods? The difference lies in the magic of love — the warmth and comfort of home and hearth that is stirred, mixed and kneaded into every bun, cake, scone and cookie that I make.
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Fika Bakeshop News
Winter Seasonal Menu Is Out!
Winter is citrus season, so I have highlighted the Meyer Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake on the menu. My lemon tree is absolutely LOADED with lemons, and I can’t wait to bake some bright and zingy lemon cakes to brighten up the grey, rainy days!
Meyer lemons, waiting to be transformed into Meyer Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake.
New on the menu are Semlor Buns (watch for my next blog post to explain this Swedish delight) and Swedish Almond Cake (known as Tosca Cake in Sweden). I have kept the Orange-Glazed Cranberry Scones because they are soooo good, and for savory I have my Chile Onion Cheddar Scone, which is slightly spicy and perfect with winter stews, soups and chile.
Pop-ups: Keep ‘Em Coming!
I intend to continue doing the pop-up events that I started in July of last year, both at home and at other venues such as Venus Spirits Tasting Room in Santa Cruz and other locations. I love getting to meet people in person, and it makes it a bit easier for people to come try Fika Bakeshop’s baked goods. So keep watch for announcements on Facebook, Instagram, and this website for upcoming pop-ups. And if you know of a business in the San Lorenzo Valley and/or Santa Cruz that would like to partner with me, please let me know!
Streamlined Menu
I get so excited about new recipes that my menu has gotten overly long and complicated for what is basically a one-person operation. So this year, my menu will be more streamlined, featuring one or two seasonal cakes, one sweet and one savory seasonal scone, a seasonal bun, and always the Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake, the Cardamom Bun, and the Swedish Cinnamon Bun.
There may be special flash sales in between times — sometimes I get an urge to bake a certain thing, like my cornbread craze last fall — so be sure to like or follow the Fika Bakeshop Facebook page so you can be notified in real time.
See you soon with some freshly-baked cardamom buns!
💗
— Susan
