Austin Bakery Takes On Challenges of Special Diets
Meghan Krasnoff remembers not being able to eat the cupcakes brought to her class when she was a child. Being lactose intolerant kept her from being able to fully enjoy a lot of desserts. But after becoming a vegan baker and opening Sugar Tooth Bakery, she and other people with dietary restrictions can have their cake and eat it, too.
Sugar Tooth Bakery debuted at Maker Faire in 2008, where Krasnoff passed out 2,000 sample vegan cupcakes. Since then, her business has steadily grown and her treats can now be found at Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse.
“I always loved baking, but didn’t really consider it as a career until I started vegan baking,” Krasnoff said.
As an essentially one-woman show, Krasnoff has worked hard to get Sugar Tooth off the ground during the day while bartending at The Side Bar at nights. What started as baking mainly for her friends out of her house has evolved into a custom-order cake company based out of the Community Renaissance Market in south Austin. It wasn’t luck that got her here.
“This is seriously the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Krasnoff said. “When everything is kind of a struggle, you just have to persevere and keep hoping for the best.”
Although starting a business has been challenging and, at times, discouraging, Krasnoff said it’s the supportive vegan community and her clients with dietary needs who make it worth it. It’s not uncommon for Krasnoff to get Thank You e-mails from customers who say they hadn’t been able to enjoy their own birthday cake until finding Sugar Tooth.
“My goal is to be able to work for anybody, whether their special dietary needs are ones they choose or are forced to follow,” Krasnoff said.
Krasnoff recently pulled off an order for a vegan, gluten-free and soy-free cake. Considering cakes’ usual ingredients include eggs, butter and milk, vegan baking isn’t exactly a piece of cake. Krasnoff developed her recipes through trial-and-error, trying to use as few ingredients as possible to re-create and “veganize” popular desserts. The trick, she said, is finding the right balance between wet and dry ingredients.
“The hardest thing to substitute is eggs,” she said. “I still don’t make meringue.”
Sugar Tooth offers Krispie Rice Treats made of crispy rice, brown rice syrup and nut butter. A personal favorite of Krasnoff’s is her baked donuts. Sugar Tooth’s main specialty, however, is custom-ordered cakes and cupcakes. Try the Tiny Piney, a cupcake-sized pineapple upside-down cake, or pick up a Queen of Hearts from Bouldin Creek and delight in the vanilla cupcake with strawberry filling. For a party, pick up a dozen from the kitchen or e-mail Krasnoff about your vegan cake dreams.
As a growing business, Krasnoff strives to use as many sustainably-made and organic ingredients as she can. Despite the difficulties of running a business alone, Krasnoff relishes in making Sugar Tooth a venture she can be proud of. It’s her ultimate goal to open a storefront, where patrons could just as easily bike as drive there to enjoy her vegan staples and experiments.
“I want to have a little space that creates community,” Krasnoff said. “A place where people can go and feel good about going.”
Until then, Krasnoff continues to make people feel good about their dessert options, one order at a time.
Sugar Tooth Bakery // 6800 West Gate Blvd // 512.567.1363
—By Amira Jensen, Vagina Food Editor
