While most of us do have free reign to eat what we please, some of us do not. As you enjoy a piece of your favorite chocolate cake, your gluten or dairy intolerant friend washes a dry piece of cake down with a glass of (soy) milk just wishing her wheat, butter and egg-free version tasted half as good as your slice. If you find yourself suddenly diagnosed with gluten intolerance, your days of cardboard sweets thankfully have ended.
The allergen sensitive baked goods at Sweet Freedom Bakery, scheduled to open on South St., can and should be enjoyed by everyone. Allison Lubert and Heather Esposito have found unique blends of alternative flours, low glycemic sugars (coconut sugar and agave nectar), and interesting organic additives to yield cookies and cakes that taste just like the butter and egg versions.
The duo decided to launch their bakery after noticing a “connection between mood and food.” With backgrounds in both counseling and nutrition, these women stress the importance of good healthy food on the mind and body. Allison insists that after you taste her healthy creations, you will not want to return to the traditional. “The more in touch you are with your body, the more you realize how much better you can feel” by eating correctly, she says. Satisfy your sweet tooth while warding off the sugar high and the inevitable lows that come afterwards.
The soft chocolate chip cookies hold their own, packing in ample moistness and flavor. While the treat crumbles a bit more than a buttery cookie, the change in texture is merely a difference, not a negative. One bite of the intensely coconut-flavored magic bar, and you would never know the usual suspects (butter, eggs and flour) were left out. The thick chocolate layer on top packs in all the flavor while leaving out the unhealthful elements.
Slated to open by the New Year, the bakery will offer a wide range of sweets: cakes, cookies, brownies, blondies and banana chocolate chip bread. They leave savory goods out of the equation, focusing all attention on emulating the dessert-food classics. Come 2010, throw all of those bland pre-packaged gluten-free substitutes away, because the real thing is here to stay.
Sweet Freedom Bakery
1424 South St.
(215) 545-1899
www.sweetfreedombakery.com
