Hometown Desserts
“The icing on the cake!” There is a reason this phrase is so over-used. Is there anything better than icing on a cake, after all? No, not really. When we think of any occasion that requires a cake, automatic joyful images gather in our heads and emotions well up in our hearts. If it calls for cake, there is probably a birthday, wedding, or, even a new baby involved. Or, better yet, maybe the baby’s gender will be revealed with a pink or blue batter, covered with a neutral colored fondant as to not spoil the surprise inside. We may not remember our first dance, but we can sure recall the taste of that wedding cake we spent hours making decisions over. Which flavor, and should it be tastefully decorated with a simplistic design, or “Cake Boss” this thing all the way to the banquet table? Cakes equal love, don’t they? They equal joyful times, meaningful moments, and, in the end, they make the most wonderful events just a bit more special. And that is why we all love cakes.
Now that we have spoken of our infatuation with this scrumptious concoction of flour, sugar, and flavorings, the next issue to tackle is, “Who has the best cakes?” This, my friends, is an important question to answer. If you have had an amazing piece of cake, flakiest cookie, or most delicious dessert while you were dining out, either on the Island or in the Bradenton area, chances are you were eating something created by Hometown Desserts. With well over a dozen popular restaurants on its wholesale distribution list, they are fast becoming the area’s benchmark for fine, freshly baked sweets. And, with two retail locations, one on Anna Maria Island and the other one situated in Bradenton, word-of-mouth praises and an active Facebook page are making drop-ins the norm. In fact, according to owner, Cindy Tutterow, “We are the first stop for a lot of tourists and they always stop by at the end of the season.” Whether they are there for the Key Lime Coconut cupcake or a crispy sugar cookie fashioned into a beautiful mermaid, guests cannot get enough of Hometown Desserts.
For Cindy Tutterow, transitioning from a schoolteacher to a baker was not that far of a stretch. Afterall, she had grown up in the kitchen surrounded by her mother, grandmother, and sisters doing what they all loved – baking. After a period when people were requesting her baked goods and turning her hobby into a side business, she knew her passions really revolved around creating beautiful and tasty treats. These days, Hometown Desserts, in addition to handling amazing dessert lines at multiple restaurants, also does specialty wedding cakes, birthday cakes and treats, and even corporate events with hundreds of attendees.
As a member of IBE for the past six years, Hometown Desserts is a perfect match for other merchants wanting custom cakes, beautiful desserts for an event, or just a monthly stockpile of freshly baked cookies. As a result, Cindy has been able to accumulate her barter points to get two large and very costly freezer and display cases, something her business needed to grow but that she could not have been able to acquire without IBE. And, because people really do love cake, Cindy has also been able to put in an entire security camera system in her stores, all through the money-saving magic of International Barter Exchange.