Community Spotlight: 12th Street Sweets!

Once again, I am SO excited to put the "virtual spotlight" on another great place in our community! If you haven't heard of 12th Street Sweets, you have not been "looking for the good in your community"! The mastermind behind all of the deliciousness is none other than my good ol' friend from way back, Miss Lisa Willman. We sat together in Spanish class, we were roommates on our trip to Spain, and heck...my husband and I met at her house! Needless to say, Lisa is a special girl to both of us! She has started a home-based bakery here in the Quad-Cities, and I recently interviewed her about it. Please read what she has to say...she is truly passionate about her work, and the pictures tell it all!

1.       What was the inspiration for 12^th street sweets? (How did it start, when did you start baking, etc.)

12^th Street Sweets is the result of a renewed interest in a lifelong hobby and being in the right place at the right time. As long as I can remember, every birthday/holiday/special event/Tuesday came complete with a dessert, but Christmastime is when my family really pulled out the stops. My grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and mom would all gather together to make plates of sweets to pass out to friends and neighbors. Then life happened. I moved away for several years during college, and, although I managed to make it back home for almost all of the major events and holidays, I still missed the little get-togethers (and the desserts that went with them) like crazy. When I finally moved back to the Quad Cities two years ago, I was determined to make every party from here on out count, and my way of making them special was with loads and loads of sugar.

Around this same time, two other very important events took place. First, I met the love of my life, B, and we began a wonderful relationship. B is a diabetic, so for the first time, I started learning about the properties of sugars, and started paying very close attention to the ingredients that I was using. I started trying out new recipes and bringing in the extras to work. People started talking. They started asking me to make things for them, and I thought, “Ok, maybe I could do this…” B filled me up with ideas, inspiration, and encouragement, and told me that, yes, yes I could.

Then, one of my beloved grandmothers (pictured above) passed away, but not before she cleaned out her kitchen and gave me loads of her beloved utensils and tools. I love how the wooden rolling pins are stained and cracked, and how her collection is based not in what the newest gadget was, but in what had served her well for decades and will continue to do so for years to come. Sometimes, when I use them, I can still see her in her kitchen, or standing by the stove. I think there’s a little bit of magic left in these items, and I’m determined to see what they’re capable of.  Other than that, it’s just been a word-of-mouth thing. People are talking about my desserts and want to try them out, and I’m happy to oblige. 12^th Street Sweets is just what I call my little hobby, my little corner of the kitchen.

2.       What is your favorite thing to bake (cookies, cakes, cupcakes,bars,etc.)?  Why?

My favorite thing to make is probably custom-decorated sugar cookies. Of course these are often the most time-consuming too, but I love that you can create just about anything out of two basic ingredients – cookies and icing. No need for fancy fondant or gumpaste in a cookie (of course you can use these – it’s just not necessary). They’re just a basic medium in which you can be oh-so-creative. I like that.

3.       Do you have a favorite order so far? (your best work, your best cake, etc.)  And have you had any mishaps with any orders? (we all make mistakes!)

This Cat in the Hat cake was a lot of fun, but it started out as a total mishap. I had painstakingly created a buttercream transfer of the Cat the night before, but when I got it out of the freezer, for some reason it hadn’t set up yet. So when I went to put it on the cake, it literally disintegrated before my very eyes. Ughhh…. Not cool. So I ended up grabbing some icing and just drawing this guy by hand. And it worked! (Insert big sigh of relief here) This cake may be simple, but it will always hold a special place for me because I was soooo relieved my last-minute fix worked out, and it ended up matching the party décor perfectly.

I had a similar thing happen with this one. A family I knew was throwing a “White Trash Christmas” themed party and they asked me to create a roadkill cake for the event. So I had grand visions of this really detailed raccoon getting run over by a car on the highway. The original image I made didn’t quite work out the way I had planned, but then I kinda smacked myself and realized it was supposed to look crappy. It’s a white trash Christmas! So we threw some asphalt rubble (crushed oreos), made some cigarettes and doobies out of tootsie rolls and called it good. I’m told that the party’s catering included canned sardines and Cheez-Wiz, and that the family’s weiner dog wore a wife beater tank top.




 That said, my favorite cakes are the ones that go off without a hitch. Doesn’t happen often, but I can dream….right??

4.       How is 12^th street sweets different (AKA better!) than other local bakeries in the Quad Cities?

I get a lot of people calling me that say they’d gone to other bakeries and were handed a book of options and told to choose something. I think people want to have more say in their desserts than that, especially if it’s for a special event. Brides have poured over glossy photos in the magazines, and they want to make sure their cake is both unique and fabulous. This is where 12^th Street can step in. Not only will we create custom flavors, but I work with the customer to select a design, so that the dessert is one-of-a-kind and made special for them. For large orders, we usually have a consultation, and then I send them a sketch for approval. I’ve found that people really enjoy playing an active role in designing their desserts. We also differ from larger bakeries because of the active role we take in your ceremony. We will not only make the desserts, but I’ve also helped brides design their dessert tables, made custom cake stands, and even made one bride’s wedding dress!

        12^th Street also offers desserts that most bakeries don’t carry. We make cake balls, cake pops, truffles, cheesecake, pies, you name it. We can also recreate your favorite foods with desserts. We’ve done a tostada dinner out of cookies and fruit before for a taco dinner fundraiser.  Here’s a nice summertime meal perfect for grilling out – all out of desserts!

5.       What are your goals for the bakery this year?  Where would you like to see it in five years?

Right now, the bakery is just a hobby, but it’s come so far in its short lifetime that I can’t even imagine what the next year or so hold! Later this year, I’m planning on taking some courses from a world renown sugar flower artist and am definitely looking forward to incorporating some of those in future cakes, so keep your eyes peeled! Within five years, I’ll just be excited if people are still getting excited about the desserts that come out of 12^th Street. That’s what keeps me going – making other people’s events special through dessert.

6.       If someone is going to try 12^th street sweets for the first time, what “sweet” do you recommend they try?? (is there a most popular item?)  And most importantly, how do they order? (what is the best way to reach you?)

If someone’s just looking for something to sweeten their day, then I recommend trying either some cookies or bars. Sugar cookies are always a hit, but my personal favorite right now are these dark brown sugar drop cookies made with dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and dried tart cherries. It has the perfect blend of sweet and sour. For bars, I highly recommend the cream cheese cookie dough bars (but remember to keep them in the fridge). These are so tasty I recently had a bride that came in to order a huge wedding cake change their minds and go with a smaller cake and these instead.

Ordering a small batch of cupcakes is another good way to try us out. 12^th Street boasts a lengthy list of cake and icing flavors, and of course we can make custom toppers to make them extra special.

I can be reached by phone, email, Facebook, or smoke signal. Phone is (563)-381-7796. Email is lisa.willman@gmail.com. Facebook is under Lisa Anne Willman. Smoke signal is …well…just smoke. Every order is made custom, so please give us at least a couple of days’ notice so that we can make sure to mark you down on the schedule. Thank you!!

So, contact Lisa ASAP!  Even if it's just a small order of cupcakes....although I would go with the large of course!  Bon apetit!