The Pink Apron puts fun twists on baked goods, including gluten-free and vegan options

Sarah Smith had one goal while creating the recipe for her pizza supreme bread. It needed to be just like a slice of supreme pizza, with something delicious in every bite.

She nailed it, and it’s become one of the most popular items for her business, The Pink Apron. That creative and conscientious approach applies to all her sweet and savory treats, from cookies and cream cinnamon rolls and bacon cheddar jalapeño bread to gluten-free vegan snickerdoodles.

Originally from Eau Claire, Smith moved to Milwaukee to grow her baking career with a job at Classy Girl Cupcakes. During the pandemic she started baking at home and launched her business, which the Menomonee Falls resident now operates out of a commercial kitchen in Elm Grove.

Look for The Pink Apron at several area markets on select dates, including the Riverwest Market, 2700 N. Pierce.; the Fondy Farmers Market, 2200 W. Fond du Lac Drive; and the Menomonee Falls Market at Village Park, N87W16749 Garfield Drive, Menomonee Falls.

Smith recently talked about how she got started baking and her business.

Her baking roots

I grew up baking during the holiday time with my grandmothers. I wasn’t allowed to bake at home! My mom was a hardcore clean freak. Our oven was just for show. I always joke about it. I was obsessed with baking as a little girl. I was given an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas one year. My mother did not allow me to use it once.

But I always loved baking. When I moved out on my own I started doing more. I went to CVTC (Chippewa Valley Technical College) and have a degree in business management. I moved to Milwaukee and had my first official baking job at Classy Girl Cupcakes. I learned a lot.

I started Pink Apron in my apartment kitchen in November 2020. ... I also now work at Fresh Baked Cafe in Elm Grove, female owned. She started at farmers markets as well, now has several locations.

She puts her own twists on tradition

I want to have traditional apple pie and snickerdoodle cookies, but then also fun flavors like maybe a brie and pear tart or a pizza supreme bread. Sometimes I just want a little fun and wacky. I started going to the Menomonee Falls market, where they were getting ready for a lavender festival. I made lemon lavender cookies and lavender cinnamon rolls. They were a huge hit. It is fun when people come back after trying something they were hesitant about.

I like to say my style is simplistic, kind of on the rustic side. I want my product to look pretty, but I care more about it being the best you ever tasted. That’s every baker’s goal.

One recipe that’s always on her menu

Apple pie. I am a very big fan of making sweet and savory pies.

Why she always includes vegan and gluten-free options

I personally don’t have any allergies, but working in bakeries I have seen so many things. I have seen people with allergies to gluten, to dyes, to cornstarch. You learn so much. (Most) baking soda has corn starch in it. It is a learning process, but I feel that people who have allergies still need to be able to indulge.

I’ve been looking into doing more recipes so I have more options. A lot of times the easiest way to swap things out is soy, and a lot of people have soy allergies. It may be harder to make things without, but I think it is necessary, not just for the caring side, but the business side. It is difficult, you have to be cautious. I don’t want to be the cause that you or your child has to go to the hospital. We’re going to be responsible and do our research. You take the sanitation seriously. People do ask if it is 100% free, and I can’t say that, because everything is baked in the same kitchen.

Most requested sweet treat

Right now it is my triple chocolate chip cookies, then my gluten-free vegan snickerdoodles. I personally love snickerdoodles. I knew I could make them gluten free and vegan, and they are a huge hit. I have people who come specifically for just that cookie. My triple chocolate chip is milk, dark and white chocolate. It is the biggest thing on my wholesale account, too. I keep selling out, which is a good problem to have.

She has a favorite frosting, but cake is always the star

I usually do classic American buttercream, but I want to dabble more in Swiss buttercream because it is more light. I am very picky about frosting. I love to use heavy whipping cream in my frosting, but sometimes it can be too heavy. I try to have my frostings not be too sweet, and I am less-is-more when it comes to frosting. I feel like what is beneath it is the star.

Favorite recipe to make for herself

It is a tie. I love this stuffed brioche bread I only make at home, because of the amount of cheese you have to put into that bad boy.

I am also obsessed with the movie “Waitress,” this cute movie about this woman who makes a different pie recipe every day. I highly recommend it. That would be my dream, just wake up every day and make a pie, a spaghetti pie, a squash pie, and anything my wacky brain thinks up. I’m not artistic when it comes to drawing and art, but I am creative when it comes to food. I made a peach habanero pie with a spicy sugar crumble on top. So good. Then I tried strawberry jalapeño. That was not good. It is all about creating. Sweet and savory, that is my favorite.

Recipe resources and influences

I have been going down the rabbit hole on TikTok. They have figured out my algorithm. I love and hate social media. I am not as good as I would like to be at it, but it is so good for ideas.

Someone posted a banana foster cinnamon roll recipe. I saw it and thought it was so clever. Then I started rolling ideas. Okay, what about peach cobbler cinnamon roll, or a Nutella? That worked great for me, because now I've been doing fun cinnamon roll flavors. That’s been my top seller at markets lately. I have a wholesale account (at Wantable Cafe, 123 E. Walker St.) where you can find some of my things. The Nutella cinnamon roll took off. Then I did a cookies and cream cinnamon roll that was also popular.

Current flavor obsession

I’m obsessed with a bacon jalapeño cheddar bread that I glaze honey. I have another one I do, similar to a jalapeño popper bread with cheese and jalapeño peppers, but in the center is a sweet and spicy cream cheese filling people don’t expect. I have a slice warmed up and it is chef’s kiss.

Sweet scraps spur ideas

I hate throwing away product. When I have cake scraps, I make cake truffles. I make brownie lasagna with scraps. It is layers of brownie and frosting. I did a sundae version with vanilla buttercream, strawberry preserves, peanuts, rainbow jimmies, chocolate drizzle and a cherry on top. People went crazy for that. It is so Instagrammable with all the colors, and it sounds wacky, but it is really good.

One recipe she’s proud to offer

Pizza supreme bread. I put so much in there I needed a cheat sheet to explain it. I wanted it to be like if it were a pizza supreme from Domino’s, and it is all in there, not just on top. Last night I made a grilled cheese with it, and it was delicious.

How a Milwaukee transplant feels about her community

What I love about Milwaukee is people are so supportive. Everyone in this Milwaukee community just wants everyone to succeed. I love that so much.

A one-woman shop without a storefront

I’m a one-person shop — the baker, the delivery person... I do offer special orders. I have done a few weddings and events, but I keep it limited. For ordering, I do not have a website, it is all through social media. Go to my Facebook (facebook.com/thepinkapron.bakeryy) and Instagram (instagram.com/thepinkapron.bakery) and you can place an order there through direct messages. I do have a full time job on top of this. I don’t want to take more orders than I can accommodate. You can pick up at my commercial kitchen, but it is not a storefront where I have cakes and pies ready to go. People can’t just reach out the same day. My turnaround time is usually three or more days.

Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables (within the food community and without) have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email clewis@journalsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Pink Apron puts fun twists on classic baked goods