Beyond the cookie-cutter desserts

Today’s dessert connoisseurs won’t settle for day-old cookies and cupcakes, and local bakeries are answering with high-end specialty goods for residents of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

“It really is catering to the individual,” said Candace Nelson, owner of soon-to-be-opened Sprinkles Cupcakes in Newport Beach. “Now people are being more creative and thinking outside the box.”

Upscale bakeries that use premium ingredients are popping up around town and treating their customers to goodies that are baked fresh daily.

Consumers in general and especially in Newport-Mesa have developed sophisticated palates, said Sondra Ames, chief executive officer of Wonderland Bakery in Newport Beach.

“They’re interested in tasting new things and venturing out a bit, so fresh ingredients, incredible taste and recipes are very important,” Ames said.

Serving mini-cakes and cupcakes at events is also becoming the hot trend as customers seek out non-traditional sweets.

“Weddings are more about reflecting the personality of the couple,” Nelson said. “Not to mention ? [cupcakes are] easy, they’re portable, and you don’t need a fork and knife. You can eat them right out of the hand, and there’s no plate to wash.”

Beyond weddings, corporate events are beginning to hire bakeries to create event-specific treats for their guests and employees.

On Friday, Wonderland Bakery was creating 500 leopard-print stiletto-heel mini-cakes as party favors for Neiman Marcus’ event for Manolo Blahnik designer shoes.

“People taste our cookies and have an experience,” said Ames, who added that after an event for the Trish McEvoy makeup line, the New York office expressed interest in ordering cookies and cakes from her bakery. “It’s so specialized and unique.”

Sprinkles focuses on simplicity with its cupcakes. Nelson and her husband started the bakery in Beverly Hills in 2005 and have been busy ever since. They decided to open a location in Newport after loyal customers in the area began shelling out more money for deliveries than the cost of the cupcakes. Sprinkles Cupcakes will be open in the Corona del Mar Plaza, 800 Avocado Ave.

Wonderland opened in Newport Beach the same year under the direction of Ames and the culinary skills of her 20-year-old daughter, Allyson Ames. Wonderland Bakery is at The Bluffs, 1314 Bison Ave.