By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Traditional Hungarian family recipes dating back several generations are the inspiration behind the pastries, confections and bakery specialties at Sweet Traditions Pastry and Confection Shoppe in Whitehall. Owner Karen Cihak, whose great-grandparents migrated from Hungary, decided to open the shop after two years of operating a special order business out of a leased kitchen.
Cihak bought and renovated 108 W. Colby St., adding a kitchen, dining area, red mahogany floors, antique display cases, and mahogany and black wrought iron bakers’ racks and shelving.
“We wanted a warm inviting atmosphere for our customers,” Cihak says. “The garden area in the back has a water fountain and tables and chairs.”
Hungarian pastries are the shop’s specialties, but Karen also serves up English toffees, homemade caramels, baklava, homemade caramel corn, cheesecakes and some signature desserts like The White Hauler with its chocolate cake base, cream filling, chocolate gnosh filling, and a White Truffle Torte made with a fudgy base, pecans, and white chocolate truffle topping. Customers can order wedding cakes and other specialty cakes.
“The recipes we use are all family recipes from our Hungarian traditions we grew up with,” Cihak says. “We do everything homemade here.”
Visitors can take home the goodies or a pound of specialty coffee (including the shop’s own blend), or enjoy a cup with their favorite pastry while they take a load off inside the 100-year-old storefront or out in the garden.
The store opened last Saturday and is open every Saturday and Sunday until June 6 when it will open seven days a week during the summer tourist season.
Source: Karen Cihak, Sweet Traditions Pastry & Confection Shoppe; Dan Rinsema-Sybenga, Muskegon Area First
Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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