When it comes to satisfying a sweet tooth, Laurelea’s Pastries & Café in Genoa takes the cake – and the cupcake, as well as the cookie, the pie and sweet, gooey cinnamon roll too.

The pastry shop and café, located at 624 Main St., is owned by sisters Leah Myers and Lauren Littleton and their mom Stephanie Littleton, who together have years of experience baking sweet treats. Leah worked at a coffeehouse in Oak Harbor when she was high school, and Stephanie baked all the desserts at a Rossford bar and grill the family owned some twenty-some years ago.

“And Lauren started baking as a child, entering her cookies and cakes in 4-H competitions at the Ottawa County Fair,” Leah said. “Once, her old-fashioned chocolate cake was auctioned for $250.” (Find it at Laurelea’s as “Granny’s Chocolate Cake.”

Don't have the time to bake for the holidays? Laurelea's is accept- ing orders for a wide array of decadent desserts, including cookie trays, cakes, pies, and cupcakes.

Leah’s husband James also lends a “much-kneaded” hand, making the cinnamon rolls, cinnamon raisin swirl and other breads for the café.

Like many entrepreneurs, the idea for a business came by chance. After hearing about Cake in a Cup – a Toledo cupcake shop that took top honors in the Food Network show, “Cupcake Wars,” Leah and Lauren decided to drive over to Central Avenue see what all the fuss was about.

“We wondered why there was nothing like that on this side of the Woodville Mall,” Leah said “We were inspired.”

The sisters started baking cupcakes in the kitchen at Leah’s Genoa home, using longtime family recipes that they tweaked here and there.

As they baked, they’d share the fruits of their labors with family and friends. “Before long, we had people calling saying, ‘I’m a friend of so-and-so and I had one of your cupcakes and can you bake some for me?” Leah said.

In 2010, they provided baking services for their first wedding and as orders came in, they realized their business had outgrown Leah’s kitchen.

When the Genoa building – which formerly housed a café – became vacant, the women decided it would be a perfect location to open a business.

“It was ready to go – we didn’t have to do much at all,” Leah said.

Before getting started, the trio wrote a basic recipe for their new endeavor. “First, we wanted to offer high-quality baked goods made from scratch,” Leah said. “It was also important that we conduct our business in a socially responsible way.”

Like many first-time business owners, they made some mistakes and miscalculations.

“The first couple of weeks in business, we offered a traditional coffeehouse menu and homemade baked goods,” Leah said. “But it seemed no matter how much we baked, we couldn’t keep up – we’d be sold out by 11 a.m.”

Shortly after, they began offering a lunch menu that included homemade soups, salads and sandwiches. Since then, Laurelea’s has been drawing several “regulars” along with a steady stream of fresh faces stopping in for a cup of joe, a sweet treat or homestyle lunch.

The menu varies daily. “We have a mix of baked goods every day, including our coffeecake, cinnamon rolls, cookies and a pie or cake,” Leah said. “We also try to have scones every day or at least three to four times a week.” Cupcakes are featured mostly on Fridays and Saturdays, but it’s not unheard of to find them on a Monday or Tuesday too.

Special orders are always welcome with a couple of days’ notice. Choose from the full menu of close to 50 different kinds of cupcakes, including “adult” line of flavors that include liquors in the cupcake or the buttercream frosting.

Want something that’s not on the menu? Just ask. “We do a lot of trial-and-error,” Leah said. “It doesn’t always work out perfectly, but it’s lots of fun eating the “mistakes.”

Some of the most popular cupcake varieties include Red Velvet and strawberry, which have real chunks of strawberry in the cake and the buttercream.

“Along with our attention to quality, our buttercream is something that I think sets us apart ¬– we use real butter,” Leah said.

Enjoy your baked good with a fresh cup of house blend or decaf or perhaps one of the seasonal flavored coffees like Jingle Bell Java or Peppermint Mocha. Tea, hot chocolate and a wide variety of signature lattes are also available.

“Our signature lattes are like drinking your dessert,” Leah said. “Our Salted Caramel combines both sweet and salty flavors – it’s like “OMG in a cup.”

Laurelea’s is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Saturday 8 to 2:30 p.m. Lunch is served 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Don’t have the time to bake for the holidays? Laurelea’s is accepting orders for a wide array of decadent desserts, including cookie trays, cakes, pies and, of course, cupcakes.

“We’re also offing traditional apple, pumpkin and pecan pies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin rolls and peach pudding pie, a signature Laurelea’s dessert,” Leah said, noting that holiday orders must be placed by Dec. 19.

For more information about Laurelea’s or to place an order, call 419-377-3786.

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