Those who have sunk their teeth into a generous slice of turtle cake filled with rich chocolate mousse and topped with toasted pecans and buttery caramel sauce know a quality dessert when they see one.
If you are a local sweet tooth, chances are you have gotten your chocolate fix at Sweet Life Patisserie. You probably know a thing or two about its tiramisu, white chocolate mint fudge cake and fresh fruit tarts. However, few regulars know about the people who transform flour and chocolate into masterpieces. If you have been wanting to know why your slice of Sweet Life pie is still warm with flaky, soft crust and why the chocolate ganache is so rich and creamy, perhaps you don’t know what goes on across the alley from Sweet Life.
In a building entirely separate from Sweet Life sits the hidden bakery where all the baking magic takes place. Michael Torres plays one of the many vital roles in producing what all Sweet Life customers keep coming back for: delicious pastries, cakes and pies.
The Sweet Life bakery is where all the behind-the-scenes work takes place to produce the finished products, which are then put on display in the Sweet Life glass cases. With a dish-washing station, a walk-in refrigerator, walk-in freezer, ovens, and baking and decorating stations, the bakery is lacking nothing.
“It’s our own little world over here,” Torres said.
Whether Torres is baking or decorating, he has a professional technique that he has slowly acquired over his 25 years in the culinary industry. He brings his expertise and enthusiasm for dessert foods into the Sweet Life bakery where he makes everything from custom birthday cakes to chocolate eclairs.
On a normal day, Torres said he will make up to 50 tarts, pies and cakes. He claims he can decorate and finish one cake every 10 minutes, and his pace has come with years of practice. Although he says sometimes he gets carried away with the decorating, he is always proud of the work he does.
“I tend to be a perfectionist, and sometimes I go a little slower; I spend a little longer on some cakes than I should, but it is all about that finished product,” Torres said.
The whipped cream, frostings, cake batter and even the small chocolate decoration pieces, which Torres likes to call “doodads,” are all made fresh at the bakery on a daily basis.
“Nothing gets frozen here, and all of our ingredients are made right here in our bakery,” Torres said. “And you don’t have to worry about nutrition facts here — it’s all calorie free,” he joked.
Sweet Life co-owner Cheryl Reinhart said it is more than just the top-notch ingredients that make Sweet Life an after-dinner hot spot.
“We all work really hard to make sure that we produce the highest-quality products.
Everyone here is just really skilled, and they love their jobs,” Reinhart said. “We are so lucky to have Michael because he brought his experienced skill set to our bakery and everyone loves to work with him.”
When Torres comes into work, he either bakes, decorates or makes ingredients, but he said he enjoys baking desserts the most.
“I really enjoy the process of making something from scratch and watching the process happen and then being able to see and deliver the finished product,” Torres said.
Torres also enjoys making customized birthday cakes. He recalls one time when he was asked to make a red cake in the shape of a woman’s body for a 40th birthday party.
Torres said one of the trickiest parts of the custom cakes is writing on the cake’s surface.
“A lot of people want different things written on their cakes, and when the cake has a fruit topping, well, that is the trickiest,” Torres said. “Some people write backwards, or write the first and last letters first, but for me, I have just been doing it so my technique works. It is just luck and experience.”
Torres admits he actually doesn’t eat many desserts, and he often craves salty, fried foods, but once in awhile he does have a sweet tooth for one particular dessert. He confessed to his dessert weakness — chocolate cake soaked in orange syrup with whipped cream and topped off with a blood orange topping, known as a Chocolate Orgasm.
Although Torres is working with knives and cooking machinery on a daily basis, he said the most dangerous part of his job is something a little less obvious.
“The only danger in this kitchen is that I can eat what I make, and I would weigh a lot more if I did,” Torres said.
Torres likes to leave the consumption part of his job to his loyal customers. One returning dessert lover is University student Kylee Campbell.Campbell, who is originally from Portland, said that since she has lived in Eugene, Sweet Life has been her dessert location of choice.
“I’ve been a dedicated Sweet Life customer for four years. It is a little embarrassing that they know me by name,” Campbell said. “Everything is unique and fresh. It is a little treasure box full of surprises; my favorite are the pumpkin cookies, the tiramisu and the scrumptious peanut butter cake. I can never get enough.”