Toot Sweet

Emily Sabatte is quite distressed. For 8 years now the Lafayette mom has been buying her daughters’ birthday cakes at Toot Sweets in Lafayette and now that the shop is closing, she doesn’t know of another local bakery that would offer the same kind of quality and creative conceptions.

The bakery has been located at 3518 Mt. Diablo blvd. in the McCaulous shopping center, for 13 years. “We started our first business in Berkeley when we were very young,” remembers Marcy Wheeler the bakery’s owner, “our first place was The Edible Express on College Avenue, and the first Toot Sweets in Berkeley was supplying the café on College.” “We have been customers of theirs since the Edible Express days,” remembers Connie Chiba of Moraga, she used to take there her toddlers who are now adults, “and we were so delighted when they moved to Lafayette in the 90’s.”

Creating cakes was always Wheeler’s forte. “Marcy created a most delicious and beautiful cake for the baptism of my first daughter,” remembers Sabatte, “her decoration was delicate and dainty.” Wheeler’s ability to create unique decoration was one of the Sabatte’s favorite features. The family used to give her a picture that she reproduced on rice paper to decorate the cake. “Marcy always added something special and for my daughters the arrival of the pink box was the real beginning of the celebration.” For Chiba, the height of Wheeler’s talent was always shining at Easter time, “she created those Easter cakes, chocolates and cookies that were so unique.” She remembers how she continued to send Easter baskets to her children way into their college years.

“I’ve always been an artist and my husband is the business person of the group,” explains Wheeler, “I must have been a bit of a chemist too, because I always loved to experiment and create new concoctions.” When Wheeler’s son reached 6th grade, the family moved to Lafayette. “It was a perfect solution for me,” she explains, “I worked and lived here, the kids and their friends helped at the bakery during the Holidays, it was part of our identity.” Now both of their children have moved into their adult life and Marcy feels it’s time to retire from the bakery. “When you’re young you feel that you can do it all,” she says. But last year she hurt her shoulder transporting heavy trays and after she underwent surgery, she realized that choices had to be made.

Behind the bakery, she’s been renting a studio with the Lamorinda arts alliance where painters meet, work, interact and also offer art classes for adults. “I felt we needed a place to work together, not only a location to sell,” says Wheeler, “and this is why this studio came to life.” She adds that if she didn’t have her painting, leaving the bakery would have been much harder. “Art is my number one passion and I’ve had to make choices,” confesses Wheeler. “I’m glad Marcy will still be around,” says Sabatte, “we wish her well in her new endeavor.” Chiba, who took painting classes with Wheeler some years ago is also glad that she is not leaving the area and hopes to work again with her, “she is such an upbeat character in our community,” she says.

Wheeler and her husband have sold Toot Sweets’ lease to a frozen yogurt business, she thinks that this is a hard time for high-end bakeries and it might be the right time for her to retire anyway. “People go to Safeway or Costco because it is cheaper,” she acknowledges, “but by doing so they make choices that will kill the independent businesses that live in their community.” She believes that a movement like “Try Lafayette First” is a great initiative to raise people’s awareness about the importance of shopping locally.

Over the years, she created or modified hundreds of recipes. “I’d love to have the recipe of her pecan pie,” says Chiba, “and of her Boston cream cake, and of her tarts which were so excellent.” Her husband who indulged in the morning bear claws might want that recipe too. To respond to their demand, Wheeler will create a recipe book available for purchase on blurb.com. She would like her customers to send her emails indicating what recipes they are mostly interested in, her email address is: marcy@marcywheeler.com

Side bar for recipe:

Lafayette Police Officers were regularly spotted having their morning oatmeal at Toot Sweets. Wheeler says: “I know it sounds silly, but the recipe most people have asked for lately is how do we make our Oatmeal. Sometimes it is those little "tricks" that make the difference!”

Toot Sweets Oatmeal
Bring 2 cups water to a rolling boil. Add a pinch of salt and 1 cup Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Oatmeal.
Stir only briefly. Turn down heat to low.
Continue to cook 5 minutes, and then turn off heat and let sit for 3-5 more minutes.
Letting the water boil first and not over agitating the cooking oatmeal helps keep the structure of the individual rolled oat. You just can't get that texture with instant, or if you beat it up with a spoon as it's cooking. Having the water already boiling before adding the oats helps set the shape. Brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, cream...that's all up to your preference.