ROCKY RIVER, Ohio - The name Sweet Melissa may bring a classic Allman Brothers song into your head. In Rocky River though, the name conjures up images of delicious treats.
Pastry chef Megan Pigg makes treats that have earned Sweet Melissa on Detroit Road this year's Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon award for Best Desserts.
"We generally make about two or three cake recipes every day," Pigg said. "Cookie doughs then brownies and cheesecakes and then we start decorating cupcakes, cookies, brownies and cakes."
Pigg said she uses 50 to 75 pounds of sugar daily and 100 pounds of Ganache (heavy cream and chocolate) every week. But the items on the menu may be the "healthiest" desserts you'll ever eat.
"We use a line of vegan as well as organic ingredients," said owner Matthew Ullom. "We use vegan butters, rice, soy and potato flours so that we can have desserts that are made without any flour."
The result is customers who frequent the restaurant multiple times per week.
"By doing everything from the ground up at doing it yourself, making all of your pastry creams and lemon filling from scratch, it creates a better product," Ullom said. "But it starts with using the best ingredients and that's what we focus on."
That focus is clearly on display in plain view next to the cash register in the dining room. Inside are cheesecakes (chocolate, strawberry, blueberry and mixed berry), cupcakes, key lime tarts, chocolate covered strawberries, carrot cake and the best selling Triple Chocolate Torte.
Sweet Melissa will take part in Cleveland Magazine's 17th annual Silver Spoon Awards Party on May 26 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Marriott Downtown Cleveland.
------------------------------
Pete Kenworthy anchors Good Morning Cleveland. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter . You can also email Pete at kenworthy@wews.com .
