Cake can be more than a decadent treat since now you can find sweet and healthy options. Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas of Sweet Laurel have created the recipes for grain-free flavors that inspire devotion in adults and kids alike.
After dealing with an auto-immune disorder and being prescribed a strict elimination diet, Laurel began experimenting with recipes. Her experiments ed to the array of innovative and delicious baked goods featured in both the cookbook and the Cake, Coffee + Tea shop.
Photographer, writer, and cook Claire Thomas partnered with Laurel to create the Sweet Laurel brand. The whole foods baking company is beloved for their gorgeous and delicious grain-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free baked goods. Sweet Laurel has new cookbook divulging the duo’s baking secrets. Their inviting Pacific Palisades shop on Sunset Boulevard offers a space where people can savor guilt-free cakes and superfood lattes.
The details are part of the experience in the shop Sweet Laurel: Cake, Coffee + Tea. Claire is behind the space’s gorgeous design and handpicked every item in the space. Laurel describes their shop as a return home. The two grew up in Santa Monica and were part of the Palisades community as kids.
Some of their fan favorites include Chocolate Caramel Layer Cake, Vanilla Coconut Jam Cake, Lemon Coconut Cake, Pumpkin Spice Caramel Cake, and more. You can even go home with some of their famous vegan caramel. Kids are becoming some of the most eager customers. Claire says, “The kids have been the best. On our first day, we had a few little boys came in who were diabetic. And they were so excited to order something at a bakery counter just like anybody else. It totally reaffirmed why we started Sweet Laurel in the first place–to create a delicious, inclusive experience.
Enjoy Sweet Laurel
Everyone should be able to enjoy delicious, indulgent food, no matter their dietary restrictions.
Sweet Laurel: Cake, Coffee + Tea 15279 Sunset Blvd, Pacific Palisades, CA 90292 Open 7am-10pm daily. sweetlaurel.com
Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.