A Passion for Decorating

Sarah Bryan grew up helping her mother and grandmother in the kitchen, but never really thought of it as a career. As a teenager, though, she became increasingly interested in reading recipes and learning about the ingredients and techniques used in each dish.

“I was really interested in the whole thing, cooking and especially baking,” she says.

Bryan continued helping prepare meals and desserts for her family dinners, learning more from her grandmother.

“She taught me the basics of baking and cooking,” Bryan recalls.

But it was Bryan’s mother who suggested she go to school and pursue a career in baking.

“I can enjoy what I’m studying and make a career out of something I love and enjoy,” Sarah Bryan says.

Bryan graduated with a degree in baking and pastry arts from Penn College of Technology. Her passion for the craft continued to grow as she returned to the Centre County area to work in restaurants.

“[Those jobs] grew my baking repertoire,” she says.

Now, her skills are showcased in the treats she creates at Sweets of Gold in Milesburg. Bryan launched the business in October 2022 and opened the storefront earlier this year.

Sweets of Gold takes cake, cookie, and other dessert orders, as well as operating as a quaint coffee shop.

In the coffee shop, Bryan bakes a variety of treats including cinnamon rolls, muffins, doughnuts, and a rotating variety of sugar cookie designs each week. She challenges herself to change the themes to brainstorm new design ideas.

“I try to switch it up to keep it fun,” she says.

She also serves Hope Coffee, which is single origin and sourced directly from farmers. It was an important addition to her business.

“In college, we worked a lot with single origin chocolate,” she says. “I know the effects of how much it benefits the community—not just the farmers but the whole community—whenever it’s single origin, so that was a major must when I opened.”

Bryan enjoys the artistry and creativity of cookie decorating. She loves selecting the perfect color scheme, creating intricate designs, and incorporating her style into the process. The cookie decorating can be a slow process, but Bryan loves her work.

“It’s so relaxing. It’s where all my passion goes in,” she says of cookie decorating. Each cookie can take up to five minutes, depending on the design’s details. “They’ve been my passion from the beginning and even before I started my business.”

She looks forward to “cookie decorating days,” when she gets to spend quiet time listening to music or a podcast while enjoying the opportunity to be creative.

Bryan’s passion is evident in her designs. She carefully chooses colors to connect with her customers’ themes when decorating cookies and cakes. Mixing the colors can take a lot of time in order to achieve the perfect hue and tone.

“Even if you’re recreating a pattern, finding the colors can change it entirely,” Bryan says. “I’ll try to reflect different elements of them and find a piping style or piping tip that kind of abstractly complements it.”

Bryan says her most popular events to bake for are baby showers, birthdays, and weddings. She offers varying sizes in cakes and is continuing to expand her skillset while maintaining her signature hand-crafted and from-the-heart touch.

She uses ingredients that will look and taste good when decorating. After all, her little pieces of art are edible.

“I try to work only with buttercream,” she says of her cakes. She likes the taste of buttercream and reserves fondant for detail and accent work. However, her talent still allows her to achieve the perfectly smooth look that fondant gives.

Interested customers can contact Bryan through her website or Facebook, or stop by the store to talk about potential orders. Prices vary based on the level of detail necessary for the product’s design. Her schedule can fill fast, so Bryan recommends customers order well in advance of their events. She has an online portfolio of past creations and enjoys working with customers to design the perfect tasty treats for their special occasion. T&G

Hannah Pollock is a freelance writer in State College.

Sweets of Gold

200 Mill Street, Milesburg

SweetsOfGoldLLC.com

Facebook: sweetsofgoldllc