Glee Havens, executive pastry chef of Glee Cake & Pastry, recently won the second annual Girl Scout Cookie Bake-Off Benefit at Washtenaw Community College.
The bake-off supports Girl Scout outreach efforts to low-income and at-risk girls in Washtenaw and Livingston counties, and brought together selected local pastry chefs for a head-to-head competition.
The only rule – the dessert must include Girl Scout cookies in the recipe.
More than 200 guests attended the benefit and helped judge the event hosted by the WCC Culinary Arts Program.
Glee’s winning dessert creation was a Cinnamon Walnut Caramel Tart garnished with chocolate drizzle and sea salt. The crust was made using Trefoils Shortbread Girl Scout Cookies, and she topped the creation with a spun sugar and chocolate nest.
“We had an absolute blast tonight, and it was for such a good cause,” Havens said in a press release, adding, “I am so proud and honored to be named the winner with so many talented chefs competing.”
In addition to the judges, she said, “our dessert was very popular with the guests too. Some people were coming back for seconds, thirds and even stuffing them in to their purse.”
The cake shop is getting ready for another benefit, Taste of Chelsea, on Saturday, Oct. 6, at St. Mary Church in Chelsea, which benefits St. Louis Center, a residential care facility in Chelsea for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The cake and pastry shop will also be one of 20 participants in Taste of Chelsea on Saturday, Oct. 6 at St. Mary Parish at 14200 E. Old US-12 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. (Advance tickets for the event are $35 each or $40 at the door, with a $5 discount for seniors 65 years of age or older. Children 5 and under are free.)
Also participating are: Artic Breakaway, Back to the Roots, Bearclaw Coffee Chelsea, Biggby Coffee Chelsea, Chelsea Big Boy, Common Grill, Cottage Inn Pizza, Ellie’s Chelsea, Fr. Turner’s Rice Pudding, Glee Cake & Pastry, Jet’s Pizza, Jiffy Mix, Laura’s Catering, Main Street Coney Island, Mike’s Deli, Mill Pond Bread, New Chelsea Market, Smokehouse 52 BBQ, Stivers Restaurant, Thompson’s Pizzeria, Wolverine Food & Spirits, and Zou Zou’s Cafe.
Glee Cake & Pastry opened last November in downtown Chelsea and will celebrate its 1-year anniversary during the Wine, Women & Shopping event on Nov. 10.
“We have some fun things planned for our anniversary,” Havens said.
Glee Cake & Pastry is located at 117 S. Main St. For more information, stop by or check out the shop’s website.
