NORTH OGDEN — It all started last year after date night at the movies with his wife, Trevor White says.
They wanted a snack, something sweet to eat, to top off the night, but to their dismay there was nowhere to go in or around North Ogden, their home town. Nothing that appealed to them, anyway.
“We wanted to go somewhere to get a dessert and there was literally nothing,” White said.
Call it his eureka moment.
“If it’s not here, we should just create it then,” White thought, and less than a year after that search for sweets turned up a goose egg he has filled the gap with the opening of The Dessert Factory. Located at a converted home on the northeast corner of Washington Boulevard and 2650 North in North Ogden, White and his crew offer up everything for those with a hankering for sugar. There are crepes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, Death by Chocolate brownies, flan, a banana/toffee/cream creation called banoffee pie, and more.
The single-minded focus on such a broad array of sweets, snacks and desserts is fairly unique in the area, and White said in the locale’s short history — it opened Jan. 6 — business has been brisk. He’s been experimenting on the range of offerings, with aspirations to expand the menu (macarons are coming), but a few trends have emerged. Dessert crepes — available with a various fillings and toppings — are most in demand, followed by cinnamon rolls heavy with frosting, and eclairs.
And, in light of demand, White — also owner of Electrifying Events, which produces music festivals and other activities — has hired two chefs to help prepare the goods. There’s seating inside for customers, but White talks of adding a small outdoor stage area on the business’ grounds to host musicians and comedians when the weather is warm, adding to its lure as a place to snack and relax. Italian ice, incidentally, is also on the menu at The Dessert Factory.
‘A LOST ART’
White isn’t formally trained in the culinary arts, “But I have been baking my whole life. It’s a hidden hobby,” he said.
Indeed, he has learned by trial and error, modifying recipes and adding his own touches. There have been failures along the way, but the successes outweigh the missteps, judging by the responses from the guinea pigs for his creations — friends and neighbors.
“My neighbors love me because I would always give it away,” he said.
Given that background, one of the key tenets of his locale is preparing everything fresh each day. There are no preservatives, meaning the goods are made for relatively quick consumption, the same day they’re made. It’s more labor intensive and can boost costs, but the end result is a higher-quality product, he says. Frozen eclairs bought at a supermarket, for instance, are more rubbery than the ones he makes, White said.
“Everything is made here,” he said. “That’s kind of a lost art.”
The sizes of many of White’s offerings are large — big cookies, oversized eclairs and crepes that can serve two. On the flip side, The Dessert Factory also offers smaller, 50-cent cookies. Given the mix, the stream of customers — families, couples on dates, moms getting their kids an after-school snack — has been steady. Which, in White’s view, is one of the most important gauges thus far.
“People continue to come back. That’s the real tell,” he said.
