PORT CLINTON — When Yellow House Bakery owners Drew and Jen Gatliff lived in Texas, they discovered King Cake, which is traditionally served for Epiphany, the celebration of the incarnation of Christ. In Louisiana, the cake is associated with the Mardi Gras Carnival season.
“When we lived in Houston, we were introduced to King Cake. It was Mardi Gras, and everyone at my work had them and everyone at Jen’s work had them. We didn’t know what they were,” Drew said.
King Cake became a favorite for the Gatliffs, and when they moved to Canal Winchester, Ohio, and opened a bakery, they brought the tradition with them.
“It was something we missed,” Jen said.
Last June, the Gatliffs moved their family and business to Port Clinton, where Jen grew up, and are renovating a downtown building that will be the new location for Yellow House Bakery later this year. For now, Drew and Jen are selling a limited menu of from-scratch baked goods from their home.
Traditional cake decorated with Mardi Gras colors
On the menu temporarily is the King Cake.
“This is a very traditional King Cake,” Jen said. “I make it with a brioche-style dough, a little bit of nutmeg and fresh lemon zest. It’s a yeast dough, so I let it raise, brush it with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, braid it, and bake it. Then I put a lemon glaze on top and decorate it with the fun, vibrant Mardi Gras colors of purple, yellow, and green.”
Included with a King Cake from Yellow House Bakery are traditional Mardi Gras beads and coins, as well as a small plastic baby which represents Baby Jesus. Traditionally the baby is baked into the cake, but the Gatliffs offer it separately.
“We let our customers hide it in the cake as they slice it. If you find the baby in your piece, it’s supposed to bring prosperity, and you’re supposed to bring the King Cake next year,” Jen said. “In Louisiana, you can get a King Cake any time of year because they’re so popular.”
The Gatliffs are glad to bring a taste of Louisiana to Port Clinton, and they are happy to bring their business to Jen’s hometown.
“It was always our intent to bring the business to Port Clinton. Port Clinton doesn’t have a local bakery and hasn’t had one in a long time. We started it in Canal Winchester because that is where we were and because we wanted to make sure it was viable,” Jen said.
Baked goods offered for pickup
While the bakery is under construction, Jen will offer baked goods for pickup from her home. In addition to King Cakes, she also sells pecan rolls, kolache, cookies, cakes, and cinnamon rolls, which are a customer favorite. The bakery requests 48 hours’ notice for orders.
“What we’re doing is very basic right now,” Jen said.
When building renovations are complete and Yellow House Bakery can open downtown, its menu will expand to include a wide variety of baked goods, including cream cheese and custard filled pastries and baked doughnuts.
“They’re baked, not fried, but they’re so good. I dip them in glaze while they’re hot and they get crunchy on the outside,” Jen said.
The Gatliffs will bring another Texas favorite to the bakery: sausage kolache.
“They are amazing. It’s like a kolache dough that’s wrapped with sausage, jalapeno and cheese. They make the best breakfast,” Jen said.
Drew said the bakery will offer occasional baker’s choice items, particularly when they are filling specialty orders.
“We make buns for The Brick House now, and when we open the shop, we’ll sell extra buns when we have them,” Drew said. “Someone recently asked us to make banana bread, so if we make a special order like that, we’ll also offer it to the public.”
For more information or to place orders with Yellow House Bakery, visit yellowhousebakery.com .
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
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