For almost a year now, Orlando has been blessed with a bakery that demands our love and attention. There’s no shortage of bakeries worthy of our support around town, but Light on the Sugar stands on its own with items you can’t get anywhere else. Outside the trendy neighborhoods that get most of the attention, Light on the Sugar sits in a strip mall in the most eastern area of Winter Park. Yes, in Florida, you can still find amazing locally-owned gems in strip malls. It’s small but mighty, and over the past nine months, I’ve indulged in countless cream puffs, cheesecakes, and jars of panna cotta. It’s a bakery you introduce friends to, grab by the boxful before a party (pre-COVID), and add to your regular rotation of indulgent treats.

The menu isn’t overwhelming in size, but packs some heavy-hitters, perhaps with the most popular being their cream puffs. The bakery case is always full with at least a half-dozen different flavors like earl grey, cookies and cream, matcha, and coffee. As if each puff's perfection wasn’t enough to keep us coming back, Light on the Sugar brilliantly reels us back in with seasonal flavors that often have been inspired by breakfast cereals or other unique ingredients like Ube and Taro. Silky Panna cottas, crêpes, NY style cheesecakes, and the occasional filled doughnut make it hard to walk out without at least two boxes and a drink; my current favorite is the Dalgona latte I’m not ashamed to say is much better than any I’ve concocted at home.

The married couple behind the bakery, Yixi and Wen, came up with this concept and invested in becoming a destination bakery that locals would drive for, and they are.

I interviewed them via email to share more about them with you all.

LH: Tell us a little bit about your background and what inspired Light on the Sugar?

LOTS: “My wife I both are second-generation Asian American; we came here at a young age with our parents. When we came to America our first stop was NYC which is the most popular city stop for the Asian community. We eventually moved to Florida due to our parent's job changes. I was in high school when I met my wife and we started our long love journey. We would travel to different cities for inspiration for food, and then we found our purpose: Bring people comfort-food; make everyone feel happy and enjoyable about eating light, sweet but full-flavored dessert!”

LH: Did you have any training in making pastries before opening the bakery, or was everything self-taught? 

LOTS: “Everything was self-taught. We learned our pastries skill before we opened up this dream bakery, but we did have long-term restaurant experience which helped in operating our business. We both have a love and passion for dessert and food, that’s why we wanted to share it with our community.”

LH: What inspired the menu items and the decor of the bakery? 

LOTS: “Our menu inspiration is from what we love! We love choux and we want more people to know about it and try it out with some unique flavor that is rare to find in French pastries. The decor of the bakery is ideal of earthly and minimalist. We like people to feel welcome and comfortable in our bakery.

My wife loves plants; she's the plant lady of our shop! As you can see plants are over each little corner of our bakery, she believed it helped to relax and calm the mind just to look at it and she wanted to share it with people.”

LH: What would you like people who aren’t familiar with your style of desserts to understand about them, including why the bakery is named Light on the Sugar?

LOTS: “We like people who don’t know about our bakery to know that our dessert is not just about the sweet, is more about flavor. Light on the Sugar doesn't mean with low sugar, it's mean we use sugar to light up our dessert.”

LH: Going through a pandemic during your first year of business is a very difficult thing to go through as a small family-owned business. What have you learned and how have you stayed positive despite this obstacle?

LOTS: “This pandemic has made us learn we must stay strong, and stay together. As a newly opened family-owned small businesses we went through some really difficult times, but we received a lot of supports and love from our community, family, friends, and our landlord. We are really thankful for what everyone had done for us.”

Light on the Sugar bakery is located at 4270 Aloma Ave in Winter Park. Their hours are Monday, Wednesday thru Sunday 11am - 6pm. They are closed on Tuesdays. Follow their Instagram to keep up with their offerings.
Please note that during COVID-19 there is no dine-in available in the cafe, everything must be taken to-go, and all patrons must wear a mask to enter. A small, limited number of patrons are allowed inside at one time.

All images are property of LemonHearted Creative.