Photographs courtesy Sweet Hearts Patisserie
Photographs courtesy Sweet Hearts Patisserie
Located in Clock Tower Place in Annapolis, Sweet Hearts Patisserie offers scratch-made baked goods in a warm, inviting atmosphere—beckoning customers to escape from their day-to-day routine and enjoy a decadent treat. The patisserie, which opened in 2012, expanded to double its original size in 2023 and has grown into a beloved staple in the community.
“We strive to create a lovely experience that transports you to a patisserie in Paris, where you can spoil yourself and indulge a bit, celebrate a special occasion, or buy a gift for a loved one,” says Kristen D’Angelo-Rowell, owner/executive pastry chef, Sweet Hearts Patisserie. “And we’re dedicated to the belief that treats should be as visually stunning as they are delicious.”
To learn more, we spoke to D’Angelo-Rowell.
What inspired you to open Sweet Hearts Patisserie? Food was central to my Italian-American upbringing in Staten Island. I developed a passion for France during a semester abroad in Aix-en-Provence and became enchanted by the local patisseries. After graduating from Hawaii Pacific University with a degree in travel industry management, I pursued a career in travel. But I found myself drawn to the kitchen, where I began experimenting with baking.
Tell us about your background in the bakery industry. I attended the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California, where I studied pastry arts. I enhanced my skills by working in restaurant and bakery kitchens in New York and Northern Virginia before launching Sweet Hearts Patisserie as a farmers’ market business that sold handcrafted petit fours and macarons. In 2012, I relocated to Annapolis and opened Sweet Hearts’ flagship location.
Describe your wide selection of menu options. While we’re best known for our French macarons and petit fours, we also specialize in cakes, with a menu of 15 flavors that range from basic buttercream to gourmet mousse cakes. We offer a large variety of breakfast pastries, including classic croissants, scones, coffee cakes, specialty croissants, and quiche. Our pastry case is filled with French pastries, such as éclairs, mousse entremets, tarts, and slices of cake, and we offer American classics like chocolate chip cookies, salted caramel brownies, and cupcakes.
Photographs courtesy Sweet Hearts Patisserie
Why is it important that your baked goods are made from scratch in the French tradition? I believe that you can really taste the difference when baked goods are made the traditional way with quality ingredients. When simple, classic recipes are executed well, you don’t need to add a lot of sugar or artificial flavors or ingredients to make them excellent.
What are some of your top-selling items? Our best sellers are French macarons, almond croissants, petit fours, Amour Chocolat Cake, and brown butter toffee shortbread cookies.
Sweet Hearts offers macarons, petit fours, and cupcakes in year-round and seasonal flavors. What are your customers’ favorite flavors? The classics always win. Salted caramel and creme brulee macarons are the top flavors, but passion fruit (seasonal) has a cult following. Favorite petit four flavors are triple chocolate and strawberry champagne. And our most popular cupcake is the Chocolate Silk, but some of the seasonal flavors, such as our peach cobbler and Ferrero Rocher, are also popular.
Photographs courtesy Sweet Hearts Patisserie
Tell us about your cakes and your wedding cake consultations. We offer gourmet flavors and fillings that make our cakes more of a dessert than just a cake. The Amour Chocolat Cake is filled with dark chocolate mousse, milk chocolate creme brulee, and port wine ganache. The Versailles Cake is almond cake, cognac ganache, salted caramel buttercream, and pecan praline. They are absolutely decadent.
Sweet Hearts also specializes in elegant and soft designs for custom cakes and weddings. We offer wedding cake packages and full desert table packages, which include cake tastings, delivery, and setup.
Describe the customer experience at Sweet Hearts. We want you to walk in our door and feel transported to another time and place as you listen to the soft French music playing in the background. Our staff is extremely kind and helpful, and we offer samples. You can dine in our beautiful space indoors or on our large patio. Or, if you take your treats to go, we offer beautiful packaging that makes any pastry gift-worthy.
Sweet Hearts Patisserie | 1410 Forest Drive, Annapolis • 410-263-6513 • sweetheartspatisserie.com
