Next time delicious desserts are in tall order for a bridal shower, wedding, celebration or special event, consider from-scratch delectables made by the two full-time bakers and crew at Russell's Café & Bakery in Chesterfield.
All recipes at this bakery were created by chef Russell Ping.
Turtle cheesecakes, oversized cookies, pies and Russell's signature port wine chocolate cake immediately come to mind for those who've followed Russell since the opening of the first Russell's in Fenton in 2006 or the second location on Macklind in 2013. His food art form is known for its simplicity, beauty and classic executions.
"Russell’s philosophy is to provide fresh products with interesting pairings in mind to create exceptional offerings to our guests," says co-owner Kate Ping. "We're here to make events memorable."
Russell's fans notice the good taste of the group's mission to bake with locally sourced and seasonally driven ingredients. They incorporate items from regional producers, such as Buttonwood Farm, Rain Crow Ranch, Silent Oak Farm, Eat Here STL, Geiserts Farm, Weisenberger Mill and Dry Dock Farm.
Kate says the family business offers fast-casual counter service at the Chesterfield and Fenton locations, including breakfast, brunch, lunch, wine, cocktails, sweets and desserts. They have full-service dinner offerings at the Macklind location.
She says seasonal menu changes respect the ability to source locally as much as possible.
"Russell’s approach to baking is to produce clean, simple presentations, with the philosophy that the offerings speak for themselves," she says.
Kate says rather than working with fondant or themed cakes, their cakes include all-butter buttercream, sweetened whipped cream, fresh fruit or chocolate ganache.
"Over the last 12 years, we've educated our customer base in that the art of cakes and all sweets is in the beauty of simplicity. We built our bakery business on the fact that once clients experience our product, they continue to return for all sweets for all occasions," she says.
"We're fortunate that our products have been included in countless family and business occasions, as well as holidays. We're grateful to be invited to the table."
Private Events Can Be Perfectly Sweet
For catering, the Russell's crew works individually with clients.
"We don't do wedding cakes. Instead, we offer whole cakes. Clients will choose from our variety of cakes and present them as a cake table," Kate says.
She says among their most popular cakes are fresh toasted coconut cake; lemon curd cake; signature chocolate cake; Mexican hot chocolate cake with cinnamon-bourbon buttercream; port wine chocolate cake; mocha toasted almond cake; and fresh strawberry cake with buttermilk citrus pound cake, layers of whipped cream, fresh strawberries and vanilla buttercream frosting.
Another one of their frequently requested items is their version of carrot cake, which is the special recipe of Kate's mother and Russell’s grandmother.
For wedding showers or special events, Kate says they also can provide a variety of sweets, such as gooey butter cake, small cookies, mini cakes, brownies and miniature coconut macaroons to create a dessert table.
"We have a delivery service, or clients can pick up their desserts," she says.
Bakery catering from Russell's requires two to three weeks' notice, possibly longer for events serving more than 200 guests.
Want to combine food with an all-in-one handy spot for a celebration? Russell's space can be rented from 4 to 6 p.m. She says with a month's notice, they can provide a light lunch and sweets. Additionally, Russell's box lunch program can be couriered to locations for 10 to 150-plus diners.
Every gathering is a chance to celebrate something positive in life. Kate enjoys quoting Julia Child: “A party without a cake is just a meeting."
14888 Clayton Road, Chesterfield, Missouri, 636.220.3541, RusselsCafe.com
