I am so grateful to have found a diabetic and IBS friendly cake. Everyone loved the heart-shaped cake with the cute strawberry hearts and blueberries. And everyone kept saying it was so delicious. It's one of the best lemon buttercream cakes I've ever had. So happy everyone in my family can eat a cake that is healthier and delicious. read more

Penny's Pastries - 30th sugar-free birthday cakes - Desserts Near Me

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My husband is on a low sugar diet and has been craving a cake- so for his birthday I worked with Penny to create a low sugar carrot cake. It was amazing!! I didn't feel like anything was missing and it made his birthday so special. Thanks so much! read more

Penny created a masterpiece for our grandson's first birthday. Our daughter and son-in-law requested a sugar free cake and Penny delivered, exceeding everyone's expectations. Including our little guy's! Highly recommend! Penny is also quickly responsive and upbeat. Fun to collaborate with. Telling all our friends and looking forward to our next request for Penny's time and talent. Yum! read more

Penny made the cake for my baby's first birthday party and it was delicious! It was hard to find a pastry chef who would make a cake without adding refined sugars or artificial sweeteners, so I wasn't sure it was even a good idea. But Penny sweetened my cake with only maple syrup, and everyone loved it! Guests were going back for seconds. The cake was moist and just the right amount of sweet. Penny also did tell me that she doesn't specialize in decorating, but she still made the cake look really nice. Communication was quick and easy; Penny was kind and polite. I will be back for more cakes and pastries from Penny for future events! read more

Penny's Pastries - Vanilla cake with strawberry filling, topped with strawberries (all organic), sweetened only with pure maple syrup. - Desserts Near Me

Penny was great to work with. The paleo dark chocolate ganache brownies were delicious -- the perfect elevated dessert for my friend's birthday celebration! read more

Penny's Pastries - chocolate brownies on a cutting board - Desserts Near Me

After an exhausting search for Chicago's best bakeries, I found that most top picks did not work/deliver on Tuesdays and a Tuesday cake was non-negotiable for me, thank Goddess came across Penny! She was traveling and had personal commitments, but was still generous enough to agree to a chocolate vegan cake on a tight timeline. Coordination was impeccable and easy. In line with all the comments, the cake was perfection. Friends who are not vegan and in their words "not cake people" were "SHOOOOOK!" and "had way more than they should" - if you are reading this, you know what to do. ;)) read more

Penny's Pastries - Disclaimer: Penny gave us a beautiful blank canvas naked cake look. We put the berries on it... don't judge the berry skillz. - Desserts Near Me

I just had Penny make a paleo carrot cake for my husband's birthday and it was spectacular!! As someone that has followed a paleo diet for over 5 years, I know how challenging it is to eat out and find places that cater to special dietary restrictions. So when I found Penny online I was super excited. I've made tons of paleo desserts over the years and it's hard!! It can be very labor intensive and difficult to get the right density / consistency. I reached out to Penny to request the cake and she was super responsive, friendly and easy to work with. And the cake?!? Amazing. My parents, who don't follow a paleo diet, loved the cake and agreed they would never know it was paleo friendly. I cannot recommend Penny enough if you are looking for sweets and need to cater to any type of dietary restriction! Thank you Penny!!! read more

Excellent!! Penny worked with me on getting a gluten free/low sugar chocolate cake made for my roomie's bday and it was a HIT! Gluten and g-free friends alike loved it!! Penny was really flexible with me on pick up times (snow-storm the day of the party- thanks polar vortex!!) and super understandable when I had to come get it a little after our agreed upon time. I'll definitely be ordering from Penny again- professional, responds quickly and really works with you for whatever type of baked goodie you need. read more

Penny did an amazing job creating a cake for my daughter's 4th birthday. This meant a lot to us as my daughter has 7 food allergies. Penny communicates professionally from start to finish which is super important when dealing with food allergies. She created not only a DELICIOUS CAKE, but most important a SAFE ONE! We are extremely happy with her services and definitely will be using her in the future. Being able to see your child enjoy her own birthday cake is simply priceless. read more

An alumni from my University recently started her own bakery business and it's yummy! I had Penny make some mini-cupcakes for a party I was throwing and they were a huge hit, everyone was asking where they were from. Not only were the cupcakes delicious, they were uber affordable! She also specializes in organic and vegan stuff too. Thanks Penny for making my party treats so popular! read more

Ok... so I haven't had a donut (or any type of bread product for that matter)... in 7 months. Because 7 months ago I discovered I have a pretty severe intolerance to gluten. Recently I have had a huge crazing for pastries/pancakes/everything sweet that I can't eat... but miraculously I came across Penny's Pastries. She generously made me a batch of vegan/gluten free glazed donuts. I was skeptical initially (my experiences with gluten free baked goods hasn't been positive to say the least)... but Penny's donuts are different! They are soooo good... I am literally sitting here eating the whole pan of donuts in one sitting. I am telling you, if you have a gluten intolerance, but you don't want to sacrifice dessert... Penny's is the place to go... I highly recommend her! Thank you Penny! read more

Penny made a teddy bear cupcake cake for a baby shower I was throwing. She also made them blue because my friend was expecting a boy. The cupcakes were scrumptious, and exactly the way I had wanted it based on the picture I had sent to her. She also was exactly on time for delivery and was really great to work with. Definitely will be in touch with Penny the next time I need specialty cupcakes! read more

Well, all I can say is WOW. I had the opportunity to taste several of Penny's desserts. They were all delicious. Penny is very versatile and can create any type of dessert for any occasion. It can be vegan or gluten-free or for diabetics or organic and healthy or just plain tasty! Penny is french-trained but without the pretension. I cannot wait to get more of her desserts! Don't hesitate to call her and order your custom request. read more

I ordered two paleo cakes from Penny for my party. They were a huge hit. Everyone was raving about them and no one could believe they were paleo. My favorite was the banana almond butter, but the chocolate chocolate chip was also delicious. Penny was great to work with during the entire ordering process, she was very accommodating and a pleasure to work with. I would 100% order again from here. read more

My newborn son has a dairy and soy intolerance, which means that mom can no longer enjoy the treats she so adores! After 4 months of essentially no sweets, I sought to remedy the situation... That's when I stumbled upon Penny on Yelp. The reviews were really strong, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I e-mailed her with my situation, and she got back to me promptly (complicating matters, I eat paleo and wanted to enjoy a little cheat as well). In a nutshell, "No problem!" she said. We went back and forth via e-mail regarding what I thought my wife would like (never once did we have to speak on the phone), and she was able to squeeze me in for later that week. We received the goodies as promised - and they were VERY delicious. We ended up getting chocolate muffins and "peanut butter" bars. Oh my - definitely the best non-dairy, non-soy treats we've tried to date. If you have dietary restrictions, or are simply looking to adopt a healthier gluten and dairy free lifestyle, I highly recommend you try Penny's Pastries. Giving up bad foods / ingredients shouldn't mean that you have to give up enjoying a little dessert now and then! read more

Penny is amazing! Super easy to work with, and very prompt via email! She made me a sugar free birthday cake for my diabetic husband. She made a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. A huge hit! Everyone raved about it. Had I not known it was sugar free, I would have never known!!! Amazing! Will be ordering with Penny again! read more

I loved my cake!! I recently went to Chicago for my 24th birthday. I took a chance by typing "paleo bakery" into google and found Penny. It was probably the best "by luck" search I've done! Penny made a paleo cake for me which was ABSOLUTELY D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. I think I negated the entire "paleo" concept by eating basically the entire thing. Nice to have someone who can accommodate special diets and have it ready for me right off the plane when I flew in from Texas. Even my non-paleo friends enjoyed it! Thanks so much! Also, affordable! Not ridiculous like I'm assuming someone like "cake boss" is! read more

I called Penny about making a Gluten Free cake. Always hard to find Gluten free pastries. Penny's Pastries whipped up GF Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese topping for my wife's birthday. My wife said that they were the "best" bday present ever. Thanks Penny you truly made her day a special one to remember. read more

Penny made a gluten free chocolate cake for a friends 40th. It was amazing!!! Definitely recommend!

I wanted a 100% Gluten Free, Organic Ingredient, Paleo, Delicious Cake and Penny delivered! She was great with all of my questions about ingredients. All of my guests loved our vanilla bean cake with strawberry filling! I will definitly order from Penny's Pastries again! read more

Penny (old high school buddy) + Brett (paleo-dieting husband) = BEST VALENTINE'S SURPRISE EVER!!! Penny created three amazing, strictly caveman desserts for my super picky spouse. We made a replacement order within two weeks of gobbling up 3 dozen treats. Thanks Penny!!! read more

I called Penny for a special project to make my wife a gluten free and lactose free dessert for her birthday. She came up with some kind of chocolate brownie-like squares that were incredibly tasty and totally made my wife forget about her tough dietary restrictions. Penny is a talented pastry chef and does great work for a reasonable price. read more

Penny made a truly excellent gluten-free cake for my wife for our first wedding anniversary. Working from a photo, she recreated the look and taste of the top tier of our original wedding cake, and even as a person who can eat gluten I think it was better than our original wedding cake (which was made with wheat flour). All for a very reasonable price. It was a huge hit and after a week in the fridge we are still loving this cake. I am duly impressed and we will be back often. Thanks Penny! I recommend for anyone - with or without a dietary restriction. read more

After reading about these delicious creations on Vital Juice, I was dying for a reason to try any of her tasty treats! The next day my friend sent out an invite to her Grammy/Valentines party, and I knew I had my chance. I contacted Penny to see if she could fulfill my request for 3 heartshaped white chocolate blueberry cheesecakes, and she quickly responded with a big YES! I picked up these freshly made goodies a few hours before the party. These adorable heart cakes were a HUGE hit at the party, and stood out nicely from the other sugar-filled goodies, being the only all-natural dessert with all the richness, yet guilt-free! Penny was such a pleasure to work with, and I now have a go-to baker for future party and event needs! I highly recommend giving any of her recipes a try, as she knows exactly how to balance healthy with delicious! read more

Penny was a dream to work with - and the cupcakes were even better! We passed out 300 of Penny's organic, dark-chocolate cupcakes for an Earth Day event at the office building we manage. I did not hear one solitary complaint (can you believe it? 300 people and not one disappointed!) and almost every tenant ooh'd and ahh'd that the cupcakes were almost too cute to eat (not that that seemed to stop anyone from devouring these awesomely delicious treats). We will definitely be using Penny's Pastries again! The prices were comparable to more well-known bakeries such as Sugar Bliss and the product itself was better. read more

We just enjoyed a sugar free Upside Down Cake and sugar free chocolate truffles for my mom's 70th Birthday. Mom, and the rest of the family raved about both. We also asked for a regular dessert and Penny knocked it out of the park with her chocolate ganache brownies...everything was perfect! Highly recommended! read more

Penny's raw truffles are INSANE! The perfect juxtaposition of crunchy cacao nibs on the outside and smooth brilliance on the inside. Not to mention the brilliant kick of spice at the end. I had to stop myself from eating the entire package at once. I will order these time and time again and suggest you do the same if you haven't already. read more

have known Penny for about a year and sampled her food several times. I recently asked her to cater an opening night reception for a play I directed. She did not disappoint! She provided both sweet and savory items as well as a fruit and cheese arrangement. The food went over quite well and everyone was satisfied, including 25 Vietnam veterans as well as the Australian Consul-General, who was attending the performance. I can not say enough good things about Penny's food or her as a person. She is wiling to work with you to satisfy budgetary and dietary restrictions, while not sacrificing quality. Hire her today! You will not regret your decision! read more