In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth was dry and not so tasty. So God said,
“Let there be sweets!”
And then there were sweets.
Cupcakes, tarts, puddings, pecan bars, cream puffs, cakes and pies, sweets became a much-needed companion to mankind. But as mankind became more knowledgeable we began to desire sweets that were just as healthy as they were delicious. While some continued on with traditional recipes others began to choose a different path. To keep mankind happy, God created Sinners and Saints Desserts and placed owners Elisa Testone and Dustin Hodges on the spiritual journey of providing decadent desserts with and without the fear of damnation.
Give in to temptation:
Sinners and Saints began making desserts the traditional way with flour, milk, eggs, and sugar after co-workers Elisa and Dustin agreed to work together late night, baking cobblers for an office party. The two have worked well together ever since making their first location one of the more popular dessert destinations for locals in Venice, California.
It was these locals who inspired the Gluten-free options.
“Customers would walk in and all they asked about was, what was gluten-free?” Elisa said.
In the first year, Elisa admitted she and Dustin only knew how to make a gluten-free cupcake, a brownie, and a cookie. Then, one morning Dustin was hit with an idea that struck him like a lightning bolt. From that moment desserts made the traditional way would be marked as sinners and all gluten-free varieties would become saints.
With an original concept and desserts to die for, the rest is history as the two embarked on the road to salvation for gluten-free recipes.
“For every person, “healthy” means something different, for you, it’s vegetarian — for me, it’s no sugar.”
Gluten-free shares a testimony that’s easy to understand when it comes to healthy dessert options.” Said Elisa.
Rethinking the concept was the spark the two needed to begin redesigning the Venice location. Complete with storyboard menu, ovens, refrigeration systems, and endless supplies of batter, at first, the curious may have mistaken the black, red, and white exterior on Lincoln Blvd for an adult entertainment venue. With a leap of faith, however, upon entering they would find out just why Sinners and Saints has become a staple of Venice, where shelves filled with fresh baked goods each morning empty by closing–religiously.
Fast-forward 7 years later, when owner of Poke To Go, Jeremy Ryan, first contacted the sweet duo in hopes to collab at Downtown’s new Corporation Food Hall just south of 7th and Spring. Corporation Food Hall is the answer to all foodie lover’s prayers complete with Italian, Mexican, Asian and American Cuisines. However, the Corporation didn’t offer a wide variety of desserts until now thanks to Sinners and Saints.
Sinners and Saints brings fresh baked varieties to Downtown LA from their Venice location each day. Patrons may enjoy in-house, take out or hire the bakery for catered events.
Saying Sinners and Saints is good at making gluten-free deserts is an understatement. They are very, very good at making gluten-free desserts. So good, you won’t be able to tell the difference.
If you’re a saint… seek out their popular Tres Leches (milk cake) or
Tiramisu cups marked with white or red powdered sugar pitchforks, both inventive and divine treats that are GLUTEN FREE.
And for sinners, (with no shame), you’ll find yourself surrounded by decadent creations made with only the best ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible.
Join DTLA at Sinners and Saints Desserts inside of Corporation Food Hall, Saturday, May 20th for their GRAND OPENING and choose the sweetest path to eternity. 724 S. Spring Street. LA 90014. RSVP at sinnersandsaintsdesserts.com
