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Local Gourmet
Sweet Delights for afternoon, morning, evening: There’s a new sweetness in town in Hamilton, and it tastes a whole lot like the holidays at mom’s house. This past March, two enthusiastic bakers opened Hamilton Sweet Delights, bringing back old-fashioned goodness and nostalgic flavors to this cozy Virginia town.“People don’t have time to bake for themselves anymore,” said co-manager Patty Lovelady. “A lot of people have forgotten what real things taste like.”
For Lovelady and Georjan Overman, this is just the beginning of their vision to meet the needs of busy commuters and residents in the area. Truffles, cookies, cakes, bars, candy and fresh-baked bread stock the small bakery case of the shop. Business has picked up quickly, and soon enough, Lovelady and Overman say they will need to hire more staff to meet the demand.
Hailing from New Orleans, Lovelady is a true gourmet. Also an energy consultant for the District of Columbia and a caterer on the side, Lovelady says she loves cooking up everything from scratch. Her favorite baking pastime involves experimenting with ingredients, and she can make anyone’s mouth water talking about her authentic French Creole and Cajun dishes.
Tennessean Overman can roll out some of the most decadent truffles you’ll find in the area. Using high quality Guittard chocolate, she dips hazelnut-, coffee-, peppermint- and raspberry-flavored fillings in white, dark or milk chocolate. Watch out for the rum truffles. These are not for the faint of heart. One bite of the Meyer’s Rum ganache filling dipped in dark chocolate, and you’ll forget any other rum truffle you’ve ever tasted.
Overman’s candy making is how it all got started, she says. After operating a bed-and-breakfast from her home for 12 years, she thought of opening up her own shop, until she bumped into Lovelady at the Hamilton Book Cub. Some friends introduced them after Overman said she wanted a candy shop in town. They opened up shop in March and celebrated their grand opening on April 26.
Mini key lime pies, moist and icing-topped Krispy Kreme doughnut bread pudding, French apple pies (a double-crusted apple pie with raisins, orange, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg topped with a powdered sugar icing), Hamilton bars (chocolate or blonde brownie layer topped with a fudgy cream cheese frosting), chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies with coconut and oats, Overman’s homemade fudge, cannolis and mini pecan pies are just a few of the items you’ll find in the case during their Thursday through Saturday business days.
Birthday cakes and cupcakes in the case are made by a local baker and full-size pie flavors are made to order. A few of Overman’s favorites include banana cream, southern apple, coconut cream (“Made with a double boiler!” Lovelady says), lemon meringue (“The old-fashioned recipe made with egg whites,” assured Overman) and glazed strawberry pie. But both ladies want customers to know flavors aren’t limited; they’ll try any recipe put in front of them.
“Everything is made with fresh ingredients,” Overman explained. “You won’t find canned sweetened condensed milk in any of my recipes.”
Each week you’ll also see a new kind of bar or cookie Lovelady just mixed up.
“I use all this great sounding stuff, and it turns out either fabulous or horrible,” Lovelady said with a laugh.
It would seem they turn out fabulous more often than not. Lovelady thought up chewy and mildly cocoa-flavored red velvet cake bars one night, baked them up and sold them the next day. The chocolate raspberry cream cheese bars -- made with layers of fudge, sweetened cream cheese, pecans and raspberry preserves, and topped with melted chocolate -- are another original creation and now a customer favorite.
Besides edible items, you’ll find paintings for sale from the Loudoun County Sketch Club and framed photographs by Oatlands Connection for Community.
Eggs are $3.50 a dozen, pastries $2 each, cake slices $3, full-size pies $13-15, breads range from $2.75-$5.95, mini pies sell for $3-$5, and full-size cakes for $20-$40.
Although the Hamilton Sweet Delights is open three days a week, you’ll also find its desserts at Lowry’s Crab Shack and in the Hamilton General Store. Hours are Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., changing to 8 a.m.-6 p.m. by the end of summer. This fall, Sweet Delights will be serving savory breakfast and coffee for commuters on-the-go. Sweet Delights is on West Colonial Highway in Hamilton across from the post office.
Rebekah Pizana is a broadcast journalist and enthusiastic foodie. She can be reached at gourmetwriter@gmail.com.
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