GALT, CA (MPG) - Something Sweet Bakery in Old Town Galt was named on June 6 as Galt District Chamber of Commerce’s honorary business for the month of June.

Owner Desta Stenson said she started her bakery 14 years ago, offering cakes, cupcakes and other sweets, to accommodate growing demand for her cake-decorating skills.

Presenting a certificate to the business, the chamber’s community relations director Kat Seabolt thanked Stenson for more than a decade of chamber membership. Chamber members toured the storefront and bakery on C Street and bought some cupcakes for later.

Sitting down with the Herald in Something Sweet’s work area, Stenson said the bakery was prepping for six weddings that weekend. The scent of baking brownies filled the air.

“While I am going to start decorating wedding cakes here, my pastry chef is starting to make brownies and French macarons, and she already made lemon cheesecakes this morning,” Stenson said.

Stenson voiced appreciation for the recognition from the chamber, saying that she enjoys Galt’s “small town feel,” which reminded her and her husband of their childhoods in Lodi and Elk Grove. The couple bought a house in Galt when their daughter was young.

“We wanted to move to a small town and raise her in the same kind of environment we grew up in,” Stenson said, adding that atmosphere was why she chose to locate in Old Town.

Something Sweet specializes in custom cake design, Stenson said, and sells 16 flavors of gourmet cupcakes each day, half of them permanent offerings and the other half seasonal. Other confections include cannoli and eclairs. Stenson emphasized that she is “picky” about the ingredients she uses, including local eggs and fresh produce.

“It’s hard to find truly home-baked goods or goods that feel like your grandma made them,” Stenson said. “Everything anymore is so overly processed and you just can’t get that anywhere. Our ingredients don’t come out of a bucket; they come off a tree.”

Stenson’s baking career started as a hobby, when she made and decorated her brother’s wedding cake according to a recipe from their grandmother.

“I did that cake and so many people at that event liked it — it actually turned out pretty well — and next thing I know, friends of friends, then complete strangers, are asking me to do things,” Stenson said.

The interest grew to the point that Stenson needed a storefront, which she opened in 2010. Stenson retired in 2018 from her healthcare career at Kaiser Permanente in order to concentrate on the bakery.

“It is something that I love,” Stenson said. “At Kaiser, I saw a lot of people when they were very sick and kind of on the worst day of their lives, and in this industry, I see people on their wedding day or their birthday. It’s usually a celebration, and for me, it’s amazing.”

Something Sweet Bakery, at 440 C St., is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. 

For more information, visit somethingsweetgalt.com.