Little Dove Bakeshop Takes Flight in Ferndale

Anyone in need of an excuse to eat a cupcake need look no further than Little Dove Bakeshop in Ferndale.

Unique recipes and inherent delicious taste aside, owner Bethany Young, 30, uses all organic and mostly vegan ingredients to ensure a clear conscience. If that isn’t enough to justify a treat, she also donates part of the profit to local charities throughout Metro Detroit.

Young operates her business out of her home, where she lives with her son, 7; her partner, Taurus Burns, 36; and his 9-year-old daughter. With a doctorate in molecular biophysics from Columbia University, Young changed careers from her position as a medical researcher when her non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma made it necessary to take an extended medical leave.

“I’ve had it for years, so it’s not something I’m shy about talking about,” she said.

Young said she started feeling better after her chemotherapy treatments, so she began to bake more to stave off boredom. She said she gave the baked goods to friends and neighbors and received so many compliments that she realized she could start the business she’s wanted for years.

“I don’t know if I’m going to go back,” she said. "It’s weird. It was my career, and now I’m like, eh, I like to bake."

While sorting through her grandmother’s possessions after her death, Young said she discovered a Ziploc bag full of recipes that have inspired many of her creations.

Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing or vanilla bean cupcakes stuffed with butter cream are on the menu of her company’s website, along with curiosities such as cherry cola cake with cola icing and fresh cherries and pistachio rosemary cake with cherry glaze, among other desserts.

Young said the term “butter cream” is used loosely, as she uses dairy substitutes in her baking.

“The things that I think taste better vegan are vegan, whether you ask for it or not,” she said. “But you can’t tell.”

Young said using vegan recipes not only prevents exploitation of animals but also results in a more healthful dessert with less sugar and fat. She said she has filled orders anywhere from a single cake to 300 cupcakes she made for a bridal brunch.

“It probably took about seven hours,” she said. “And I like to cook all the cupcakes in popover pans, which are larger. So I can only bake 36 at a time if I’m really pushing it.”

Power of grace and hope

Young said she has plans to give back to the community in other ways, such as helping to build parks and purchasing rain barrels for local schools.

“I feel like it’s a neat idea. If everyone just gave a small percentage of what they made, it could really do something,” she said.

“I really feel like Detroit needs a lot of help, but I live in Ferndale, and I want to do some Ferndale stuff, too,” she added.

Her partner said Young’s new career is not completely unexpected. Burns said he remembers her telling him that opening her own bakery was her dream, though she expected to accomplish that later in life.

“She started talking seriously about it, and we were all really supportive of it,” he said. “It gave her something to focus on.”

Burns said he enjoyed helping Young design her logo and set up her website.

“She liked that the dove is a sign of grace and hope, and that tied into her idea of giving back to the community,” he said.

Tasting a cake Young prepared for her son’s birthday was when Burns said he realized his partner’s talent.

“It was above and beyond a normal person’s baking skills,” he said. “It’s so professional, and there’s so much heart in it.”

Young said she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer while she was in college and pregnant. She said doctors told her she would not live if she gave birth to her son.

“Then, when I didn’t die, and they realized I wasn’t going to die, they prepared me for the fact that I’ll never really be healthy,” she said.

Young said the career change has allowed her to spend more of her time and energy on baking and her family.

“When life hands you lemons, right?” she said, sipping from a glass of lemonade she had made herself, without a trace of irony.

Visit Little Dove Bakeshop on the web here or the Facebook page here.