Student cupcake bakers make short work of sweet donation

Sparta — The sweetest place in Sussex County just might be the Bakery at Sussex County Technical School. But now, the secret is out. For the past several years, the student bakers at Sussex Tech have helped provide cupcakes for a special mission to two Newark Elementary Schools at a greatly reduced cost. The Christmas in the City program was launched eight years ago in a collaborative effort between Tilly’s Kids, a House of Mercy Mission program from Newark, and Pass-it-Along, a Sparta-based youth initiative service agency. This holiday tradition of providing the children in the classrooms with a party, a gift, a cupcake and drink has grown to serve 750 children and therefore, baking the cupcakes has gone beyond the scope of the volunteers. The student bakers under the guidance of Chad Gasiorek, instructor of the Commercial Baking program at Sussex Tech, are able to churn out these cupcakes in record time. Megan Slack, a senior baker, explained her method for frosting 350 cupcakes on a very busy Monday morning in December at the school's bakery. The cupcakes with their triple-color swirl designs were each a work of art in their own right. Megan separated the tinted butter cream icing into three icing bags, then loaded them side by side into a large icing bag to pipe them onto the cupcakes so that the colors blended into a tie dye effect. It took her only 80 minutes to prepare and frost all 350 cupcakes. Visit the bakery The Sussex Tech Mustang Bakery is open to the public each week during the school year, Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. By Tuesdays, the display cases are completely full of baked goods ranging from dinner rolls to pies to cookies. The Christmas cookie platters are always big sellers. The students bake more than 500 pounds of holiday cookies, said Gasoriak. The Bakery also donates all unsold items on Fridays to Pass-it-Along for their many service projects. To get to the bakery, first check in at the main office. The school is located on White Road, off Route 94 in Sparta. For more information, call 973-383-6700 ext. 202. The Mustang Café is Sussex Tech's student-operated restaurant, offering a comfortable, café setting for dining in. Gourmet coffee and take-out meals are also available. The daily menu can be sent by e-mail to those who sign up to be on the mailing list. To join, forward your e-mail address to Lynn Bourinaris at lbourinaris@sussex.tec.nj.us. Since the e-mail address is being protected from spambots, JavaScript must be enabled to see the menu. The cafe is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For information on the cafe, call 973-383-6700 ext. 207.