Since 1995 Leanna Leong and Classic Desserts have been offering those on gluten-free diets delicious and wheat-free desserts. Whether you suffer from Celiac Disease or simply find that you function better on a wheat-free diet, Desserts By Leanna offers you a sweet and appropriate alternative.
Leanna’s love for desserts started in her childhood years when she would eat the broken cookies and other treats from her grandfather’s bakery in San Francisco. As a teenager, Leanna discovered the joy of creative baking with good quality ingredients and sharing them with others. She continued to bake as a hobby into adulthood and enjoyed modifying recipes to accommodate others’ tastes and preferences whether she was baking moist, low fat banana bread for teachers she worked with, rich butter cookies for tennis partners, or a custom designed merry-go-round cake for her niece.
Baking was a creative outlet for Leanna to express her love for desserts and people.
After moving to the East Bay, Leanna decided to change careers and pursue her lifelong passion for baking. She began by working as a counter salesperson at Toot Sweets Bakery in Lafayette and found that she loved connecting with the many regulars, helping customers with special order cakes, and watching what went on in the kitchen. Leanna was excited to learn all she could and worked her way up to being one of the main bakers. After 2 years, she enrolled in a culinary program and earned her Baking and Pastry Arts Certificate.
With high recommendations from her instructors, Leanna was recruited to work at the Ritz Carlton San Francisco. As opportunities closer to home became available, Leanna applied her skills in baking and pastry at local fine dining establishments in the East Bay, including Bridges Restaurant & Bar in Danville, Star Anise in Walnut Creek, and Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa.
A challenging bout with wheat and food allergies cut short her career but she never lost her passion for making desserts. While tending to her allergies, which were shared by her daughter, Leanna was unable to find any wheat free desserts that tasted anywhere as good as the wheat ones. It was also impossible to find a gluten free birthday cake or cupcakes with frosting and colorful sprinkles. So, she began to modify recipes to accommodate her own allergies. Leanna’s efforts resulted in desserts that tasted unbelievably gluten free. These gluten free desserts are now a part of Classic Desserts, Inc.’s menu of desserts available for all to enjoy.
Leanna created Classic Desserts, Inc. to provide delicious and distinctive desserts with a modern twist for today’s more refined palates. She is a firm believer that everyone should be able to have their cake and eat it too.