Local bakery Albright’s Delights expands
By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | May 2025
Decadent pastries crafted with mouth-watering layers of buttery dough and stuffed with sweet fillings are just a short drive away, and soon there will be more to go around. South St. Paul residents Danae and Ryan Albright recently signed a lease for a commercial kitchen in the 5th Avenue Plaza shopping center, which will allow them to bring their home bakery, Albright’s Delights, to the next level. Since last August, the two have been spending long evenings kneading dough and baking and decorating treats from their home kitchen. Now they’ll be able to make much larger batches and expand their menu.
Some may remember Albright’s Delights from local farmers markets last summer, and they will once again be vendors this year.
The bakery specializes in kouign-amann (pronounced queen ah-MAHN), a finicky French pastry made with extra fatty butter and often filled with cream cheese and fruit. The name means “butter cake” in Breton, the Celtic language of the Brittany region of France.
“We use raspberry jam from a local vendor from the farmers market called Utecht’s [Home Grown Pork],” said Danae. “They are also a small business and it’s really good. We like to stuff kouign-amann and danishes with cream cheese and the raspberry jam and then put raspberries or strawberries on top. The plain is also really good and some people ask for that.” She added that the butter they use is also local, from Hope Creamery in Hope, Minn. It has a slightly higher fat content than standard butter and gives pastries their rich taste and signature flakiness.
Originally, the duo wasn’t sure how the exotic-sounding kouign-amann would be received but, to their delight (so to speak), customers raved and created such a demand that it became their sole product for a while.
Making the pastry was especially time consuming without commercial equipment because the “lamination” – mixing butter into dough – had to be done by hand. Now they have equipment for that and just need to coat thin sheets of dough with butter and sugar and layer them by hand. Some orders can be rushed in as little as hours but generally take a day to be prepared.
“I think people love it because it’s flaky, but they can also see that it has many layers,” said Danae. “We coat our molds with butter and sugar so the outside and base gets caramelized. It’s a little crunchy and then the inside is soft, and it tastes really good with the butter and sugar.”
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In addition to kouign-amann, the bakery offers croissants, Danishes, caramel cinnamon rolls, German chocolate cakes and more. The new kitchen is fitted with high-grade refrigerators that will allow the owners to start offering cheesecakes and other cold products. The significantly larger ovens allow them to pump out about four times the number of batches they could produce at home. The kitchen also has an array of other more efficient equipment, including a commercial-sized dough shaker and mixer, which will free up time for the couple to concoct new creations. Be on the lookout for an almond chocolate croissant and cinnamon roll made with croissant dough to come soon. Orders can be placed by call, text or email, and an ordering form is coming soon to the business website. Delivery is offered in South St. Paul and West St. Paul.
“We are excited to offer more products and increase the production of the pastries and baked goods,” said Danae. “I always wanted to have a bakery…. At first, we didn’t know how much people would be interested in our products, but our customers have really liked them. Most of them are returning and many are South St. Paul residents.”
Danae is a native of Mexico and moved here to attend the University of Minnesota, where she’s currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics. Her parents operate multiple crepe restaurants in Mexico, and baking has always been a form of relaxation for her. Ryan, a full-time accountant who grew up in Eagan, is an avid self-taught baker. After getting warmed up in their new kitchen, they may explore opening a brick-and-mortar storefront. For more information, call 612-685-1661 or visit sites.google.com/view/albrights-delights.
The West St. Paul farmers market begins June 6 and is held Fridays 8 a.m.-noon; the Inver Grove Heights market begins June 8 and is held Sundays 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; and the South St. Paul market starts June 11 and is held Wednesdays 2-6 p.m.
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