Elizabeth Hansen is a meticulous baker with an entrepreneurial spirit. Early on, Hansen loved to bake. “I baked with my mom when I was little, and in my junior year of high school, I began baking on my own.” While working part-time at her family’s restaurant, Caribbean Ice Company, she also began traveling. “From my travels, I knew I wanted to learn the art of European-style baking.” So Hansen set out to become a pastry chef, pursuing a degree from the esteemed Apicius Culinary School in Florence, Italy. After graduating from pastry school, New Iberia native Hansen put her baking skills to work in New York, Cape Cod and Provincetown, Massachusetts. But it was her adventures through Europe, along with her love of art, that became the inspiration for the baker she is today – an artist who skillfully marries the intricate elegance of vintage cake design with a zest for modern innovation. 

Upon her return to the Queen City after gaining experience in New England, Hansen began working for her family once again. She also trademarked her own bakery, Paradiso, LLC, giving her the freedom to experiment with a variety of desserts. Hansen’s baking repertoire ranges from croquembouche to Opera Cake-inspired bûche de Nöel (a French-style Christmas log) to her sought-after traditional French King Cake, Galette de Rois. “I had to stop taking orders this Mardi Gras season because I was just getting too many to keep up with.” 

Hansen is also known for her vintage-inspired cakes. Despite her structured training in Italian and French pastries, Hansen ventured into the cake world with little formal guidance, channeling her artistic side. “We didn’t focus on cakes too much in pastry school, so cake baking and decorating is mostly self-taught,” she reveals. 

Popular among brides and those celebrating another year around the sun are Hansen’s intricate Wilton-inspired cakes, a nod to the vintage charm of the 50s and 60s. “My original inspiration was Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s wedding cake,” she reminisces. This historic elegance, coupled with her modern sensibilities, has distinctly shaped her approach to cake design, marking Hansen’s creations as uniquely timeless.

Central to Hansen’s signature European style is her commitment to using Swiss meringue buttercream. “I don’t use fondant,” she states, underscoring the authenticity of her craftsmanship. “Swiss meringue buttercream is less sweet than American buttercream and it’s silky smooth,” she describes. Her creative process is a thoughtful dance between method and inspiration. Each cake starts as an idea, either from a customer or her own vintage aesthetic, which she then brings to life with contemporary techniques and flavors.

“It’s typically a two-day process,” she tells us. “I bake the cakes the day before and let them chill in the refrigerator overnight so they are easier to level and ice. Right before decorating, I make the Swiss meringue buttercream, which is made by first making a meringue and then adding the butter.” It is at this point that Hansen gets to show off her creativity. After separating the buttercream into different piping bags, each with a different decorative tip, Hansen begins the intricate detailing. “I usually have a picture in my head of how I’d like it to look, and I just go for it.”

Hansen’s own three-tiered wedding cake was her first attempt to fuse vintage influence with modern artistic flair. A three-tiered masterpiece showcasing her journey through classic baking with a twist in every slice, she describes the decadent tower. “The bottom tier was a pink champagne cake with coconut cream filling. The middle tier was lemon rosemary cake with lemon curd filling. And the top tier was carrot cake with cream cheese mousse.”

Though Hansen’s cake portfolio is already a testament to her versatility and creativity – like the lemon almond, olive oil cake with mascarpone mousse, red berry jam, and pistachio buttercream that stands out as one of her favorites – she still has cake dreams to fulfill. “I want to make a true Lambeth cake. My cakes now are more Lambeth-inspired, but a true Lambeth uses a royal icing and is super intricate, involving over piping.” 

The pastry chef’s journey hasn’t always been as smooth as her buttercream. “After working so much as a baker right out of school, I got burned out.” On the verge of giving up on her baking vocation, she and her chef husband found an ideal space, right in New Iberia, to ignite her passion once again. “My husband and I plan to open a restaurant/bakery, Lizzie’s, on Main Street. It will be a full restaurant and European-style bakery, with everything made in-house. Working for myself and building something I truly love has given me my passion back to continue doing what I love.” 

With the anticipation of Lizzie’s opening hopefully later this year, Hansen is set to embark on a new recipe layered with sweet adventures and a rich future. 

Until then, you can order cakes and pastries from Hansen through text at 337-321-2300.