One Astoria resident is hoping to expose Queens to desserts from local bakers who do not have traditional storefronts but are whipping up delicious desserts.
Ashley Dean, the person behind event-planning company Queen of Astoria, will host After Dinner Party at QNS Collective on Feb. 24. Starting at 8 p.m., the event will include music from DJ J Fuse, cocktails made by local mixologists and gift bags. QNS Collective is an event space located at 36-27 36th St.
Dean, who has been planning the party for about two months, described the event as a “laid back after-work event on a Friday night.”
“I wanted to provide a platform for these bakeries to showcase their work, and most of them are friends and live in the Astoria community,” Dean said.
She chose local bakers who needed some additional exposure and those who are giving back to the community. Renee Heitmann, the woman behind Single Girl Cookies, is an Astoria baker who uses her cookies as a way to “spread love and kindness one cookie at a time,” according to her website.
Heitmann brings a plate of cookies to an Astoria business every week. When she picks up the plate from a certain shop, the owner has to tell Heitmann what business deserves the next batch of cookies.
Montana D’Alessio is the mastermind behind Donut Diva. D’Alessio only sells her creations at Queens Comfort, a restaurant in Astoria. These are no ordinary donuts — with options like cereal cake (you can choose any cereal to sprinkle on your donut), S’mores (chocolate chip cake with marshmallow glaze and graham cracker crumb) and Apple Cider (salted caramel glaze and crushed pie crust or crushed butterfinger), there’s something for everyone.
Aloria Cakes and Gourmet Sweets, also based in Astoria, is a wholesale and custom order bakery. The company uses mostly organic ingredients and each cake, cookie and cupcake is handmade in small batches out of their commercial kitchen space. From birthdays to anniversaries and baby showers, Aloria Cakes can make sweets for any occasion.
Jae NYC Eats offers unique Twinkie-inspired cakes called “cakies.” The owners, who are Filipino, infuse their desserts with traditional Filipino flavors like ube, pandan coconut and jackfruit. They also offer chocolate with matcha cream filling cakies and flavors like maple bacon rum. Jae NYC Eats has no commercial space but does offer catering and sells their products at Queens International Night Market.
Lexy’s Cupcake Bar specializes in custom order cupcakes. The company sells more traditional flavors like vanilla with buttercream frosting cupcakes and also infuses their products with alcohol to make options like Honey Jack Daniels-infused red velvet cupcakes.
Vegan desserts will also be available.
Gift bags with merchandise from Yelp and dental products from Steinway Family Dental will be provided “so you can brush your teeth after eating all the sweets,” Dean said.
The event will be set up buffet-style so guests can choose to eat whichever dessert is most appealing. Specialty cocktails will also be available but will not be included in the ticket price.
Pre-sale tickets cost $15 and a day-of ticket costs $18. To purchase a ticket, visit the Queen of Astoria website.
