Having your cake and eating it too is a tough task to handle. But Julie’s Gluten-Free Bakery - located at 16126 Meridian Ave. E., in Puyallup - is a store dedicated to delivering delicious sweets and keeping its customers healthy by being a dedicated, 100 percent gluten free bakery.
“[My friend] asked me to make a gluten free cake from her daughter. I didn’t know what gluten free was, but it made a better cake than regular flour. I decided to make the bakery gluten free,” owner Julie Kropf said. “I knew I would get everyone who needed to eat [gluten] for health reasons and people who didn’t even know what it was because it tasted so good.”
The bakery’s gluten free desserts are made from local, organic ingredients. The daily-changing menu includes cupcakes, cookies, cakes, breads and seasonal baked goods, all of which are peanut-free, allowing customers to be sure that they can get what they want at the location.
“Anything from a 6-inch baby cake to a $2,000 wedding cake,” Kropf said. “We can make it as simple or fancy as you like.”
Julie’s Gluten-Free Bakery prides itself on its constantly rotating menu, which has been perfected since the bakery’s grand opening in August 2012. Over 60 flavors cycle through the bakery, including vodka coconut, lemon meringue, s’mores, toasted coconut, chocolate with strawberry and chocolate marshmallow.
Kropf has been a geriatric nurse for over 30 years, but was inspired to open her own bakery when she impressed her family and friends with some tasty treats.
“It was just an idea out of the blue. I had never thought about it before ever and I made a killer cupcake one year and everyone went completely bonkers for them, “ Kropf said.
Julie’s may also be one of the few bakeries in the world that serves more than just humans, providing not only gluten free doggy treats, but also dog birthday cakes for your pet’s special day. The dessert is specially crafted for puppies, containing ingredients such as beef and carrots.
“I’ve had people put back food for them just to pick up some doggy treats,” Kropf said.
Julie’s Gluten-Free Bakery is open six days a week, Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on the bakery, call (253) 840-4080 or email Julie@juliesglutenfreebakery.com.