Homemade Halloween Whoopie Pies can only be purchased at Betts Bakes.
If a resident is having a Halloween party and needs a special desert, try Betts Bakes Whoopie Pies or the ghost/mummy cupcakes.
Try vanilla or chocolate mummy cupcakes.
Launched in August, this new Palisades home business, Betts Bakes, was the result of Betty Morin’s love for baking and the demand for her tasty homemade treats, such a carrot, chocolate or vanilla cake, cupcakes or lemon meringue tart.
Baking goes back to her childhood and started with an Easy Bake Oven. “I used to make things for my dad, mom and brother,” she said.
Next it was chocolate chip cookies. “My mom had a typed recipe card that is similar to Toll House cookies, but I don’t know where she found it. I’ve used that recipe so many times that I have it memorized!”
Morin said, “Most of my cookie recipes come from a cookie cookbook that my mother passed down to me from the early 1960s that is falling apart but has the most amazing memories tied to it. It’s full of handwritten notes on favorite recipes and modifications that my mom or I made. I will never get rid of that book.”
She calls herself a huge fan of the “Great British Baking Show.”
“I often look up recipes I see on the show and try to replicate them myself,” Morin said. “A few years ago, a friend requested a Hazelnut Dacquoise cake for her birthday. It’s layers of crispy meringue made from hazelnut flour, and I put a light chocolate mousse in between. It’s a tricky dessert but it was beautiful and tasted great.
She’s not afraid to try the confections that only the most talented bakers can create. “French macarons are notoriously difficult,” she said. “I’ve had mostly good luck with them, but they take precision and patience.”
The carrot cake is moist and delicious.
Currently, “I’m only selling cupcakes, cakes and a lemon meringue tart. I’m planning to add more items for the holidays and will likely do cookies as well,” Morin said. “I am a huge fan of cookies and make dozens of different kinds during the holidays to give to friends and family.”
Morin was asked if the cake recipes were family favorites. “The cupcake and cake recipes are not; I’ve found most online.
This three-layer lemon cake is perfect for dessert.
“One of my favorite places to find recipes is Sally’s Baking Addiction,” Morin said. “I usually tweak the recipes just a little to fit my taste, but I love her recipes for inspiration.”
Morin, who had morphed from film production to music production to a frozen food business, had always dreamed of opening a bakery. It took Covid and virtual meetings to open that door.
She was on the business side of healthy, frozen food entrees, which were sold in Gelson’s and Bristol Farms. That business was put on hold during Covid, because of supply issues.
Then her husband, who has 20 years of sobriety in AA, suggested that she bake a cake to be given to someone celebrating a year of sobriety in that program. One cake led to many cakes.
This marble cake is one of the many selections at Betts Bakes.
Her baked goods were so tasty and became popular, not only for AA members, but for those friends and family members, too. People started requesting cakes for birthdays and other celebrations, and Morin found herself propelled into a new career.
Her experience in the food industry and the health department was vital in opening her home bakery.
She delivers to Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica. “If there is a special request for a large order, I’m happy to make arrangements to deliver to other parts of town,” she said. “I’m hoping to expand the delivery area as I get more established.”
“Depending on how intricate the design is, I usually only need a week’s notice for baking a cake,” she said, noting that “if it was something very fancy, like a wedding cake, that would require several weeks.”
Her love of baking, which was a hobby, has become a full-time job.
“Baking is very satisfying to me. It can be almost meditative, and I love the creative part of it, especially when I’m trying new things or decorating cakes,” the Palisades resident said. “Cakes make people happy, and I love that part of it.
“My biggest concern was whether I would enjoy baking if I ‘had’ to do it, but so far that hasn’t been a problem,” she said. “I still love it.”
Go to bettsbakes.com to see choices and prices. Morin said she’s open to special requests. (310) 310-2983.
This lemon meringue tart is a best seller at Betts Bakes.