Sweet success: Süss Pastries opens first brick-and-mortar bakeshop

Jasmin Smith started Süss Pastries in her apartment kitchen seven years ago. Over time she built a loyal following for her fruit pockets and Sonoran-inspired treats at the Uptown Farmers Market. She now provides pastries for coffee shops and, as of this January, she has a storefront to call her own.

Süss Pastries is now open on the corner of Missouri and Seventh avenues, offering a dedicated spot to enjoy Smith's pastries Tuesday through Sunday.

Süss (pronounced soose) means "sweet" in German, a nod to Smith’s birthplace and the summers she spent there with her grandparents.

“My grandma, she was definitely a big cook (and) baker, and just loves food,” Smith says. “We always had these big lunches on Sundays and everybody in the family gathered around.”

Smith’s pastries emphasize European traits, featuring bright, fruit-forward flavors and light creams instead of frosting. Smith has called Arizona home for most of her life, and seeks inspiration from the desert for her weekend menu specials.

Her treats incorporate prickly pear, locally grown dates and honey, mesquite flour, corn and cilantro. These flavors regularly appear in her popular fruit pockets — flaky, freshly baked pastries reminiscent of an elevated Pop-Tart.

“The raspberry prickly pear has been, hands down, the thing that people are automatically drawn to,” Smith says.

Fans also love the staple date and brown sugar fruit pocket. Both are available at Smith's new shop, in the drool-worthy display case alongside various cookies, muffins, cakes, pies, bressanes (a filled brioche roll), dessert bars and cinnamon rolls.

The cinnamon roll is light, not overly sweet, and topped with a tangy, sour cream-like frosting. The raspberry prickly pear fruit pocket has a fresh, tangy center, while the blueberry corn fruit pocket strikes a balance between savory and sweet.

“Personally, I love the Carmelita bar," Smith says. "That's something we brought in a couple of years ago, and people love that thing."

The Carmelita bar, served chilled, has an oat crust, housemade caramel chocolate and oat streusel, marrying sweet and salty flavors. The shop also offers a small selection of gluten-free and vegan options, and rotating flavors each week alongside consistent favorites, such as the date cinnamon muffin and corn sugar cookie.

Süss Pastries is located in the same building as green chile spot Hatch-It and the cafe and shop Corner on the Market. Setting up her bakery in this building has been a full-circle moment for Smith, she says, as she once rented overnight kitchen time at the market to prepare her pastries for wholesale accounts and events.

“I have wanted to own my own business since as long as I can remember," she says. "I went to school and worked for people under the intention that at some point I'm going to do this on my own."

After years of hard work, Smith is excited to see her efforts paying off with a brick-and-mortar location. While the small space still feels like a stepping stone toward her ultimate vision, it's a significant milestone in building the community she strives for with Süss Pastries.

“I feel like I've been around for so long. People have come in and they're like, ‘Oh, I've been following you for this many years, but I've never been able to get any of your stuff before,'" Smith says. "I think it's just that consistency has always been missing with Süss Pastries of where to find us."

Süss Pastries also serves coffee, iced tea, lemonade and a selection of savory breakfast items, including a bacon sandwich on a cheddar scone, a green veggie "sammie," a chorizo and egg pocket, and mushroom quiche.

Sometimes, small compliments or customers sharing a happy memory of tasting her pastries make the years of effort worthwhile, Smith says.

“We make everything from scratch, and that's definitely something I pride myself in," Smith says. "This is my dream, and I'm 120% in it. And anytime anybody comes in, it really just makes my day."

Süss Pastries

5341 N. Seventh Ave.