I didn’t always plan on being a baker. I had a 25-year career as a professional dancer and actress in Los Angeles in New York that included the Broadway stage. But in 1989, I contracted viral meningo encephalitis on a weekend trip and fell into an 11-day coma. When I woke up, I was speechless. Though some of my speech slowly returned. Speechless cakes are a new career that fits me well. I was thrilled by the local food and wine bounty of Healdsburg when I moved here in 2008, and after formally trying goat cheese for the first time, I knew that I had to find a way to use this special product. Currently, I am baking cookies with a modern twist. I use freeze-dried fruits in my cookies. raspberry, raisins and pistachio. Speechless Cakes is the name in homage to my experiences. The cakes, cookies are made from local ingredients. When I am not baking, I dance.
“The name Speechless . . . is strong in so many levels,” my friend, Care said in an email. “Moreover, it is that good!”
