Latest news with #SoYenDesserts
CBS News
10-08-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Minnesota woman opens dream bakery after leaving the corporate world
When most of us think about following our dreams — it's usually a long journey with a lot of uncertainty. One Minnesota woman left the corporate world to run her own bakery in Saint Paul's Lowertown. It's called So Yen Desserts and it is known for their sweet cream filled brioche donuts, to their savory congee. Behind these sweet creations is owner, Yen Fang. Fang left the corporate world behind to pursue her passion for baking — and it was a decision that would change her life. "During the pandemic, I was like what can I do to keep me busy? So I started making Japanese cheesecakes." As orders piled up, Fang's hobby became a small business — but it was a trip to France where things really started to pick up. "We tried these donuts and just fell in love with it and when we came back to Minnesota and couldn't find it," said Fang. "It took a lot of trial and error before we could find the perfect recipe. I tested it out and lines were crazy at my house." With that success, Fang took a leap of faith — leaving the corporate world behind and opened So Yen Desserts in 2024. "It was insane, it was grand. The lines wrapped all around the building. The sweetest success is built on a little bit faith. "Living your dreams and being able to step foot into it and making it come true is only a one in a lifetime and I believe everyone should take that risk." So Yen is open Friday through Sunday. Its hours and donuts are limited.
Axios
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
SoYen Desserts delivers bold flavors in St. Paul
We're back with one more sweet treat recommendation that wasn't nominated for Kyle's recent deep dive into the metro's best doughnuts. Where we went: Kyle and Torey separately stumbled across Lowertown's SoYen Desserts, a small-batch bakery with indoor service and a takeout window just steps from the St. Paul Farmers' Market, on a recent weekend! On the menu: Pillowy cream-filled brioche doughnuts ($5) featuring a rotating menu of flavors that go beyond Boston cream: May specials include black sesame/strawberry and Thai tea custard. Plus: Savory bites like a Hmong sausage sandwich ($10) and laab curly fries ($10), crepes, coffee, iced tea and other treats. If you go: Bring an appetite or many mouths to feed. It's fun to sample the various pairings, but the sweet treats are also quite large and rich. Torey's crew of five adults and one sugar-crazed 4-year-old struggled to make a dent in their order of three delicious doughnuts and a lemon cloud bun. Pro tip: There's outside seating in the shady alley, but you can also bring your haul to one of the farmers market picnic tables if you want to sit in the sun. Kyle's thought bubble: Even though they're only open Friday through Sunday, I'm still puzzled by why we didn't get a reader recommendation about SoYen. I tried the black sesame/strawberry and it knocked my socks off! Details: It's open Friday through Sunday, with takeout window service starting at 8:30am on the weekends.
