LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Today is all about being sweet, or eating sweets. But what about vegan sweets for that matter?
Strange Matter Coffee in Lansing is putting its own spin on this day of tradition. Bakers have been up all night to bring these creations to life for Fat Tuesday.
Arielle Padilla, manager of Strange Matter, says the majority of the paczki magic happens when people are asleep. Once the 6 a.m. hour comes around, her crew is in the finishing stages of filling and glazing.
”There’s a lot of prep that goes into the days prior, because all our jams and all our filling our house made, and that takes a lot of work the days before. So, we started last week trying to get today to happen” Padilla said.
Strange Matter has four flavors this year: chocolate, mixed berry with lemon glaze, custard with powdered sugar and peach plum. All of them are vegan and soy-free.
The coffeehouse also makes everything from scratch and by hand.
”All of our stuff is hand made in house, which is why our paczki might cost a little more than other ones at Quality Dairy or what not, unfortunately. But they are very tasty and very vegan and very soy-free,” Padilla said.
This might be the last paczki season spent in this kitchen, as Strange Matter has an ongoing construction project in downtown Lansing, which will provide four times as much bakery space and production capacity.
