EAST VILLAGE — Italian cake shop Sugar Sketch is open for business in the East Village.
Italian cake maker and decorator Martina Nardo is offering up intricately decorated cupcakes and tiered cakes for special events out of her storefront at 172 E. Second Street, which officially opened its doors on Saturday.
And true to her roots, the baked goods are made the Italian way — with considerably less sugar than their American counterparts.
"I cut the sugar and butter by about 20 to 30 percent each recipe," explained Nardo, who came to New York from Rome in 2004. "American cakes tends to be a lot sweeter and it's a little too sweet for me, a little overwhelming to my palate.
"It becomes a desert that's not too overwhelmingly sweet and everyone can get through it."
The bakery also uses buttercream icing only, which is rich in butter but low in sugar, said Nardo.
Nardo first launched Sugar Sketch in 2013, but the East Village shop is her first brick-and-mortar storefront — she began by renting kitchens throughout the city before partnering with Murray Hill bakery Pip's Place, where she worked out of a section of its kitchen at 39th Street and Lexington Avenue.
When the shop shuttered in 2015, Nardo decided the time was right to launch her first storefront and snatched up the space between Avenues A and B. She is currently manning the shop's kitchen single-handedly, though she is looking to hire a fellow baker and a business partner.
But business is already rolling in, she said, explaining it helped to have an already loyal client base.
"Opening in Manhattan is really scary in terms of expenses, so I didn't feel comfortable opening not having any clients at all," she said.
"The loyal customers are very happy with us — they are just ecstatic now that we opened."
The shop is open Tuesday through Sunday, and welcomes walk-in diners looking to grab a sweet treat as well as elaborate orders for special events such as weddings and baptisms.
For a sampling of designs available and ordering information, check out Sugar Sketch's website.
