Sunnyside bakery lends expertise in new cake mixes

Pepe’s Bakery in downtown Sunnyside was bustling with activity Wednesday afternoon. Several customers were at the bakery’s self-serve section picking items from displays of doughnuts, pan dulce and other baked goods. Other customers were placing custom cake orders with co-owner Jose Cortez.

Over 16 years of business, Cortez, 41, and business partner Anna Gutierrez have gained a loyal customer base drawn by the bakery’s ability to deliver on tried-and-true offerings such as pan dulce, a traditional Mexican sweet bread, and tres leche cake, which is soaked in a milk mixture.

Cortez, who heads up the baking end of the business, likes to play around with flavors. During a meeting about a custom cake order, Cortez showed a customer a marbled cake that combined chocolate and vanilla flavors.