Driven by a passion for baking that goes back as far as she can remember, Mallory Kienast has spent years slowly tweaking and improving her buttercream -- a staple for her cottage bakery, Made by Mallory.
“I was blessed to grow up with two grandmothers who could bake and who were fueled by passion for the hobby as well,” said Kienast. “When my grandmother, Norma, passed away, I set a goal to take her cinnamon roll recipe and make them as good as her. Part of what makes her rolls so wonderful is the delicious frosting she would slather over them, and so began my pursuit to make my own staple buttercream.”
Kienast was asked to present a working demonstration and samples at the 18th Annual World Food & Music Festival in Des Moines this year and provide samples to the audience. She will be presenting this Friday, Sept. 16 at 11 am at the Dotdash Meredith Culinary Discovery Pavillion. Her presentation is slated to last thirty minutes. During her presentation, Kienast will create her signature buttercream and then pipe it on homemade sugar cookies so guests can sample the buttercream for themselves.
Having her products sampled and judged is nothing new for Kienast, who began taking her baked goods to the Des Moines County Fair when she joined the Unity H 4-H club in fourth grade. In fifth grade, her first bakery item was selected to advance to the Iowa State Fair. By sixth grade, she’d launched Made by Mallory and sold her cinnamon rolls to teachers, family, and friends.
Kienast continued baking while studying public relations at the University of Northern Iowa. She participated in the Cedar Falls Farmers Market for two years and even had the opportunity to provide a gluten-free cupcake line to Scratch Cupcakery.
When Kienast graduated college, she put her baking aside to focus on marketing and brand development. She launched a marketing business that is still running today, but an itch called her back to the kitchen to continue pursuing her passion for baking.
Today Kienast’s cottage bakery specializes in gourmet cookies and cupcakes with colorful and delicious buttercream piped on top. To learn more about her bakery or her presentation at the World Food & Music Festival, visit her Facebook page @madebymallory.us.