Sweetz Bakery

Ever since she was a little girl, Trang Bowers knew two things. The first was that she was going to become a baker and the second was that she would never give up until she achieved that goal. She wanted to attend culinary school, but when her daughter came along earlier than expected she set aside her dreams and became an accountant. She spent 25 years in finance, but everywhere she went, people urged her to open a bakery.

Then one day, a few years ago, she did.

It started with an online bakery and a booth at the Leesburg Farmer's Market, but quickly turned into something much bigger. Bowers opened a Sweetz Bakery kiosk in the Dulles Town Center mall a little over a year ago and is now in the process of opening a store in Leesburg.

She supplies desserts for the Wine Kitchen in Leesburg, sells at the Leesburg Farmer's Market, and bakes everything for her kiosk in Dulles. Her home kitchen has three ovens, and she can bake up to 75 cupcakes at a time.

Sometimes she finds herself stressed out by more orders than she can handle, but her husband's words calm her so she remembers why she bakes in the first place. She loves seeing the look on somebody's face when they try one of her desserts. In the moment when someone takes a bite and their face lights up with satisfaction, the world stands still. And Bowers keeps baking.

After 17 years of marriage, her husband still tells her everything she has made is delicious.

"My husband is really, really supportive," Bowers said. "He's the best."

Every night, her husband and 15-year-old son head to the Dulles mall to help her close the kiosk. And on the weekends, her husband works at the Farmer's Market stand and helps her make deliveries. When her daughter comes home, she helps her mom with the cupcakes. Everyone in the Bowers' family knows their place in the business and works to make it run smoothly.

Bowers is a self-described artist whose creativity is displayed in her baking. She experiments with recipes to transform them into her unique desserts. Her subtly sweet desserts and individually packaged cupcakes make her standout from the throng of cupcake shops. Her whipped cream-based frosting creates a light and mouse-like topping. She also has a line of gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan cupcakes.

"Whatever I see becomes inspiration," Bowers said. "I'm not just another cupcake place."

Baking is Bowers' way of touching the hearts of those who eat her desserts. Shortly after the kiosk opened, a woman came up to her in tears, saying her mother had just passed away. She told Bowers that her gluten-free red velvet cupcakes tasted just like her mother's red velvet cupcakes. The woman's husband approached Bowers and thanked her for making his wife so happy.

"That's why I do this," Bowers said. "I'll be doing this for the rest of my life."