New Asian American bakeries find bicultural sweet spot

From ube cakes to mochi muffins, bakeries that sweetly encapsulate what it is to grow up Asian and American have been popping up more in recent years

OAKLAND, Calif. -- For some Asian Americans, the dim sum cookie at Sunday Bakeshop here will taste like childhood. It looks like a typical sugar cookie except with sesame seeds on top. But bite into the creamy, red bean center and it's reminiscent of the fried, filled sesame balls served at a Chinese dim sum restaurant. The concoction is pastry chef Elaine Lau’s nod to her grandmother, who would often make them. The baked goods that Lau's team churns out — like hojicha chocolate croissants and Chinese White Rabbit candy cookies — aren't going to be found in any bakery in Asia. There's an intrinsic American sensibility at the nearly 3-month-old shop. "Talking to some of the Asian Americans and other people that have tried some of our pastries, we get a lot of comments where they’re just like... ‘Oh this took me back several years,’ when they were growing up,” said Lau, 35, who was born in Oakland.