Infusion Baking

Bringing sweetness back

By Jane Turpin Moore

Photos by Pat Christman manager for Monarch Healthcare Management in the small community roughly 12 miles west of Mankato on Highway 60.

Walk into Infusion Baking Company for a delectable cream cheesefrosted cinnamon roll or chocolatetopped donut; you might just stay for the hot beef commercial.

And why not pick up a strawberry cheesecake muffin for the road? After all, everything proprietress Faye Nelson concocts is decidedly delicious. If you’re like most customers who’ve tried Lake Crystal’s newest bakery/cafe, you’ll soon be addicted to Nelson’s edible fare.

“I’ve tried a number of things—and they’re all good—but you can never go wrong with the caramel rolls.”

118 S. Main St., Lake Crystal Tues.-Fri. 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. 507-726-2060 infusionbakingco@gmail.com

On a recent weekday noon hour, the busy R.N. and mother of four stopped at Infusion to grab a fresh chicken caesar wrap, a pink Starburst-flavored Lotus tea and a cowboy cookie to boot.

“Her caramel rolls are to die for,” attested Jill Antony, a local resident and clinical nurse

“The Lotus teas are light and refreshing and provide a nice little healthy pop of energy,” said Antony, complimenting the fruity caffeine-infused sparkling tea Nelson stocks.

Of course, coffee is always available to accompany Infusion Baking’s wide variety of mouthwatering baked goods.

New business, old favorites

Since opening Infusion Baking Company and Cafe on Lake Crystal’s Main Street at the start of January, Nelson has been baking and brewing as quickly as she can to keep up with a steady stream of customers.

“People were hungry for this,” said Nelson on a brief break from the dough.

“There isn’t another (freestanding) bakery in town and only a few other restaurants, so the demand has been hot — but Lake Crystal can be a harder market, where a lot of businesses don’t seem to make it long-term.”

Nelson, 48, has a slight head start. Having operated as a licensed cottage food producer since 2017 under the name “Desserts by Faye,” Nelson — a completely confident cook and caterer with three decades of food experience under her chef’s hat

— had become so busy with orders for cakes, pastries and more that opening a dedicated bakery and cafe seemed like a wise choice for her and her family, which includes her husband Jason and their two children.

“It wasn’t our home kitchen anymore; it was a work kitchen,” she laughed. “I had no more room at home.”

Basically, Nelson was cooking up a storm 40 hours a week while maintaining her full-time job as kitchen manager at North Mankato’s Birchwood Cottages. Taking the plunge to open Infusion seemed less intimidating since she’d already been balancing 80 hour work-weeks.

A year of planning accelerated once Nelson secured a rental contract for the space at 118 S. Main St. that most recently housed an Herbalife Nutrition business and, in earlier incarnations, a cafe and pizza place.

“This has been a long-time dream of mine,” said Nelson of Infusion Baking Company. “I could have told you 15 or 20 years ago what my ideal cafe would look like—something like a ‘50s diner, with a black-and-white floor, red-and-white tile, chrome and seats at the bar.”

Though the building in which Infusion Baking Company functions doesn’t perfectly resemble Nelson’s vision, the food certainly does.

Food “to die for”

Much more a worker than a talker, Nelson nevertheless easily rattles off a tantalizing list of the food she’s offering at Infusion each Tuesday through Saturday.

Cakes, cupcakes, truffles, cookies and desserts, plus a rotating line of lunch and dinner options, all make the cut.

“Cinnamon rolls—including cream-cheese frosted, caramel and caramel pecan—are guaranteed daily,” said Nelson. “Those are my best sellers and always sell out.

“And I usually have donuts — maybe sugar, chocolate-frosted and some glazed — and there are always cookies in different flavors (think chocolate chip, peanut butter, cowboy, sugar, M & M — “too many to list”).

“A newer one is my coffee cake cookie; I can’t make those very often because I’d eat them all.”

Nelson has produced various desserts and pies—including strawberry cream cheese, banana cream and French silk, all of which were quickly snapped up by salivating customers.

Her berry-filled kolaches and turnovers have also proved popular, and chocolate Irish cream cake around St. Patrick’s Day was another easy hit.

Scones — from scratch, natch — are often in stock, with an “endless list” of flavor combinations including, but not limited to, orange creme, maple pecan and white chocolate raspberry.

“I might dabble in savory scones, too — like bacon and cheddar ones for breakfast, or any other time,” Nelson confided.

A cold case containing wraps, salads, croissant sandwiches, pasta salads and cold drinks are handy for lunch or on-the-go dinner pickups. Or settle in at one of the 32 available seats to enjoy a slow-cooked roast beef or hot turkey commercial (the rotating lunch special each Thursday), a grilled burger, chicken Kiev, chicken strips, breakfast sandwich or chicken Alfredo.

“She keeps trying new things and wants to expand,” says Jason Nelson, his wife’s enthusiastic taste-tester and possibly the biggest fan of her hot beef commercial.

“If I ate all her food, I’d blow up like a balloon. She’s always been a good cook — and I’m not a big sweets guy, which is good because if I were, I’d be in trouble.”

The Nelson family moved to Lake Crystal in 1998. Jason vouches for his wife’s admirable work ethic.

“She’s putting in lots of hours, but this has been a dream of hers for a long time,” he said.

Nelson’s formal employment in the food industry began when she was a 13-year-old server at a now-defunct drive-in, “Me and Mama’s,” in her native Sleepy Eye. She transitioned to cooking there by age 16 and the rest is history.

“And I cooked a lot with my grandma when I was growing up,” said Nelson, who was a big sister to two younger brothers. “It just comes naturally to me.”

Infusion Baking Company is drawing customers from not only Lake Crystal but also Mankato, Garden City, Vernon Center, Amboy and spots further afield like Sleepy Eye and LeSueur.

“I’m getting people from all over,” said Nelson, who regularly posts specials and tempting photos on Infusion Baking Company’s Facebook page.

But Infusion’s bread and butter will likely be faithful local customers like Antony.

“Our community is still getting used to having her here,” said

Antony, who frequents Infusion at least twice weekly and passes around Nelson’s goodies at her workplace to spread the sweet word.

Antony also praises Nelson’s responsiveness to customer requests; she offers low-carb and Keto diet accommodations when asked and makes a mean meat- and-cheese tray, Antony mentions.

“You can tell everything is homemade and yes, with four busy kids I have definitely picked up food there for supper,” Antony continued.

“Infusion Baking Company is a great asset for Lake Crystal,” she added. “Nothing beats a smalltown bakery.” MV