Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
You always know where to go to find the desserts in Sharples. Whether you’re a red velvet cupcake person or an apple crisp person, you have two very special ladies to thank for satisfying your after-dinner sweet tooth.
Liz Stern and April Ebling were busily preparing the dessert du jour when I spoke with them about their work in Swarthmore Dining Services.
Liz began working at Swarthmore this past April, and April has been here for 15 years. Liz and April bake all of our desserts, but the school decides what desserts are to be made. Every Sunday, they plan for the whole week.
When asked if they had always been bakers, they both said that they had. Liz’s favorite things to make are ice cream and bread. April likes making cookies.
I asked what their favorite dessert to eat was. Stern and Ebling confidently said, “chocolate.”
Many of the recipes they work with are not their own. “The baker that was here before left a book with a bunch of recipes,” said Liz. However, “hopefully we are going to try to introduce some new things,”she added.
As for the waffle maker…
It was the school’s idea to add a waffle maker. The gadget is notoriously troublesome. “Thanks to April, we just got a new container and a new spout because there was leaking issues, so hopefully that will resolve some of the problems,” said Liz.
When asked if there was a dessert they really hate having to make, they agreed on magic cookie bars. “They always stick to the pan,” said April.
“The apple cake I like, the lemon tea cake I like.” said Liz, regarding her favorite dessert to make. And for April, Liz said “She’s the queen of pumpkin cheesecake. She makes the greatest pumpkin cheesecake.”
The desserts du jour are fudge brownies at lunch and ice cream sundaes at dinner.
Featured image courtesy of Chloe Klauss ’19 and Abhinav Tiku ’18.
