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New Yorker brings Italian sweets to area

 
Colorful, Italian treats are the specialty at the new 7 Layers Bakery in Wesley Chapel, which opened on March 24th. Photo courtesy of 7 Layers Bakery.
Colorful, Italian treats are the specialty at the new 7 Layers Bakery in Wesley Chapel, which opened on March 24th. Photo courtesy of 7 Layers Bakery.
Published April 6, 2016

In her eight years living in Florida, Evelyn Barreno has never found a local bakery that offers authentic Italian desserts like she and her family enjoyed back in Queens, N.Y.

Whenever she visited New York, she always flew back South with a stash of sweets, including rainbow cookies. Also known as seven-layer cookies, these colorful, Italian treats are Barreno's specialty at the new 7 Layers Bakery in Wesley Chapel, which opened last month.

Barreno has always enjoyed baking as a hobby, but in July 2015, she started working out of a commercial kitchen and her business began to take off.

Initially, the business was mobile, and she took a food cart to local farmers markets. Feeling that she needed a permanent retail space, Barreno said it was easy to decide on the location for her bakery.

"We live in Wesley Chapel and we love the area," Barreno said. "We wanted to stay here."

7 Layers Bakery offers a variety of sweets and baked goods such as cupcakes, cookies, cupcakes, and pastries. She pointed out that the cookies are what they are known for, but another specialty at the bakery is cannolis.

"We make the cream fresh, and it's like the original, traditional recipe," Barreno said.

Custom cakes can be ordered, and catering is available.

7 Layers Bakery is at 26306 Wesley Chapel Blvd. and is open noon-7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. It's closed on Monday.

For more information, visit 7layercookiecakes.com, or call (813) 388-2271.

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