SIDNEY – The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted Kelly Kremnitzer’s plans as a college student and soldier in the Ohio Army National Guard but presented an opportunity for a new adventure.
Kremnitzer founded Krem Brulee Cupcakes out of her Sidney home, fulfilling a dream she had since she was a little girl when her mom owned a home bakery.
“School’s not happening, the Army’s not really happening, so I kind of took it as that was my time to try this out,” Kremnitzer said.
Kremnitzer’s baking mostly focuses on cupcakes, which she makes from scratch with her own recipes. Her most popular cupcake flavors include The Kait, chocolate cake with an espresso cream filling that is topped with caramel buttercream and an espresso bean candy, and the Rapunzel, vanilla cake filled with vanilla pastry cream that is topped with caramel buttercream and three cream puffs.
“Everything that involves the cupcake is completely made by me in house – the cupcakes, the fillings, the buttercreams, the decorations. I make it all myself,” Kremnitzer said.
Along with cupcakes, she also makes cookies, cream puffs, brownies and chocolate covered strawberries. Her favorite thing to make is vanilla cake, which is also very popular with her clients.
“I could eat that for days,” Kremnitzer said of the vanilla cake. “All the added stuff is always nice, but it’s just so good.”
Kremnitzer developed her love for baking when she was young.
Her parents, Mike and Molly Kremnitzer, were missionaries so the family lived back and forth between Mexico, Texas and New Mexico. To supplement their income, her mom operated a home bakery.
“She specialized mostly in sculpted cakes, and it just fascinated me,” Kremnitzer said. “I tried to help her whenever I was allowed to, but being, you know, 6 and 7, wasn’t a lot of options for that.”
The Kremnitzers eventually moved to Columbus. Her mom gave up her bakery when the family relocated to Ohio, but Kremnitzer still dreamed about having her own bakery.
She applied to and was accepted into a culinary school in Columbus but ultimately found it didn’t excite her as much as she anticipated.
“Not as exciting as I thought it would be,” Kremnitzer said. “And I think that was one of the reasons why I decided not to go.”
Instead, she was inspired by her oldest brother, Austin Kremnitzer, a Marine, to enlist in the military.
“I was wanting a little bit more excitement in my life,” she said. “And even though I loved staying home and baking, I wanted the adventure I felt like the Army could give me. And it has definitely been an adventure so far.”
While serving in the National Guard, Kremnitzer was assigned to show around another soldier, Sidney resident Charis Hunt, and the two instantly connected. About a year into their friendship, Kremnitzer visited her friend in Sidney.
During the visit, Kremnitzer met Charis Hunt’s brother Noah Hunt. They spent hours talking the first night they met and started dating about a month later.
“We went to bed at like 3 a.m. even though both of us had to be up at 6 the next morning,” Kremnitzer said, adding they’re planning to celebrate their marriage in May.
Along with her enlistment in the National Guard, Kremnitzer also enrolled at Ohio University to study high school English education. When the pandemic began and she had to leave her dormitory, she moved to Sidney to be with her boyfriend.
With her life upended by the pandemic, Kremnitzer decided it was time to pursue her dream of owning a bakery, using the Krem Brulee nickname she picked up in the National Guard as the inspiration for its name. She got the process started in November and officially opened in January.
Her best friend, graphic designer Kaitlyn Wulf, created a logo for the bakery, takes photos of the baked goods and helps with marketing. Otherwise, Kremnitzer generally handles the business by herself.
“(Noah) is the unofficial taste-tester, but for the most part it’s just me,” Kremnitzer said.
A senior at Ohio University, Kremnitzer would like to earn her degree. But for now she’s focused on her bakery and making that her full-time job.
“Everything I make is fresh per order, and it really just doesn’t get any better than that,” she said.
For more information about Krem Brulee Cupcakes, visit its website at http://krembruleecupcakes.com/, visit its Krem Brulee Cupcakes page on Facebook, visit its krembruleecupcakes page on Instagram or email [email protected].
