Tiffany and Ben Thorpe
Owners, Tiffany’s Sweet Spot
79410 Highway 111, Ste. 101, La Quinta
tiffanyssweetspot.com
How did you get into baking?
Tiffany: I actually started our business making custom sugar cookies from our home. And then the health inspector came and told us we had to stop doing that.
How’d you move into cupcakes?
Tiffany: My husband was on unemployment, so we decided to look for a space where I could work on cookies and sell them. [Ben] was like, “Well, I want to make cupcakes!” And I wasn’t interested in cupcakes at all, so I said, “OK, that can be your thing.”
Is baking cupcakes an art?
Ben: Definitely! I actually went to art school and have a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I’ve always been creative and artistic, so this was an outlet for that energy — cooking and coming up with new flavors.
What’s your most popular flavor?
Ben: We get people who come in and say they don’t like tres leche cake, but they like our tres leche cupcake. I think that was one Tiffany came up with, actually. I’m from Oklahoma, and I moved out here when we got married. I knew it was a popular flavor in the area.
What ingredient would you like to feature in one of your creations?
Ben: I’ve always wanted to do a sriracha cupcake. That’s still on my to-do list.
Tiffany and Ben recommend:
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. “The weather is amazing, and the air is so fresh,” Tiffany says. “My kids really enjoyed going up there. And we love going to Lala’s in Cathedral City. They have great crepes and waffles.”