The name Zuckermädchen (which literally means sugar girl) is actually Natascha Dohm's self-chosen nickname. On Bonn's Rheingasse not far from the opera house, the 30-year-old master pastry maker officially opened her "Zuckermädchen's Konditorei”, a café with bakery, on Saturday, October 1.

The owner hails from the Westerwald region of Germany and began her training as a pastry chef at Neunkirchen's Naschwerk. After completing her training, her second position took her to Café Breuer in Oberkassel. In 2018, she received her master craftswoman's certificate in Cologne and then worked at Café Sahneweiß on Bonn's Kaiserstrasse.

Zuckermädchen's pastry shop and café is her first business. "We make everything 100 percent from scratch, no readymade products whatsoever, and we want to implement traditional craftsmanship in a modern way," the café owner explains her philosophy.

During three months of remodeling and furnishing, the bakery was fitted with a larger oven and a new floor, and two wall openings provide more space. The white-painted dining room with seating for 28, creates a special atmosphere with the stucco ceiling and the surrounding stucco framework with indirect lighting. The dark green wooden counter is country style, with a wide display case for the cakes bringing in another accent. Two garden benches at the left and right of the entrance door can seat four guests.

Sweet offerings include a variety of tartlets such as wild berry crumble, mango with rosemary panna cotta, or raspberry with dark ganache (4.20 euros each), and nut salted caramel (4.50 euros). A cinnamon roll costs 2.90 euros. In addition, there are various quiches, for example with peppers, zucchini, eggplant and Mediterranean herbs (each 4.90 euros, with salad 9.50 euros).

Currently, there is also a pumpkin cream soup with bread (5.50 euros). A small breakfast menu includes herb scrambled eggs with toasted bread (7.90 euros) and brioche with butter and jam (5.90 euros), and a separate canapé menu offers, for example, the classic "Caprese" with tomatoes, mozzarella, olive oil and pesto (8.90 euros) or the "Hipster" with cream cheese, avocado, smoked salmon and fried egg (10.90 euros).

Finally, coffee from Bonn's Kaffeekontor is prepared in an Italian portafilter machine from La Cimbali (Americano 2.50 euros, latte macchiato 3.60 euros), and a freshly prepared lemon ginger tea is three euros.

Info: Zuckermädchen's Konditorei, Rheingasse 4, 53113 Bonn-Innenstadt, www.zuckermaedchens.de, Tel. (0228) 92 96 88 17. Open Tues-Sun 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. , closed on Mondays.

Orig. text: Hagen Haas

Translation: ck