Introducing Artisanal Home Baker Sarah Menassa

Sarah Menassa is not your average girl. By day, the 20-something professional is a psychomotricienne who treats children with undeveloped or impaired motor abilities. She clocks hours at Collège Champville and sees clients in a private clinic.

By evening, Sarah rolls up her sleeves and dons a kitchen apron, working her hands at cake-making. What started as personal therapy to unwind from the day’s hustle and bustle soon evolved into a full-fledged home bakery, Dulce ‘n Banana. Sarah takes orders for any occasions from baptisms and engagement parties to birthdays, anniversaries, and religious holidays.



A specialty birthday cake by Dulce 'n Banana
These aren't your ordinary cakes either. You won't find a ready-mix bundt cake or a standard fôret noir with the canned fruit salad in the cream. Leave those to the commercial vendors. Nor will you happen across the traditional patisserie française that’s long been an integral part of pastry shops in Lebanon.

Cake and cupcakes for a teething


Sarah is a true artist, a visionary who applies her imagination to the cakes she designs. Nothing seems too difficult for her either, as she crafts veritable artwork with the sugar paste she uses in many of her cakes. You could literally lose yourself scrolling through the bottomless array of photos housed on her Instagram account, where she boasts close to 5,000 followers.



Sarah Menassa of Dulce 'n Banana

Here’s the fun and delicious cake Sarah prepared on the occasion of my husband’s birthday just days ago:


Behold the birthday cake, before we had our way with it!


The interior is a moist chocolate genoise with dense fudge layers in between, all of which whisper a faint aroma of rum. The cake is lined with KitKat bars and crowned with a mountain of chocolate candies, including Hershey’s Cookies ‘n Cream, Ferrero Rocher, Galaxy, Twix, Snickers, Maltesers, and M&Ms. It is absolutely decadent, and paired with fresh forest berries or strawberries to temper the chocolate overload, it is divine.



Cake aftermath


Sarah’s business is booming, and in the near future, she anticipates moving her home bakery to a more spacious atelier with bigger and better appliances. How she manages now is sheer mystery, but one thing's certain: this busy bee gets little sleep.

For a sweet treat with high-quality ingredients and an unmistakable pop of freshness in every bite, I can’t recommend Dulce ‘n Banana enough. It's got the homey taste and the visual appeal only an artisan can render caked all over it!

Sarah Menassa
Instagram handle: @sarahdemenassa
03 360 141

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