Meet the two sisters behind Dolce Amore Sweets! For today’s episode of Mina Presents, our Young Entrepreneur Correspondent spoke with 14-year-old Claudia Colina and 10-year-old Daniela Colina. Based in Miami, Fla., the sisters from Venezuela built upon their family recipes to make signature key lime pies, cakes, tres leches, flan, pavlova and other desserts. Since launching in May 2020, Claudia and Daniela have worked to stand out in the market, learning how to bake new treats and refine their talent.
If you want a sample, be sure to read on for a Dolce Amore Sweets recipe for Lioness readers!
Baking at the beginning of COVID
Dolce Amore Sweets manages orders and deliveries through Instagram, where they also showcase reviews and photos of their desserts.
The pair came up with the business at the start of the pandemic when we went into ‘safer at home’. With restaurants closed and people stuck at home, Claudia and Daniela thought that they could start a business. They wanted to use their family recipes and make desserts for customers celebrating special occasions at home.
“Regardless of quarantine, people out there still have birthdays. People are still trying to celebrate and see the good in things,” said Claudia. “Why not contribute to that?”
Another inspiration for the business came from how schools adapted to online learning. Claudia said that it shows them “no matter the obstacles that pop along in your life, you have to persevere.”
Blending recipes new and old
The business is built on a foundation of family recipes – most notably their key lime pie, which was passed down from generation to generation and is one of their favorite desserts to make.
“This is a family tradition,” said Daniela. “My sister learned from my mom, and then I learned from my sister. By learning and practicing with my sister, I got better at it.”
The sisters are almost entirely self-taught, with the main exception being a Zoom class they took to make pavlovas. The pastry has a thin crust and layers of whipped cream and strawberries.
They also elevated their family’s lime pie recipe with a swiss meringue that they learned how to make through an online baking class. Claudia and Daniela were happy to share their recipe for the meringue with Lioness:
“We hope you enjoy our Swiss Meringue Recipe. If you try it, be sure to post it on Instagram and tag us so we can see your beautiful creations! God bless you!
“Best, Claudia and Daniela Colina”
Ambitious plans for the future
- Food Truck Distribution
- A cookbook
- Baking lessons for kids
The sisters are happy with how much their business has grown in a year, but they want to expand. They’re currently working on growing their business to distribute to food trucks. They also want to launch a cookbook and are considering hosting baking lessons for kids. They had planned to do these in-person, but with the Delta variant and a community case surge, they are thinking about rolling these out virtually first.
You can find Dolce Amore Sweets on Instagram.
More Mina Presents
Be sure to watch Mina’s interview with London Josara Miller of My Londonade to learn how her business supported first responders during the Flordia condo collapse.
You can also visit her website, Mina Presents, along with her Youtube channel for more interviews.
If you’re a young entrepreneur or know someone who might be a good match, reach out to Mina to coordinate an interview!
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