CBS News Minnesota reporter Ashley Grams and photojournalist Ray Campos share the story of Yen Fang, who left the medical field during the pandemic to launch So Yen desserts in Saint Paul.

Saint Paul

So yen desserts, a bakery in Saint Paul's Lowertown, has gained popularity for its cream-filled brioche doughnuts and inventive flavors such as ube, banana pie, and strawberry cream. The business was founded by Yen Fang, who left her corporate job in the medical field after more than ten years to follow her passion for baking.

Fang began baking Japanese cheesecakes during the pandemic, which quickly sold out and led to the creation of her small business. Inspired by a trip to France and after much experimentation, she developed her signature doughnut recipe. The bakery opened in 2024 and quickly attracted long lines, marking a significant career change and personal achievement for Fang.

The sweet success story behind Saint Paul's So Yen desserts

In Saint Paul's Lowertown, there's a hidden gem causing a sweet stir. It's called so yen desserts. They're known for their sweet cream filled brioche doughnuts, Ube, banana pie, our strawberry cream, and behind these sweet creations. Is owner Yen Fang. This is probably one of my favorite parts about making doughnuts is the decorating I actually was in the medical field that was my corporate job. Being there for over 10 years, I would do that, but then I knew that I wanted to do sweets because that's something that I really love. Fang left the corporate world behind to pursue her passion for baking, and it was a decision that would change her life during pandemic. I'm like, OK, what can I do? You know what can I do to keep me busy? And so I started making actually Japanese cheesecakes. I was getting orders every weekend and was selling out as orders piled up. Fang's hobby became a small business, but it was a trip to France where things really started to pick up. We actually tried out these donuts and just fell in love with it. And so when we came back to Minnesota, I couldn't find it. It took a lot of trial and error before we could find the perfect donut recipe. And so I tested it out and it was crazy. Lines were like crazy with that success. Fang took a leap of faith, saying goodbye to the corporate world and opening so yen desserts in 2024. It was insane. It was grand that the lines were probably it wrapped all around the building, living your dreams and being able to step foot into it and making come true. That's only once in a lifetime and I just believe that everyone should take that risk. If you have something that you truly want to do it, do it. If it fails, it's OK. You have the corporate world to go back. The sweetest success built on a little bit of faith and a whole lot of flavor.

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