Erin Hueffner
When Olga Aydinyan came to Madison from Russia 11 years ago, she knew at once she’d found a new home. Madison is a welcoming city to immigrants like herself, she says. But one thing was missing: the desserts her mother made back home. There were places to find French cooking, American bakery and Asian entrees, but nowhere to find the Russian pavlovas and vatrushkas Aydinyan craved. So she decided to make them herself, and offer her old-world sweets to her new community.
Born in Belarus, Aydinyan moved to Russia when she was a child. There’s a mix of cultures in her family: Her mother is Polish, her father is Armenian and her husband is Lithuanian. All of these cultures are ingredients in her baking business. Although Aydinyan helped in the kitchen as a child, she learned how to bake Russian desserts after moving to the United States. “I got a lot of recipes from my mom,” says Aydinyan. “She’s a wonderful baker. When I moved here, I would call my mom a lot over Skype. We would do these long-distance baking sessions, and she’d give me recipes and tips and secrets. I learned a lot from her.”
Each week, Aydinyan sells her home-baked goods at the Monroe Street Farmers’ Market (Sundays 9 a.m.—1 p.m. at Edgewood High School), and occasionally at the Monona Farmers’ Market (same times, at Ahuska Park), from her signature bright orange tent. All of her bakery is made from scratch with simple ingredients, like real butter, wheat flour, dried apricots, and cottage cheese. “Eastern European baking isn’t too sweet, so the sugar doesn’t overwhelm you,” says Aydinyan. “And so far, people have been really happy about that.”
Erin Hueffner
Baker Olga Aydinyan’s traditional Russian pastry Geese Feet are not too sweet.
Her most popular item is called “Geese Feet.” That’s a direct translation from Russian, and it’s a pastry named for its shape, reminiscent of a bird’s foot. In keeping with Eastern European tradition, Aydinyan doesn’t use any sugar in the dough, but sprinkles it on top for a hint of sweetness atop the delicate pastry. Another customer favorite is her chocolate meringue; one market-goer remarked it’s like “hot chocolate you can eat.” Aydinyan also offers her business namesake vatrushkas: light chocolate cake squares with sweetened ricotta filling that customers can eat while walking the farmers’ market, no fork required.
One of her favorite recipes to bake is Russian apple pie. She uses just seven ingredients to create this delicious twist on an American tradition. “In the Soviet Union, people didn’t have a lot of ingredients to use,” says Aydinyan. “I think the Russian apple pie recipe was a way of improvising with what they had. It’s one of the most popular desserts in Russia. When it’s apple season, this pie is on every table.”
Aydinyan is considering a storefront but, for now, if you want to try Geese Feet, fly over to the farmers’ markets and look for Vatrushka’s orange tent. Contact Aydinyan, who is not currently on social media, at vatrushkasweets@gmail.com.
