Homemade with Love, a gourmet vegan bakery in Chicago, is doing something special with its pan dulce. Owned by Yesenia Ramirez, the bakery specializes in customized conchas. Visit their Instagram page, and you’ll see countless character designs on conchas of all colors.
Since we’re in the holiday season, some of the designs Ramirez’s currently has featured, include Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, gingerbread men, snowmen, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Christmas trees.
Other holidays Ramirez had covered this year included Halloween with images of some of the most iconic horror movie villains and Dia de Muertos with images of sugar skulls and candles. The latter, of course, would be a perfect addition to an altar.
Ramirez also has plenty of characters from animated movies and video games like Coraline, Super Mario Bros., and Pokémon. There are also conchas for fans of the Harry Potter movie franchise, the hit Netflix show Wednesday, and the biggest blockbuster movie of the year, Barbie.
In an interview last year with Univision, Ramirez said that some of her most popular characters are the Minions from the Despicable Me franchise.
Other designs we’re sure many Latines purchase from her are conchas designed for fans of Bad Bunny, Selena, and Frida Kahlo.
There are even conchas for La Virgen de Guadalupe, which we’re sure abuelas would love to eat with their cafecito after church on Sundays.
You can only purchase conchas from Homemade with Love online, but Ramirez is looking forward to opening a storefront soon. In fact, she posted a video of the new store this October.
For those of you in Illinois, have a big bite of a Chavo del Ocho-inspired concha for us when the storefront finally opens.
Or if you’re feeling a little patriotic, the Mexican flag one works too.