A Hustle of Love: X2 Pastries Bakes Their Favorites for You

By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers

Xiong Xiong and Xiong Thao describe themselves as bakers at heart. 

X2 Pastries is a “hustle of love” according to Xiong Xiong. “We get to bake for ourselves, the products we think are the most delicious and delightful, and we then share it with all of you.” 

Regulars at the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and NE Minneapolis Farmers Markets as cottage bakers, X2 Pastries will soon treat their MacGroveland neighbors to a rotating menu of breads, cakes, cookies, and whimsical macarons from their new storefront (opening spring 2025).

Growing a Bakery

Xiong and Xiong are friends who found that baking was a creative and nourishing outlet that they both loved. For many years baking was a focused side business in addition to their full time jobs as an archaeologist (Xiong Xiong) and radiologist tech (Xiong Thao). “When I look back, I see how committed I was to baking from the start,” shares Xiong Xiong. “I spent the week at my archaeology site and flew back to Minnesota every Friday. We’d bake all night, sell on Saturday at the markets, spend Saturday night feeling dazed, and fly back to the dig site on Sunday. Some people were surprised by all the traveling. Somehow this just felt normal to me.” 

Selling at the Northeast Farmers Market was a turning point for this growing bakery. As market visitors got to know X2 Pastries, their business steadily grew. “It is so exciting to have regular customers who come up to your booth to tell you what they thought of your products,” smiles Xiong Xiong. “When they love it, they’re back and ready to try something else.” 

It wasn’t all instant success. “Every farmers market is different. Finding the market that fits your business and customer base is key. We had a few markets and events that were not successful,” explains Xiong Xiong. “The crowd was just not interested in trying our products. I feel we might have given up if that was our only experience.” 

Putting Down Roots

With a pause on Xiong’s travel due to the Covid pandemic, she found herself reflecting on her career path. “As much as I enjoy archaeology, I wasn’t home much. It makes it really hard to put down roots and feel invested in the community when you’re gone every week.” The call to push the baking side project into a full business required a shift in energy. Xiong decided to leave archaeology, fix her roots in Minnesota, and see if baking could become a financially sustainable career.

The search for a brick and mortar location marked the latest transition for this baking duo. “We found that we were growing beyond the space of the shared kitchen and our farmers market booths. We were ready for a space to call our own,” says Xiong Xiong. 

2024 was a time of education and growth as X2 Pastries explored commercial real estate and financing, met with contractors, planned both their kitchen and the customer experience space, and maintained their current bakery offerings at the farmers markets and custom orders. 

“Every day I drive by this space that Xiong and I are now shaping. It amazes me,” shares Xiong Xiong. 

Inspired by Art

As stated at the beginning of this feature, X2 Pastries’ menu features sweet and savory items that these two friends love to eat themselves.

There is one notable exception. 

Xiong Xiong doesn’t particularly care for macarons. One bite is enough for her.

As an artist, she fell in love with macarons for a different reason. “I love the process. I love the challenge and the art of it,” explains Xiong. “Oddly enough macarons became my art medium. When I’m in the kitchen piping character macarons, I’m just in a flow state. There’s nothing that distracts me. It’s my absolute favorite.” 

The clever Totoro has become a X2 Pastries signature character. The mastery of Xiong’s technique is that the core of the design comes to life through deliberate placement of different colored batters instead of a royal icing finish. “I don’t want the extra sugar on the macaron. Also, painting doesn’t bring me the same joy that piping and layering the macaron batter does.” 

When completed, Xiong describes her macarons as a “double whammy”. Who doesn’t love a treat that makes you smile because it’s so darn cute and then also tastes great? 

Friendship and Menu Features

As their storefront takes shape, Xiong and Xiong are especially excited about their refrigerated case to be able to produce more cakes—an item that doesn’t fare well at summer’s farmers markets. Xiong Thao looks forward to making cream puffs, cream pies, and cream cakes. Anything that involves a yummy  custard filling. They still plan on offering their signature menu items like sourdough and banana bread (with a hefty 14 ounces of banana per loaf).

Xiong and Xiong, two Le Cordon Bleu graduates, whimsical cartoon lovers, and community builders through baking, cannot wait to welcome everyone to their MacGroveland bakery. (Check back for address and grand opening information.)

Working together as friends has been one of the easiest part of building their business. “We both have the same enthusiasm for quality. We both happen to be very clean and detail-oriented too,” says Xiong Xiong. “It’s a gift to work with a friend and baker you respect, who can be the second voice to set you straight when you doubt yourself or simply need quality control.” 

Connect with X2 Pastries

Visit www.x2pastries.com for market dates and catering menus.

Follow X2 Pastries on Facebook and Instagram. 

X2 Pastries is one of three makers presenting at the March 8 Taste Makers Class at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Explore French macarons and baking methods, while observing distinctive piping techniques. Register through the Arboretum website. 

Visit meettheminnesotamakers.com or follow @meettheminnesotamakers on Facebook and Instagram to discover the small business owners leading Minnesota on a tasty sustainable path forward. Meet the Minnesota Makers is a news site that connects you to the local food, farms, artists and artisans that make Minnesota thrive.