Bella Flan Bakery Serves Sweet and Savory Cuban Treats in Richardson

Starting at the top right, working clockwise, tres leches, pastries, flan and rice pudding at Bella Flan. Felicia Lopez

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Bella Flan is a new bakery serving Cuban treats in Richardson. The bakery started operating out of Corner Food Mart in Garland in the spring 2020 and has since gained quite a following. Success proved to be fruitful and led Bella Flan to open its first standalone shop in early December.

Siv Lopez is the woman behind Bella Flan. She is of Chinese descent and has been married into a Cuban family for 25 years. Her love for food and creativity combined with experiences cooking with her mother-in-law eventually led Lopez to creating a unique Cuban-centric menu.

“I love everything about the Cuban culture. The food is flavorful and deeply rooted in tradition. The people are passionate and loving. My family and I have enjoyed these recipes for many years so it seemed natural to offer Cuban fare,” Lopez says.

We visited the new space, which had a bright and vibrant atmosphere with plenty of seating inside and on its charming patio. The bakery’s main attraction is pastries and desserts, and Lopez owned a custom-wedding cake bakery in previous years.

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Warm pastries at Bella Flan

Felicia Lopez

Warm pastries include cheese rolls, guava and cheese rolls and strawberry and cheese pastelitos. In the fridge, chilled delights include arroz con leche (rice pudding) in either original and mango, tres leches cakes and their signature leche flan and flan cakes. The latter is a two-layer dessert with silky leche flan on top of a cake offered in various flavors (chocolate, coconut pandan, ube and lychee-strawberry). For ice cream, Henry’s Homemade Ice Cream is offered by the scoop.

Savory items were added to the menu when the new bakery opened. Selections include papas rellenas (potato balls filled with meat), spicy crawfish etouffee potato balls, croquetas de jamón (ham croquettes) pastelito de carne (baked meat pie) and empanada de carne (fried meat pie).

Cubano sandwiches are made with roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickle and spicy mustard and are served with fried plantain chips and a signature mojo sauce. For a vegetarian version, the meat is swapped with a grilled portabella mushroom and roasted pineapple.

By opening her own bakery that honors her Cuban family, their culture and recipes, Lopez is excited to share and connect with her customers, “We are proud to be of a beautiful blended culture. I hope to spread a little joy by sharing my food with the community."

Bella Flan Bakery & Cafe, 819 W. Arapaho Road #56 (Richardson), 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday; 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Wednesdays