MANSFIELD — The pastry case at Bakehouse at Maple Lake holds more than a variety of treats. It reflects days of careful work and a mission rooted in helping others.

At 287 Taylor Rd., croissants, bread, French macarons and cakes share space with a larger purpose than just curing a sweet-tooth craving: supporting families and community projects in southern Sri Lanka, specifically Bandaragama and nearby communities.

We pretty much break every norm. It’s very different, but we’ve been so successful.

Cayli Van Langevelde, operations manager

Owner Monica Badgley said the bakery’s profits go to the Salt and Light Foundation, connecting a neighborhood business with people many of its customers may never meet.

A bakery built on patience — and purpose

Badgley and her husband, Rick, took over the bakery and cafe, formally Share N’ Dipity, in August 2024. The bakery is open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

(Story continues below images of Bakehouse at Maple Lake. Credit: Hannah Martin)

A croissant may look simple sitting in a pastry case, but making one at Bakehouse at Maple Lake takes three to four days. The process involves working butter into dough, controlling the temperature and allowing the dough time to rest.

“It is quite the intimate process,” Badgley said. “I think our croissants really rival what I’ve had in Paris.”

The same patience goes into the bakery’s bread, with each loaf taking about three days to make. One of its most popular varieties, rustic bread, uses just flour, salt and water — no added yeast.

“It’s just time and temperature,” she said.

Badgley described watching the dough rise as “almost like a little miracle each time.”

Operations Manager Cayli Van Langevelde said the rustic bread has a thick crust and a chewy interior. She often recommends it for dipping at dinner, particularly alongside pasta.

Van Langevelde said she always goes back to standards for consistency and image, ensuring everything served reflects the bakery’s commitment to excellence.

The menu also includes French macarons, cakes, brownies, gourmet cookies, cheesecakes and cream scones. The bakery makes its macarons and cakes from scratch, Badgley said, choosing a slower process over pre-made mixes and purchased products.

Customers who have disliked macarons in the past may have tried mass-produced versions, she said, rather than traditionally made pastries.

Some customers have compared the bakery’s pastries to those they’ve enjoyed in Italy, Paris and New York, she said.

(Story continues below images of different pastries. Provided by Bakehouse at Maple Lake)

Flavors and specialty items are rotated throughout the year, including European pouring chocolate during colder weather.

Badgley described the chocolate as rich and smooth, served with fresh meringue toasted tableside. The experience gives customers another reason to linger rather than rush in and out.

“I’d like people here to know we’re here and they can come and take a breather. They can come and relax,” she said. “It’s worth the wait.”

From diplomacy to community service

Before baking became her occupation, Badgley served as a diplomat and lived overseas in the Middle East. Her family returned to the United States after learning her daughter, who was born overseas, had a heart condition.

While still working for the government, Badgley began Crumbcoat Cakes for a Cause, which catered weddings on the side and raised funds for the Salt and Light Foundation. After she retired early because of a disability, she continued building on that work, drawing from her experiences abroad and learning from other bakers.

Those experiences helped shape the business that took over the Taylor Road location and support the Salt and Light Foundation.

Badgley is careful to distinguish profits from sales revenue. The bakery must still cover ingredients, employee wages and other operating costs while contributing to the foundation.

“It’s a small amount,” she said of the profit margin, explaining the business operates like a typical bakery while directing its profits to charity.

The bakery’s impact, Badgley said, is not limited to the amount of money it raises. It also creates opportunities to tell customers about the communities the foundation supports, some visitors have chosen to donate after learning more.

“It’s been a blessing to our community,” Van Langevelde said. “It’s almost hopeful in a way to the community around us. We pretty much break every norm.

“It’s very different, but we’ve been so successful. I feel it’s a big message to any young entrepreneurs around us.”

When a friendship becomes a lifeline

Badgley’s connection to the foundation grew from a friendship with Ishani, a woman she met while living overseas two decades ago in Syria.

Eventually Ishani had to return to Sri Lanka. Years later, Ishani’s first husband died while she was pregnant with their fourth child. Badgley then began helping her through small grants.

But Ishani did not keep that support to herself. She began creating projects to help people in her community. Badgley said it quickly became clear the assistance was reaching far beyond one household.

Initially, Badgley said she wanted Ishani to keep the money for her family directly.

“I really felt like the Lord was telling us, do not try to control the money. If we’re truly giving, then we have to not have strings attached,” she said.

Today, some of the projects include distributing groceries, helping with medical expenses and funeral costs, supporting children receiving cancer treatment and assisting elder care facilities. Ishani and her second husband, Ronga, help coordinate the work locally.

It’s not just Ishani, it’s a community.

Monica badgley, owner of bakehouse at maple lake

Badgley saw the effort firsthand when she traveled to Sri Lanka with her family in 2024. During the visit, she accompanied Ishani as she organized grocery distributions and saw how much work went into reaching families.

(Story continues below video of Ishani taken by Badgley in 2024. Provided by Bakehouse at Maple Lake)

The work was often done outdoors in intense heat. Without a vehicle of their own, people involved in the projects had to walk to markets, gather supplies, assemble grocery bags and deliver them to others.

Badgley also described a community cooking project that fed 1,000 people. Some people who had gone without food for weeks left the line to help serve others.

“It’s not just Ishani, it’s a community,” she said.

The experience stayed with her. Badgley recalled people who welcomed her family with warmth and trust, even when they were facing financial hardship and uncertainty about when they would next have enough to eat.

“It’s an incredible thing to watch,” she said. “Just human connection, knowing they had been seen.”

(Story continues below pictures from the Badgleys’ time in Sri Lanka. Provided by Bakehouse at Maple Lake)

Badgley said she wants customers to understand their connection to the foundation is personal, even if they never meet the people who benefit from its work. Photographs from the trip and pictures of Ishani’s children are displayed in the bakery, bringing that connection into the space.

More than what’s in the pastry case

As an avid thrifter, Badgley collects antiques and displays objects connected to Ohio alongside items and photographs tied to the foundation’s work overseas.

The name Bakehouse at Maple Lake reflects local history, too. Badgley learned a lake once stood where Maple Lake Park is now. The bakery has preserved photographs showing the area and the people who lived there around the turn of the 20th century.

Old yearbooks from the 1920s through the 1950s are also displayed for customers, offering another connection to the past. One customer even found a friend’s photo among the pages.

“One of our regulars found their buddy — he was like 98 years old — and they found his senior high school photo,” Badgley said.

For Badgley, those discoveries help make the bakery more than a place to buy food. The displays connect generations of local residents with the broader world represented in the bakery’s menu and charitable work.

Bakehouse at Maple Lake begins with something as ordinary as choosing a pastry. What follows reaches beyond the case, connecting Mansfield customers with families and communities in southern Sri Lanka — one carefully made pastry at a time.

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