Uter Konditoreibar Lübeck

With love, air and warm butter

Today, for a change, I treat myself to a melt-in-the-mouth tartlet with a liquid passion fruit centre. This sweet nibble is not only an appetizing eye-catcher, but also a heavenly treat for the palate. A wonderful explosion of flavour that melts in your mouth. I am visiting the Uter Konditoreibar in the busy and popular Fleischhauerstraße. In the house with the number 62, the owner and patissier Aurèle Uter offers his own creations.

Blame the granny

Born in beautiful Swabia, the young school graduate was faced with the question: what now? At the insistence of his parents, he completed various internships, none of which triggered any irrepressible feelings of happiness in him. When Aurèle presented his cousin with a homemade cake for her birthday, her enthusiastic grandmother advised him to try her hand at pastry-making. Luckily for all of us, he listened to Grandma, completed an internship, and knew after just three days that baking was right up his alley. After his apprenticeship in a traditional family business, where he learned the craft from scratch, he was drawn out into the world and finally to Lübeck in 2010.

Think big

After the master craftsman’s examination and formative stations – including the start-up phase of NORD at the European Hansemuseum and Café Fräulein Brömse – the desire for more creative freedom and to try something of his own grew. What began as a dream gradually became reality – the UTER. However, I learn that the business launch was not as fluid as the praline cream he uses to prepare his “Thick Belgians”. The opening was delayed by several months due to construction needs, some of which arose during the renovation process, and also because of the lockdown and constraints resulting from the Covid 19 pandemic. Challenges that Aurèle courageously mastered. He built up a delivery service, which continues to be very popular, and remained visible during this difficult phase through this very personal contact with his guests. Customer loyalty at its best.

Uter Konditoreibar Lübeck

The ambience is pure and clear – an intentional and deliberate contrast to the playful patisserie treats. The pastry shop presents itself as a place in simple industrial style with stools without backrests, which from Wednesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. attracts casual passers-by as well as numerous regular customers to the casual interior, where the view through the glass pane falls on the pastry chef’s workplace in his bakery. Here you can experience up close how the incredibly delicious cupcakes are made. The atmosphere is as warm and friendly as the owner. It should and may be casual. “Come as you are” is also the motto of the house. Some guests come several times a week and enjoy here a super delicious breakfast and the heavenly creations of the host as well as the cake you remember from the afternoon coffee at grandma’s house.

You can not do without warm butter

Only natural ingredients of organic quality go into the dough. And it is also quite clear: cream, eggs and butter are the magic ingredients for the UTER’s own creations. Room-warm ingredients, by the way! “I always have a few kilos of warm butter lying around here. How else would I beat air into the dough?” laughs the patissier. I’ll have to remember that! Does he have any other tips? “It takes patience! Especially when it comes to preparing a yeast dough. It’s best to forget about the dough completely and let it rise in peace. Then it will work. And yes, definitely a cake needs to cool in the pan.” Nur ned hudla – don’t you hurry- the Swabian would probably say.

Where is the journey heading?

The lively neighbourhood in Fleischhauerstraße, which has become one of the favourite streets in Lübeck’s Old Town in recent years, is particularly close to Aurèle’s heart. He wants to improve, not stand still. Recently, guests have been asking for vegan treats more often. For him, reason enough to try out and create. Meanwhile, there is a vegan cake, which bears the signature of the master patissier. Aurèle would like to have a little more free time for the things he loves apart from the bakery. He’d love to have more time to develop new ideas with addictive potential. The chocolatier with the magic hands should succeed. After all, Aurèle means “the one made of gold”.