Elfie Astier, Founder & Owner
Born in Paris, France, to a family of cabaret artists, Elfie Astier witnessed firsthand the beginning of the crazy and iconoclastic spirit of cabaret. Taking after her father, Paco, aka Henri Astier—one of the founders along with Jean-Marie Riviere and Marc Doelnitz of the Alcazar, and esteemed pastry chef at Gerard Mulot and Laduree bakeries—Elfie spent her childhood living and learning the flow of performances both on the stage and off.
At age 18, packing along her father’s love for preparing the “sweets of life” and his introduction to the world of entertainment, Elfie moved to Los Angeles. Upon heading west, Elfie merged her French heritage with the performative aspects of baking and acting, exploring the flow of creativity and production by becoming a private baker. In 2005, Elfie was ready for something new and all her own, and thus, independent of any support from outside investors, the upscale, female-founded Hotcakes Bakes was born. As an entrepreneur, Elfie fosters an empowering environment for employees and guests alike. Finally and fully able to live out her mission to share the “sweets of life,” Elfie can be found behind the counter, guiding her team, and ensuring all Hotcakes Bakes items are prepared from scratch, on-site from French pastries and viennoiserie. Hotcakes Bakes has appeared on various TV shows, including winning Cupcake Wars (Food Network), The Tori Spelling Show (Oxygen Network), Battle of the Wedding Planner (TLC Network), and was voted best Wedding Cake by InStyle Magazine in 2009, and has even catered the Emmy Awards and the Grammy Awards.
In 2023, Elfie joined forces with her son, Dylan Weiss as the mastermind behind Evil Twin—a natural wine bar, bottle shop, and brother concept to Hotcakes Bakes. Evil Twin was conceived in response to the ripple effects Covid had on Hotcakes Bakes, as well as Dylan’s growing passion for the natural wine space. The duo opened up shop in the existing Hotcakes Bakes space, creating unlimited opportunities for the mother-son duo to collaborate and grow their passion projects.