BROOKLINE — Frederick’s Pastries has been an institution around here for three decades, supplying cakes, French éclairs, teacakes, cannolies, rum balls, and Lozier’s Pecan Diamonds. But Frederick Lozier, the iconic founder, is no longer the proprietor. Three years ago he passed ownership on to his daughter, Susan Lozier Robert of Brookline, and Frederick now spends his time playing golf and traveling with his wife, Gloria. Robert seems to have inherited her father’s passion for cake making. She has also expanded the business and recently opened a second location in Bedford, in Bedford Square, just down from T-Bones. Managed by Anne Walsh of Mont Vernon, the Bedford store is drawing in a number of new customers from Bedford and the Manchester area, said Robert. Frederick’s has won numerous awards over the past several years. Since the inception of the “Best of New Hampshire” awards in 2002, Frederick’s has won at least one per year, often garnering both the “Best Cakes” and “Best Pastries” titles. Robert enjoys the challenge of trying to find ways to make the bakery more successful, whether by surpassing last year’s sale numbers, or expanding the already extensive product line. A mother of three young children, Robert juggles home life with business.

“I could not do this without the tremendous support of my family,” she said. Husband, David, is a Nashua firefighter, and his schedule allows her to split time between the bakery and home. Now that her children are slightly older (her youngest is 8), she can bring them to the store without fear of them eating everything in sight. While her hard-working ethic is evident in the quality and success of her shops, Robert says that it hardly feels like a job to her. “It’s not work, but more of a lifestyle. I’ve been involved in the Frederick’s business since I was 8 years old, when my parents operated it out of their garage.” Since then, Robert has been a mainstay in the bakery, whether it is decorating cakes, overseeing baking, or simply greeting customers as they enter the store. By her father’s side since the beginning, Robert learned the intricacies of cake decorating and pastry-making. She jokes that her father refused to send her to a culinary school, insisting that she learn everything about the baking business by doing it, hands-on. Robert says this was invaluable, and that she’s learned everything she needs to know about running a successful business. Part of that success comes from an increased presence on the Web. Frederick’s operates a website that allows customers to look at available items and place orders and it has become “a focal point” of the business. While delivery is available, most customers place an order online, and then come by the store to pick it up. Robert is active in the day-to-day business of running the bakery. She still frosts cakes, something she loves to do. Her favorite to decorate is Chocolate Indulgence, a confection of cake, fudge, and beautiful little purple flowers. Her favorite to eat is the Ferraro Cheesecake Cups, which have caramel, nuts, and a healthy measure of chocolate frosting. How does she resist the urge to sample her own products? She doesn’t.

“I’ll have cake for breakfast, if I’m in here early in the morning. As long as you’re active, its really not a problem.” In the three years since she took over from her parents, Robert says the most challenging thing she has encountered is assuring people that, although the ownership has changed, Frederick’s is still a family-run business with the same dedication to consistency, quality, and excellence. “I’m very confident in my staff. We have a collection of people who have generally been with us for years, and I couldn’t do it without them.”