Eats & Beats: Cherry's Cheesecakes & Delights
Known for her "Delectable Treats of the South" Cherry has spent her whole life baking. From growing up in the kitchen alongside her Great Aunt, to getting nicknamed "Grandma" by her college friends for always spoiling them with her home-cooking and desserts, Cherry has always had a passion the smile that comes with a sweet treat. Though her business started with her famous cherry cheesecake, it has grown to include 160 flavors discovered and perfected through her time pairing her cheesecakes with craft beer, bourbon and wine on the east coast. Other additions include banana pudding, key lime pie, and even her Great Aunt's well-loved cinnamon rolls.
Her baked goods started gaining traction out of college, where she went on to serve them at the Florida State Capital, then the House, to finally the Senate. Cherry's Cheesecakes and Delights' website lists the places served since including to a former Governor of Alabama, to the NFL and at The Super Bowl XXXIX, to Capitol Hill chef Daniel Thomas, and even to international ambassadors and diplomats. Through gaining national and international attention, what brings her joy has stayed the same. She's still just as moved by the smile that comes from a sweet treat as the day she first picked up her rolling pin.
Cherry: I love to make people happy. And that's the biggest thing I've learned because we do vegan, we do vegan gluten-free, we do gluten-free, we do sugar-free in our regular cheesecakes and whatever else. And when someone can come in and they're diabetic, but they want to have what they used to be able to have and they can get that sugar-free cheesecake or the sugar-free bourbon pecan pie or things like that? It makes them happy, It makes me happy because I see a smile on their face. (They're like), "I haven't had this (in...)" For instance, this lady came in last week and she's like, "I haven't had a cheesecake in 20 years." And she said, "because I can't have dairy." But then she got that (dairy-free) chocolate cheesecake and I gave her a vegan (dairy-free) cheesecake truffle to try - Loved it!
Abi Clark: Oh, you must see so many smiles..
Cherry: I do! And that's what keeps me going. My customers keep me going, and when they smile, I smile.
Tucked now in Lafayette, CO, her bakery has become a community favorite. The Morning Set's Abi Clark visited Cherry's Cheesecakes and Delights to chat with Cherry about her story and the journey her desserts have taken her on.
Check out more of Cherry's story and available treats here!
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