Desserts, Cakes and Other Bakes for the holidays and beyond.
There is no better time like the holidays to enjoy decadent desserts and other delicious baked goods as family and friends come together for memorable meals bidding the past year adieu and welcoming the next. Here’s a quick list of some of the black-owned businesses to put on our radar to turn to for that festive cake order, dessert bar or other inviting creations.
The signature sugar cookies here are filled with specialty made jams and turned into sandwiches with flavors such as peach cobbler and almond amaretto. The store also serves pies, cakes and muffins. In addition, specialty holiday cookies include almond shorties and pecan melts. CEO and founder Dana N. Dumas is a self-taught baker and cook that hails from New York and New Jersey but now resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Vicky’s Signature Sweet Potato Pound Cakes | Instagram
Fresh and moist sweet potato pound cakes are the signature delicacy at Victoria Franklin's home-based business in the D.C. area, where she also offers her signature butter sauce, pound cake minis and pound cake drops. Her recipe's secret lies in the proprietary spices she uses and if you are local, then she even has the cakes hand-delivered for a special touch.
Sweet Petit Desserts |Instagram
Cake shooters, pops, chocolate covered pretzels and pie tartlets are just some of the many sugary delicacies that third generation baker Taren Kinebrew creates as the CEO of this Cincinnati, Ohio operation. One look at her cakes decorated with edible seasonal flowers and you might just want to order it for your next dinner party. She also has a Junior Baking Series for youngsters should you want to gain insight into some of her handiwork.
Single working mother Janel Prator is the founder and flavor creator of the Los Angeles-based business which serves over 21 different flavors with new items added to the menu almost every month. Five new flavors have been released just in time for the holidays, including two adult flavors – naught and nice Baileys, no tricks all treat, nana nog, ginger snap ya fingas and jus peachy nana.
Buttermilk Drop Bakery |Instagram
Donuts, king cakes and drops are offered at this New Orleans, La. business celebrating a decade. Despite hurricane Katrina causing a small detour in operations, the owners persisted, perfecting their recipe for a new twist to an old favorite pastry and opening doors in the historical neighborhood of Treme in 2008. They are known for their classic baked goods but especially their buttermilk drop, sold by the dozen online.
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An indie bakery specializing in handmade pies and pastries in Somerville, Mass. since 2003, the sweet treats here are a result of founder Renee “Petsi” McLeod growing up baking pies in her grandmother’s kitchen. Some of their famed flavors include bourbon chocolate pecan and coconut cream in their sweet pies, chicken pot pies and vegetarian savory pies as well as scones, muffins and other pastry offerings.
Danielle’s Desserts | Instagram
From cakes and pies to cookies and bars, as well as specialty and gluten-free cupcakes, Danielle's Desserts elevates American Southern-style homemade baking by offering more than 57 flavors across all baked goodies. Founded by Danielle Poux in April 2010 in McLean, Va., each of the recipes found here are her own. Choose from blondies, caramel Bundt cakes, coconut macaroons and more for your holiday party.
Good Cakes and Bakes |Instagram
For organic, gourmet, vegan and homemade baked goods, turn to this bakery in Detroit owned by pastry chef April Anderson, who offers pound, custom, layer and birthday cakes in flavors ranging from 7UP pound cake, lemon gooey butter cake, and pineapple upside-down. Cupcakes, breakfast breads and muffins, brownies and cookies are a few other options on the menu.
Green Garden Bakery (Instagram)
An award-winning youth-run business selling vegetable-based desserts to the Minneapolis community, this enterprise comprises a group of young entrepreneurs from Heritage Park who are driven by a passion to change the world one healthy and delicious baked good at a time. Vegetables used are grown in the community garden, baked into healthy vegetable-based desserts, and proceeds head back to the community.
At Q's Cakes and Sweets Boutique in Albuquerque, NM, from scratch custom cakes, desserts, sweets and more by owner and U.S. Air Force veteran Queneesha Meyers are on the menu. A quick glance at her gallery of decadent creations will keep you scrolling through the page at each beautifully constructed piece of work. From chocolate covered Oreos, to brownies and bars, she has a variety of flavor options to choose from.
So go ahead and take your pick. This list is by no means comprehensive and only a quick glance at some of the businesses you can go on to support during the holidays while also enjoying the unique creations by their owners. Here’s to some sweet tooth satisfaction!
