The story below is from our November/December 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Six of Roanoke’s newest bakeries sling signature treats, from breakfast cake to vegan cookies.
Let’s face it, cookies and cakes never go out of style. But this time of year, we hit peak sweet-tooth cravings. Luckily, this is when bakers give their goodies seasonal spins and roll out holiday menus. Over the last couple years, the Roanoke area has seen a rise in baking businesses, so there’s more choice than ever when it comes to getting your sugar fix.
From breakfast cake to vegan s’mores cookies to over-the-top milkshakes, meet the sweet treats you need to seek out now and the bakers behind the goods.
Sweets by Shaneice
Baker: Shaneice Jones
Courtesy of Sweets by Shaneice
Sweets by Shaneice is known for over-the-top milkshake creations, like this banana pudding inspired number.
Est: 2021
Claim to local fame: Shaneice Jones got her start in 2019 making custom 3D cakes. When she opened her downtown bake shop in late 2021, she quickly earned a reputation for her cheesecake cones, starring waffle cones with cream cheese filling and gourmet crunchy toppings and drizzles.
Signature sweet: Over-the-top milkshakes garnished with cupcakes.
Seasonal spin: For fall, look for a pumpkin pie shake laced with pumpkin spice and brown sugar cinnamon, capped off with a slice of pumpkin pie, and for winter, a peppermint milkshake garnished with peppermint bark.
Fun fact: Jones is a learn-by-watching baker and honed her design skills watching YouTube videos.
What’s next: Jones hopes to expand her reach by opening a second location and putting her cheesecake cones and cake slices on local restaurants’ dessert menus.
Where to find: Sweets by Shaneice at 501 Campbell Ave SW, Roanoke. Check social media for news and menu updates. Custom cakes and treats can be ordered at sweetsbyshaneice.com.
Sweets & Dreams Bakery
Baker: Rebecca Mastin
Est: 2021
Fun fact: Mastin received a degree in graphic design at James Madison University before completing the baking and pastry program at the Culinary Institute of America.
Signature sweets: Iced deep dish sugar cookies, featuring a thick layer of buttercream-meets-royal icing, and conchas, a Mexican sweet bread with a crackly, sugary topping.
Personal fave: Scratch-made marshmallows in flavors such as raspberry, cookies ‘n’ cream, and dill pickle for April Fool’s.
Holiday must-haves: Pre-order hot chocolate bombs and coffee creamer bombs in flavors such as s’mores and salted caramel; cake pops and truffles (hello, maple pecan); treat trays chockful of candy, truffles, fudge, brittle and marshmallows.
Where to find: Mastin makes regular appearances at West End Wednesdays at Golden Cactus Brewery and Sweet Donkey’s Morning Market. Pop-ups, menus and pre-orders are announced on Instagram and at sweetsanddreamsbakery.com.
Future dreams: Mastin hopes to open a bakery-café.
Courtesy of Sweets & Dreams Bakery
Conchas, a Mexican sweet bread with a crackly, sugary topping, are one of baker Rebecca Mastin’s signatures.
Kind Baking Co.
Baker: Bryn McDaniel
Courtesy of Kind Baking Co
Baker Bryn McDaniel loves utilizing seasonal produce in her baked goods.
Est: 2020
Where it all started: McDaniel started baking out of LEAP’s community kitchen and selling her cookies, banana bread and seasonal scones at the Grandin Village Farmers Market.
Signature sweet: Chocolate cream cookies, a chewy-crisp chocolate chip-esque cookie that’s equal parts buttery and chocolatey.
Holiday must-haves: Beautifully wrapped holiday boxes featuring an assortment of baked goodies such as cookies, scones and muffins, perfect for holiday entertaining or host gifts.
Eye on the pies: Seek out holiday pre-orders for occasion-worthy pies, like McDaniel’s signature chocolate chess pie that’s fashioned after a closely guarded family recipe.
Big news: McDaniel will open a retail shop in Wasena, next door to Bloom. She’s hiring two pastry chefs and will expand offerings to include artisan breads and new pastries like sourdough cinnamon buns, eclairs and seasonal tarts.
A walk on the savory side: For the new shop menu, McDaniel is recipe testing twists on southern staples, including a cornmeal biscuit.
Where to find: Kind Bake Shop at 1107 Main Street SW. Place custom cake orders at kindbakingcompany.com. Follow on social media for news and menu updates.
Bread Run
Baker: Julie Casey
Est: 2022
Courtesy of Bread Run
Bread Run’s beautiful braided challah is fashioned after a family recipe.
All in a name: Casey’s business is named for her twin loves of baking bread and running. Her running group was among her first taste testers.
Where it started: Casey started selling her signature challah at the South County Market. It’s a multi-generational family recipe, handed down to her from her mother and grandmother. She offers both a traditional five-braid and a round loaf.
Fun fact: Casey is also adept at making European pastries, including croissants, breakfast buns and Kougin amman, a crispy, caramelized pastry made with croissant dough.
Signature sweet: Gluten-free mini bundt cakes. Casey likes to have a gluten-free offering for customers without making them commit to a whole cake. A rotating roster of flavors include banana bourbon, chocolate banana, zucchini and pumpkin.
Two words: Breakfast cake. Casey started making breakfast cakes for her running buddies and she plans to roll out a few this season. Look for apple cake, a sheet-and-coffee-cake hybrid studded with chunks of apples and laced with a dash of coffee.
Baking aha moment: Casey says she enjoys the journey of the bake more than the end result. She loves going beyond the recipe and figuring out the ‘how’ behind the recipe and why something worked (or didn’t).
Where to find: Follow Bread Run on Instagram and Facebook for pop-up and market appearances and menu announcements.
Baked by Rhyan
Baker: Rhyan Hartman
Est: 2021
Courtesy of Baked by Rhyan
You’d never guess that Baked by Ryhan’s gooey stuffed s’mores cookies are vegan.
Baking inspo: When Hartman went vegan, she wanted to ensure she could still eat her favorite foods, including sweets. After earning rave reviews from friends and family for her brownies and cookies, she launched her business and started selling her vegan baked goods at the Roanoke City Market.
Signature sweets: S’mores cookies. There are four kinds, including the classic, where two s’mores cookies (chocolate chip cookies with graham crackers and mini marshmallows) are stuffed with marshmallow, a riff stuffed with Nutella, one made with red velvet s’mores cookies, and the S’moreo, where s’mores cookies are stuffed with an Oreo.
Personal fave: Chocolate graham cookies. Double chocolate cookies are sandwiched around a homemade graham cracker cookie butter then rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Holiday must-have: Pre-order 9-inch vegan bourbon pecan pies (back by popular demand), and 8-packs of fluffy, gooey cinnamon rolls amply covered in frosting.
Where to find: Roanoke City Market. Find menus and place orders at bakedbyrhyan.square.site. Follow Baked by Rhyan on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
Boho Bake
Baker: Kelly St. Fleur
Est: 2021
Courtesy of Boho Bake
Boho Bake’s showstopping cakes include fan-favorite flavor combinations like chocolate and peanut butter.
How it started: St. Fleur started baking one-off requests for cupcakes and cakes for friends and family. Once they started offering to pay her, and friends of friends began placing orders, she launched her business in earnest and joined the Salem Farmer’s Market in 2021.
How it’s going: St. Fleur will soon have a brick-and-mortar presence at 4145 West Main Street in Glenvar, which will serve as either a retail location or pick-up spot, giving fans more opportunity to sample her sweet treats.
Signature sweet: The sweet Sammie cookie sandwich features two oatmeal chocolate chip cookies filled with cream cheese frosting. It’s named for St. Fleur’s husband, Samuel, who is also her right hand in running the business. The pair are eager to experiment with seasonal riffs, like one made with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
Showstopper: St. Fleur’s cakes could double as table centerpieces. A perennial favorite is the chocolate peanut butter cake sprinkled with chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Fun fact: Before she started Boho Bake, St. Fleur had a career in nursing and two kids. Now she bakes full-time while juggling three kids and a business with her husband.
Where to find: Visit bohobake.com to place orders and for a schedule of market appearances. Follow on social media for news updates.
The story below is from our November/December 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!