Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000
I create homemade desserts from scratch that friends, family, and coworkers genuinely love, bringing creativity and joy to every bite.
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My signature dessert is my homemade strawberry shortcake cake. It’s made from scratch with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and soft vanilla cake that always gets rave reviews.
Who is your culinary inspiration?My mom and grandma are my biggest culinary inspirations. Some of my favorite memories are helping make meatloaf, meatballs and homemade bread with my mom, and visiting my grandma’s kitchen filled with incredible smells and homemade meals. I learned early on that food brings people together. Although I baked for years, I didn’t begin baking from scratch at the level I do now until my mid-50s. After becoming a widow in my mid-40s, baking helped me rediscover creativity, purpose and joy
What would you do with the $25,000?Winning $25,000 would help me continue growing Soft Middle Sweets into a full-time business. I would invest in better equipment, a dependable vehicle, and work toward having a larger kitchen space where I can continue creating homemade desserts from scratch. I would love the opportunity to keep expanding my skills, growing my business, and building something of my own that brings people joy, comfort, and connection through homemade desserts.
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