The Queen City is the next stop on the road for Dessert Wars, one of the biggest dessert festivals in America – and you can check it out this weekend!
Dessert Wars will bring dozens of dessert vendors together to compete while attendees sample various desserts.
“Charlotte has always been on our radar. They have such a wide variety of desserts in the city plus a good amount of up-and-coming dessert superstars,” said Brad Matthews, founder of Dessert Wars in a statement.
With this sweet event right around the corner, here are some local Black vendors to keep an eye out for.
Bakes & Babes provides custom cakes, cupcakes, and cookies for weddings, parties and corporate events.
Cakes By Kira makes creative custom cakes and cupcakes for weddings and other celebrations.
What started as baking for co-workers turned into a full-fledged business. “My first order was a chocolate cake,” Kira told QCity Metro.
A full-time social worker, Kira said she enjoys making her cake jars, with the most popular flavors being strawberry crunch and birthday cake.
She will present her Banana Pudding Cake at the Dessert Wars event which went viral on Facebook.
Kira looks forward to being around so many other chefs and is excited that so many other Black vendors are in attendance.
Personal Homestyle Traveling Chef and cookbook author Taylor Worsley not only makes custom cakes, cupcakes, and cookies, but she also cooks full meals.
A Johnson and Wales graduate with a degree in Culinary Arts, Worsley told QCity Metro that she views her culinary creations as “something with a twist.”
“I love to make people happy with my food,” said Worsley.
Worsley told QCity Metro that her most popular dessert is her white Hennesy peach cobbler cheesecake.
Makiah Broadie’s Cookies Galore makes gourmet cookies with the best-selling ones being strawberry shortcake, chocolate overload and birthday cake.
Recently accepted into Johnson and Wales University, Broadie told QCity Metro she is creative and enjoys being in the kitchen.
“I try to make cookies taste unique,” Broadie said.
She will debut pecan pie, a new cookie flavor, this weekend.
Denna Glenn started out raising money for a “Miss” local competition with the goal of earning a scholarship from competing. She learned that cookies could help her raise money for school and launched her business under the name “cookies for college.”
When she saw that her business would go beyond college she renamed it “Divine Cookies,” as her name means divine.
Glenn told QCity Metro that her signature cookie is the oatmeal cookie, which she described as having a “controlled richness” since the icing for the cookie comes on the side.
She is excited to share the simplicity of her recipes at this weekend’s competitions which she feels makes them special.
Mesha specializes in a “little bit of everything” according to her website with the menu ranging from cakes to cookies. She’s been operating from the Rock Hill area since 2016.
“We’re going to have a variety of desserts at the event,” Mesha told QCity Metro. Attendees will be able to try Mesha’s pound cakes, cookies and brownies while the judges will be served a special dessert.
Sid Sensations makes creative candies and other sweets such as cupcakes and donuts.
The Pie Cartel is co-owned by Diamond and Des. They make “non-traditional pies” and are based here in Charlotte, and also in Maine.
Mr. Sugar is owned by Jayln Williams and specializes in making classic cinnamon rolls with his cookies n’ cream recipe.
My Mother’s Kitchen was founded by Darrick Muldrow. His website says he was inspired by his mother’s tradition of making sweet potato pie during the holidays and that he has been baking pies since 2016.
His menu features blueberry pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie and chew bread.
Exotic Candy Fruits creates hard candies and features flavors such as fruit punch, green apple and number one seller blue raspberry.
Milan Empower’s menu features cake jars, blondies, gourmet cookies and more.
Tarra came from a “cooking family” and picked up baking during the pandemic. She was encouraged to begin selling her pecan and sweet potato pies during the pandemic and launched her business in August of 2021.
She works full time in finance and told QCity Metro she’s excited to present her sweet potato pie and pecan praline at Dessert Wars this weekend.
Deez Nuts was founded by New York native Ciana Allen. She told QCity Metro that she’d been eating pecans since she was a little girl and used to go to the store to buy pecan snacks for her great grandmother.
Allen, a licensed lawyer, launched her business after encouragement from her neighbor who spread the word about her nut desserts.
At the Dessert Wars event this weekend she will showcase her “cinnamon sugar” pecans and cashews and will also have “nut dust” for those in attendance.
“People were telling me after they finished the bag of nuts, they sprinkled was left on other desserts, so I decided to make “nut dust” a new product,” Allen told QCity Metro.
Crowns Eatery has a menu that includes pastries, cakes, cookies and more.
