Sweet Dreams

Meet four Gwinnett bakers who have garnered loyal followings for their crave-worthy desserts

BY TESS MALONE

Alongtime love of dessert and a desire to start a business inspired these four entrepreneurs to open some of Gwinnett County’s best-loved bakeries. Whether they’re baking pies for the holidays, assembling macarons for afternoon pickme-ups, or whipping up cheesecake shakes to make Instagram followers envious, each has perfected their treats and captured the hearts of their local communities.

Cupcakes were all the rage when Shawn Brown realized cheesecake could be the next personal-sized dessert—and a way to pivot professions when she lost her corporate job. In 2013, she launched the first CheeseCaked in Lawrenceville, serving her fluffy baked cheesecakes topped with peach cobbler, s’mores, and strawberry churro. Sometimes the cheesecake itself is the topping, like with her rainbow shakes designed to go viral. The bakery has moved across the metro area over the years, but she’s now serving cakes, shakes, and even grilled cheese from her home base in Norcross. For Brown, baking is more than a livelihood; it's a life force. After she nearly died in a car accident that killed her infant son, Brown took a part-time job decorating cakes at Publix as a creative outlet. CheeseCaked offers a similar solace. “I didn’t realize the baking was helping me heal from the accident,” she says. “Bringing joy to people was my relief—to see people so happy when they take their first bite and their eyes roll back in their head is a delight.”