Hello, friends! Long-time, no see! We stepped away from writing on the blog for a bit to start our newest venture, the Hungry in Kentucky podcast, but we’re slowly making our way back into the world of local food blogging so here we go! If you want to hear what we have to say about local foods or just food in general, give us a listen! You can find us on the major podcast apps, or you can check out the tab titled Hungry in Kentucky on the home page to hear all of our episodes. But anywho, it’s the holiday season here in Lexington and that means…well, lots of things. You can hear Christmas music playing ‘round the clock on Mixmas 94.5 FM, you can’t get anywhere near the mall because of all the traffic, and everyone ditches their healthy diets for holiday treats. And speaking of treats, this past week we met up with Melissa, the owner of Caramanda’s Bake Shoppe here in Lexington, to talk about her business and how she got started in the baking world! Caramanda’s is known for their delectable cupcakes, but they offer so much more than that, and we wanted to make people aware of all the yummy desserts you can find when you visit the bakery.

Proudly boasting two locations, the original shop on Southland Drive and the newest shop on Richmond Road, Caramanda’s is a go-to place for local cupcakes. This time around, we’re catching Melissa on a break from baking pies a couple of days before Thanksgiving at the Richmond Road shop. Melissa was telling us about how she got started in the baking business, and it’s a pretty neat story if I do say so myself! Working as a mechanical engineer and wrangling two young kids, Melissa was yearning to find a job she was more passionate about. Growing up in Bath County, Melissa had fond memories of baking with her family and learning how to make perfectly flaky pie crusts from her aunts. All of that reminiscing made her realize that opening up a bakery could be just what she was looking for, so she set about making that dream come true. Fun fact: Renee has been working with Melissa for a couple of months now making seasonal displays, and the autumn theme looks super cute! We’ve included some great photos of the display below, and we can’t wait to see what Renee comes up with next.

The name Caramanda’s comes from combining the names of her two daughters, Cara and Amanda, and it rolls off the tongue quite nicely. Childhood pictures of the girls are proudly displayed on the Caramanda’s delivery van, and now that they’re getting older it’s not something they love. Punishment for missing the bus to school results in being dropped off in that very delivery van haha, so they try to avoid being late as much as possible! When the bakery first opened in January 2007, it employed 5 eager workers in the shop on Southland Drive. Melissa opened another bakery in 2009, originally located on Boston Road, and shortly thereafter branched out into a retail space in Fayette Mall. Some construction woes led to the closing of the Fayette Mall location, and just last year the Boston Road location moved to the current bakery on Richmond Road.

We wondered how cupcakes came to be the driving force of Caramanda’s and the answer is pretty simple. Demand at the time called for cupcakes, so Melissa made cupcakes. But not just any old cupcake: Melissa and her crew have all kinds of flavors to choose from, and any cupcake flavor can, in turn, be made into a full-sized cake! You have to get at least one cupcake while you’re there, even if it’s only to try the icing on top. It’s whipped for longer than traditional icing, which makes it super fluffy and smooth, and even more tasty if you can believe it! You can always come in and talk to one of the helpful employees at Caramanda’s regarding special orders, but Melissa also welcomes people to check out the online store. Here you can see all of the other types of baked goods that can be ordered at any given time. Using her background in mechanical engineering, Melissa was able to find several ways to streamline the baking process. Ideas, such as utilizing digital thermometers and scales and making good use of the kitchen space, are just a couple of ways she works to perfect her art. All the recipes that are used at the shop are ones Melissa has developed herself, but she’s learned along the way that she has to alter things slightly depending on the environment. Temperature and humidity affect many recipes, as well as oven types and measuring techniques, and ignoring those things could spell bad news for these sweet treats.

When asked about what direction she sees Caramanda’s heading toward in the future, Melissa has some great ideas. She’s already baking some specialty items that can be purchased through the online store, but she’s also dipping her toe into the world of Appalachian-themed desserts. Her eastern Kentucky roots have led her to explore baked goods such as jam cakes, stack cakes, and shoofly pie, just to name a few. She also hopes to start an online community where people can come together and share traditional recipes - what an amazing idea! We need more places on the internet where people are open to sharing and furthering the southern hospitality for which Kentucky is well-known. Melissa’s favorite part of owning Carmanda’s is that she gets to do what she loves, all while being able to stay connected to her past and keeping precious memories alive and well. Although she is busy running two bakeries and raising teenagers, time management and note-keeping help to keep her running in the right direction. This is not an easy task for anyone, let alone a full-time baker and mother! “Changing careers can be difficult and scary, but the payoff is worth it if you’re willing to take the risk,” says Melissa, but it can lead to some cool things too! For instance, you could end up baking custom cupcakes for country stars like Chris Young. True story: he was playing at Rupp Arena in Lexington and requested some personalized cupcakes for the green room! So next time you’re in the mood for a delicious, locally-baked cupcake or any other baked goods, check out Caramanda’s Bake Shoppe - we just know you’re gonna love it! Happy eating, y’all!