Manawa woman selling cheesecakes
By Holly Neumann
Jennifer Popke has always loved to cook and bake.
“Baking was always my favorite,” she said. “One day, I was scrolling through Pinterest for a rum cake recipe and saw pictures of fancy cheesecakes. So I thought I would just try to make a cheesecake instead.”
She headed to the store to buy a springform pan and gave it a try.
“Well, the cheesecake was a failure,” she said. “I didn’t know how to take it out of the pan. It was over cooked and burned on top.”
After trial and error and suggestions from friends on what to do differently, a light bulb went off.
“I figured out that cheesecake is a custard. Basically you’re steaming the cheesecake in a water bath very slowly at a low temperature, so it will not burn,” she said. “Now I can create any flavor of cheesecake you can dream of.”
White chocolate raspberry is her signature cheesecake.
“I also have turtle, bittersweet triple chocolate, peanut butter, lemon and pumpkin,” she said. “My most famous cheesecake so far is the key lime cheesecake that I just made live on Living with Amy.”
Popke loves putting a smile on the faces of her customers after they take their first bites.
“I live to see their expression,” she said. “I love feeding people.”
Her cheesecakes have all fresh ingredients and no preservatives.
“The cheesecakes in stores do not compare,” she said. “My favorite part of the cheesecake is the final presentation of the special dessert. I like them to be full of flavors and lots of toppings.”
Cake Dreams does not have a storefront at this time. She rents a commercial kitchen for the baking.
Cake Dreams may be found on Facebook. There is a menu and also pictures of the cheesecakes Popke has created.
Popke may be reached at 920-359-0403.