South Jersey woman keeps memory of her mother alive by baking delicious cakes
Each cake is named for a specific member of Cassandra's family and each one has a part of their personality.
WILLIAMSTOWN, New Jersey (WPVI) -- The origin story behind a 7Up un-inverted bundt pound cake may not sound like much, but it's a story of how baking can bridge an eternal bond between mother and daughter.
Cassandra Burnett from Williamstown, New Jersey started Lizzie's Love Cakes in 2021 during the pandemic, baking and selling delicious bundt cakes.
The cakes are a family recipe, passed down to Cassandra from her mother, Norristown native Elizabeth Rhodes.
She's baked her entire life, but losing her mother in 2012 hit Cassandra hard. To help deal with the grief, she began baking.
She got so good at it, and so well regarded, that Lizzie's Love Cakes was born. It is named for her mother, who was known to her family as Lizzie.
"It healed me. Literally! A bundt pound cake healed me," Cassandra explained. "Every time I speak of Lizzie's Love Cakes, my mother is alive. Every time my children talk about my cakes, my mother is remembered."
Each cake is named for a specific member of Cassandra's family and each one has a part of their personality.
All of them come from the love handed down by the women who raised her.
The sweet Mrs. Elsa cake, named after her grandmother, features pineapple and cinnamon notes.
The Mae & Menia is named for Cassandra's aunts, and it features the protective notes of banana and Dulce de Leche flavors.
Each sweet treat tells a story.
The ingredients are quite simple, but family may be the most important one to Cassandra.
"What family means to me is support, love, it means challenges, it means legacy. It also means, 'What am I going to do to further what this Burnett-Rhodes family is all about?'" she said.
She strives every day to keep that legacy of love and care in each creation.
"Your intention means the world," Cassandra says. "This is a cake of emotion. You can't be sad, depressed, fixated. Whatever you have in your heart, you're going to pour that into the cake."
To see all the flavors and cakes and the origin story behind each of them, you can visit lizzieslovecakes.com.
