Community Highlights: Meet Clarissa Gonzales of Nehma’s Bakeshop

Today we’d like to introduce you to Clarissa Gonzales.

Clarissa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello, I’m Clarissa! The owner & creator of Nehma’s Bakeshop. I make vegan baked goods, cupcakes especially! My specialties are gluten and peanut/tree nut-free desserts. My current menu consists of cupcakes & tres leches cakes. I am working on adding cake pops and chocolate covered Oreos.

Here’s my story on how I decided to start Nehma’s Bakeshop.

I have 3 children, 2 of who deal with celiac. Getting confirmation about it with my second son at age 1.5 years, made eating extremely difficult. There was so much food he could not enjoy. We had to completely cut out eggs, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, & gluten. Some of those foods were not an issue to stay away from, but finding foods that were PN/TN & gluten-free was the worst!

By age 2, he was missing out on birthdays and every random event. We could only accommodate him so much. Purchasing cakes for him from vegan shops were extremely pricey, and they could not make anything completely nut & gluten-free. Cross-contamination was also an issue. So, I started trying to make my own mini cakes and cupcakes for him, and his younger infant brother who will soon need these special foods. I failed so many times, gave up for weeks.

Went through different kinds of gluten-free/nut-free flours until I found some good ones that held up and didn’t leave them excessively dry or crumbly. My husband loved them, my kids did, and eventually, my family got to try them. Everyone loved them! I was then persuaded to start my own thing. After a few days of sitting on the idea, going from a stay-at-home and homeschool mom, to a homeschool and home baker mom!? Sounded extremely tough but I went for it.

So, I started with a name. My middle child’s name is Nehemiah. I shortened it to Nehma to sound cute. After that, the business has been great! Slow, but great for a new Baker figuring out the ropes of cottage baking for specialty goods. I get about one to two orders a week.

What puts a smile on my face is that children like mine, Nehemiah and Malachi, no longer need to be left out.

They don’t need to watch everyone else stuff their faces with their own, or a friend’s birthday cake, and not understand why they can’t eat it too. It broke my heart to see Nehemiah cry and reach for foods he couldn’t eat. These are big moments for all children. I really wish I could be much more accessible for all. But for now, I will enjoy being small and learning to grow my skills.

One day, I’ll find myself at vegan festivals, and market places, or better, my own mini Bakeshop! Thank you for listening to my story, and I hope to make a big impact.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road, but I definitely expected that. I never found much time to experiment. I get extremely busy as any parent or homeschool parent does. So, I struggled with time management, I actually still do. I struggled with the textures of flours, the taste after, and much more.

I remember asking around about coconut flour. It was a terrible experience for me. I was up at 6:00 am, no sleep, trying to figure it out. I had to leave at 8:30 am that day for a homeschool group birthday party. I see my son feeling left out many times before, and fought to stay awake to make at least 2 cupcakes.

They were crumbly, dry, not properly combined, and tasted terrible. I took them anyway hoping my son would feel included and just eat the frosting. The buttercream was much easier as I took several “regular” recipes and subbed them for plant-based ingredients.

I laugh when I realize that I overcomplicated things. I’m glad I figured that out.

As you know, we’re big fans of Nehma’s Bakeshop. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Nehma’s Bakeshop is a small cottage Bakeshop that offers Allergy-friendly baked goods. Serving our local areas of Glendale, Phoenix, Goodyear, and Peoria. We specialize in vegan desserts. Most importantly, gluten-free and nut-free, as those are hard to come by. The cakepops and chocolate Oreos are still in the works.

Everything is made to order and fresh. We are known for our delicious chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache filling and American buttercream frosting. Lately Oreo and biscoff cupcakes have been a hit! We do offer a couple of other fillings and drizzles too. Which I’m very proud of, and I do enjoy making for my own family.

So far the majority of our customers have been ordering the non-gluten-free cupcakes and tres leches. I would really love to reach more customers, specifically those who are gluten-free. So that they can also enjoy delicious sweets!

You can place an order with me on Instagram or send an email. Menu choices are on my Instagram “Highlights”.

To those who suffer from multiple food allergies, we understand the struggle, and it would bring us joy if we ever get the chance to serve you!

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Here are a couple of online apps/YouTube blogs I enjoy. I appreciate the app “is it vegan?” It’s very helpful.

I really love the YouTube channel “Make it dairy-free”. I watch every video! They are an inspiration and have taught me so much. I wouldn’t be here today without them. They showed me it was possible to make scrumptious, and gorgeous foods.

Another YouTube channel I enjoy watching is, “Preppy kitchen” although it’s not vegan, he does have so many kitchen baking tips. He also has tons of skill, and I enjoy his creations.

Pricing:

• My regular (non-gluten-free) cupcakes start at $36 a Dozen for the basic chocolate/vanilla cupcakes with vanilla American buttercream.
• Regular (non-gluten-free) cupcakes start at $18 a Half Dozen for the basic chocolate/vanilla cupcakes with vanilla American buttercream.
• Gluten-free cupcakes start at $42 a Dozen for the basic chocolate/vanilla cupcakes with vanilla American buttercream.
• Gluten-free cupcakes start at $21 a Half Dozen for the basic chocolate/vanilla cupcakes with vanilla American buttercream.
• Tres leches are 9×13 tin. Starting at $55 Regular and $65 gluten-free.

Contact Info:

• Email: nehmasveganbakeshop@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nehmasbakeshop/

Image Credits
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