LIFT UP LOCAL 043
Written by Pamela Patton
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
Taste Matters: The Story Behind Bake Treats
You know the saying “Go big or go home”? Rhonda Rochlen is the epitome of it.
It all started with a holiday gift. Her husband, Paul, wanted to give something special to his then-landlord, who happened to own Lark Restaurant in West Bloomfield, Michigan. When Paul asked Rhonda for ideas, she suggested a cake.
But not just any cake.
“I made them a celebration cake that serves 25 people,” Rhonda recalls. “It was three chocolate cakes layered with chocolate ganache, raspberry jam, and chocolate mousse, then covered in more chocolate ganache. I poured melted chocolate onto an acetate gold buttercream design and wrapped it around this monster of a cake. Then I topped it with fresh berries. It took me six hours to make.”
Here’s the kicker: before this, Rhonda had only baked a few things. She’d never taken a class. Only a skilled, experienced baker would tackle a cake like that—but Rhonda dove in anyway.
The stunning cake was served at a holiday party, where it was such a hit that guests started asking what else she baked. That single question launched everything. Rhonda began experimenting, tweaking recipes, and creating her own under a new name: BakeTreats.
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
From Home Kitchen to Farmers’ Markets
Word spread quickly. Soon, the Lark Restaurant began serving Rhonda’s creations—including the celebration cake, several cheesecakes, and a raspberry torte with pastry cream topped with fresh raspberries. with fresh cream. “When the Lark didn’t have a pastry chef, I would fill in until they hired a new one,” she says.
Rhonda and Paul started selling her confections—including her now-famous frosted carrot cake—at farmers’ markets, hitting three markets every weekend. Before long, the business outgrew their home kitchen, so they moved into a shared kitchen at a church in Royal Oak, where they baked for the next four years.
“We were supposed to stop baking at a certain time of night, but we’d stay much longer because I had so much to do. I worked from 9 a.m. to midnight,” Rhonda says.
Then came a big break: placement at Woodward Corner Market in Royal Oak.
But COVID put plans on hold.
“We went in with our product the day it hit,” Paul says. “The day everyone started hoarding food. We were in no other markets, and our stuff didn’t sell because everyone was buying groceries. They weren’t buying baked goods.”
Bouncing Back—and Building a Signature
As things returned to normal, Rhonda and Paul continued to grow their partnership Meijer Market Stores. After an online meeting, BakeTreats was selected to debut at the grand opening of Capital City Market. The cookies flew off the shelves.
That’s when BakeTreats found its signature product—and it wasn’t the three-layer cake. It was a frosted carrot cake.
“It’s a huge seller in Lansing, Clarkston, and Detroit,” Paul says. “We also supply a senior residence in Novi, where there’s a small bistro for residents and guests.”
It was that bistro that nudged Rhonda toward her next breakthrough.
“They wanted tiramisu. I said, ‘Of course.’ I had never eaten or made one in my life,” she laughs.
Undaunted, Rhonda taught herself—tasting and tweaking until she’d created something authentically Italian. “It now outsells the carrot cake. I make 70 at a time.” And these are the real deal. “I look at the ingredients in other so-called tiramisu, and they aren’t authentic. They’ve swapped mascarpone for cream cheese because it’s cheaper.”
The Bakery Lead at Woodward Corner Market recognized the difference instantly. “She could tell it was authentic just from the layers. And my friends who’ve traveled to Europe say it’s comparable to what they had over there.”
Taste Matters
BakeTreats desserts aren’t for the calorie-conscious—and that’s the point.
“I bake with all the good stuff—real butter, eggs that aren’t processed, all the high-end ingredients. That’s why our slogan is ‘Taste Matters.’ A lot of people buy baked goods based on appearance and never read the ingredients.”
What you won’t find in BakeTreats products: added preservatives. “You can pronounce every ingredient on our list.”
Rhonda knows many people think mass-produced cookies and cakes taste good—“but that’s because they haven’t tasted desserts made with authentic ingredients.”
Authenticity does come at a higher price, and Rhonda owns it. “I know ours are a little pricier because we use high-end ingredients. I’m not going to cheapen it up to lower the price. It’s not going to happen.”
Her trained palate can spot a phony in one bite. “There’s a so-called carrot cake that a lot of commercial restaurants carry. I can tell you it’s an applesauce cake with some grated carrots thrown in.” Hers contains no applesauce, uses pecans instead of walnuts, and has two layers. When one customer mentioned it wasn’t like his mother’s, Rhonda just smiled—Mom probably added crushed pineapple. The label now reads: “Not your mother’s carrot cake!”
Always Creating, Always Listening
The four-ounce chocolate chip cookies are wildly popular (and clock in at about 500 calories each), but Rhonda isn’t one to rest on her laurels.
“I’ve created a ‘brookie’—half brownie, half peanut butter. It’s my take on a black-and-white cookie. They’re labor-intensive, but so delicious. We just sampled them in the Meijer Market Stores, and they were enthusiastically received.
Customers remember BakeTreats confections. “We were recently doing a demo when a gentleman asked, ‘When are you bringing back the cranberry white chocolate cookie?’” Paul says. “We hadn’t made that cookie in at least 18 months—but he promised to buy two a week.”
Customer feedback drives real changes. At the Novi senior’s residence, eight-slice banana loaves were beloved but too big, so Rhonda introduced four-slice versions. They now sell well there, as well as at Capital City Market. When a customer mentioned the tiramisu could use a touch more coffee, Rhonda adjusted—and the recipe got even better.
Today, BakeTreats has its own kitchen, and Rhonda and Paul’s son, Adam, has joined the team alongside another baker. And Rhonda keeps inventing—like her peanut butter s’mores cookie bar.
“I start with my chocolate chip cookie base mixed with finely ground graham crackers. I add layers of chocolate chunks and peanut butter, spread marshmallow fluff, and top it with another layer of cookie. After baking, I add more marshmallow, return it to the oven, then torch the top for that real campfire flavor. I love to microwave it, then eat it with a spoon. It’s the best thing that I’ve ever made.”
Paul says that our motto is “If it isn’t good, we won’t make it. If it isn’t good, we won’t sell it. And if it isn’t good, you won’t buy it!”
That’s why “Taste Matters.”