Baking up some Holiday Cheer
By Laura G. Carlson
DENMARK – Visions of sugar plums are dancing in many heads this time of year. Over in Denmark, the goodies aren’t just visions. They’re the real deal. Red velvet cake rolls, gingerbread men and chocolate covered peanuts are among the Christmas treats being created at a landmark Denmark bakery.
Nelson’s Wee Bake Bakery has become a favorite year-round stop for those with a sweet tooth, and Christmas is an especially sweet time of the year at the shop. “What sells during Christmas holidays one year doesn’t necessarily sell the next year at our bakery. We try different bakery delights each year, although one that people really seem to want year after year is our red velvet cake,” said Nelson Hochstetler, owner of the bakery.
“This year we are also going to have Red Velvet Cake rolls available as well as chocolate cake rolls. Chocolate covered peanuts and cashew nuts and peanut butter balls are also new Christmas items for us in 2008,” Hochstetler said.
Last week, a local business purchased a carload of fresh-baked bread from the bakery so that each of its employees could enjoy a loaf of bread as an early Christmas present. Goodies from Nelson’s Wee Bake are regularly picked up by people passing though town to enjoy on the spot or to take home to other parts of South Carolina and the Southeast, including North Carolina and Georgia.
Holding a mega donut in her hand, bakery employee Sarah Ocker explained that people really get excited when they see the big donuts in the case beside the regular ones. “People sometimes want to take pictures of these big donuts -- and then they eat the whole thing,” Ocker said, smiling. “We’re making gingerbread houses, gingerbread men and even gingerbread horses as well as sugar cookies, fruit pies and other pastries, our standard apple fritters, éclairs, yeast breads, cakes and cupcakes,” said Natalie Good, Hochstetler’s niece. “Our cinnamon raisin bread is also a favorite during the fall and winter.”
During the week of Christmas, the bakery will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Tuesday, Dec. 22-23. The bakery is located at 4767 Carolina Highway and can be reached by phone at 803-793-4664.