Photo by Michael Piazza

When Teresa Maynard was pregnant in 2013, she had an insatiable urge for cupcakes. But she quickly realized the difficulty of finding safe options for her nut allergy. Already accustomed to making nut-free treats for her daughter, who also has a nut allergy, she began baking her own to satisfy her sweet craving.

She continued to make cupcakes, quietly dreaming about opening her own bakery. It wasn’t until she became ill in 2015 that Teresa realized just how much joy baking brought her, and in January 2016 she left her data analytics position at Harvard University. She took a course at the Center for Women and Enterprise and enrolled in a Food Biz 101 class at CommonWealth Kitchen. By November 2016, she’d launched Sweet Teez Bakery out of the shared commercial kitchen.

Cakes, cupcakes, pies and brownies are Sweet Teez’s signature items, all made with nut-free ingredients. For inspiration, she draws on her own tastes and family heritage. Her “tipsy cake”—Jamaican rum cake infused with port wine—is a tribute to her late grandmother’s recipe.

Teresa prides herself on pies that aren’t overly sweet, fudgy brownies, light frosting and a dessert experience that’s true to her slogan “Worth Every Bite.” “With my vanilla cupcake, you smell vanilla. You bite it and taste vanilla. I don’t want you to feel like you’ve tasted this before.”

Whole Foods took notice last fall when it ordered 48,000 mini pies, an experience Teresa fondly calls “pie-palooza.” Wholesale, direct to customer sales and corporate catering make up the bulk of Teresa’s business, and she is working on a plan for a brick-and-mortar space in her hometown of Dorchester.

sweetteezbakery.com

This story appeared in the Summer 2019 issue.