Bethany Hoffman started her licensed home bakery, The Buttery Bakery, just over a year ago and has already developed a loyal following in the Cape Fear region, particularly for her custom cakes with unique flavors such as bourbon vanilla, orange cardamom and boozy black forest.

In addition to running the bakery, Hoffman is the mother of seven children, five of whom are homeschooled. It was during time spent reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy with her children that they helped her come up with the name for the bakery – in the book a pantry is referred to as a buttery.

“It was the perfect fit,” Bethany Hoffman said. “And after all, if it has butter in it, you know it’s good.”

Home-based bakeries are inspected by the N.C. Department of Agriculture, and these days Hoffman is taking extra precautions, such as wearing a mask and gloves whenever she’s handling food.

Hoffman said her passion is bread baking, as well as creating cakes with intricate fondant and sugar work. She said her 16-year-old daughter, Francesca, is naturally gifted when it comes to sugar work and helps her often with the creation and placement of sugar flowers and other designs.

Baking has always been a part of Hoffman’s family life, with her mother being an avid baker as well, and passing down hundreds of family recipes that go back generations.

“I was very close to my mom, who passed away a few years ago, and she’s always been an inspiration to me,” Hoffman said.

Now Hoffman hopes to inspire her children by showing them that although she’s a mom and a homemaker, as well as their teacher, she can have her own business as well.

“I want my kids to see that you can do whatever you want to do,” Hoffman said. “I want to set an example for them that it doesn’t matter if you’re a woman, a mom, whatever… you follow your calling and your passion.”

In the fall and at the holidays, Hoffman enjoys baking the seasonal specialties she grew up with in upstate New York, such as apple cider cake donuts and apple and pumpkin pies. She also creates bread centerpieces from challah bread, as well as cheese breads and a comforting molasses oatmeal bread.

Hoffman also sells Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets filled with her goodies as well as some of her favorite local products, which can be shipped nationwide.

Hoffman said that while the holidays can be a very busy time, and orders should be placed as far in advance as possible, she does try to accommodate as many orders as possible.

She said she prefers for orders to be submitted via Facebook messenger from The Buttery Bakery Facebook page or by text message and her number can be found on the Facebook page as well.

The Buttery Bakery offers delivery as well as pickup options.

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Correction: This version has been changed to delete a different pumpkin pie photo, which was not a Buttery Bakery creation.