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A warm Southern hospitality that's as sweet as the air you're breathing sweeps over the smiling faces of Jane and Don Tomlinson as you enter the door of their small commercial kitchen on the north side of Asheville, NC. 
This is the home of Cakes by Jane, a small but very successful "cakes-only" bakery that specializes in some of the best tasting Southern cream cheese pound cake and wedding cakes you'll ever have the opportunity to eat.
Jane and Don, both Georgia natives, moved to Asheville in the mid-1980s with Don's job transfer. Jane had already had a highly successful catering business in Georgia; so successful, in fact, that she catered the 1975 inaugural of Georgia's then-governor George Busbee for 5,000 people. The constant positive feedback on her cakes, however, prompted her to continue baking and decorating wedding cakes after the family's move to Asheville.
But four years ago, at her husband's suggestion, Jane decided to try expanding her cake-baking repertoire to include Southern cream cheese pound cakes, long considered one of her best recipes. The recipe, originally her grandmother's with "a little tweeking here and there," was offered for the first time during Christmas, 1997, in vanilla flavor only. 
The response was tremendous. "We sent a few cards out, and made a few phone calls to some people we knew in various companies. After that, the orders started coming in," said Don. Since then, orders have grown by leaps and bounds. This year, Don joined the company, making it a true family business.
The biggest reason for the success of these cakes is simply this - they taste so good. The quality of each cake and the care taken in their creation has not been a casualty of the tremendous growth of the company. Each cake is made from scratch with the freshest ingredients. Each cake is given individual attention - this is not "assembly-line" production. Cakes are then packed by hand and shipped to their final destination.
Southern cream cheese pound cakes are now available in several flavors. They include cappuccino, almond and lemon, along with the original vanilla flavor. Cakes weigh three pounds each.
If you are in town, starting in February, the bakery (located at 175 Weaverville Hwy., Suite E) is accepting orders for pick-up at the store. They are open for local orders Monday-Wednesday, 10AM-5:30PM.
Also starting in February, Jane will have a "monthly feature" cake, one that cannot be shipped, but can be bought locally at the store. February's cake is strawberry cream cheese pound cake with vanilla glaze. The cake that will be featured during Easter and Mother's Day will be coconut. The cost of cakes picked up at the store ranges from $28.00 (in a box) to $30.00 (in a tin).
If a slice of this true Southern delicacy is all you want to dare initially, you can buy it by the slice at Camille's at the Asheville Mall.
Of course, Jane still stays very busy with her exquisite and delicious wedding cakes, too; Thursdays and Fridays of each week are devoted exclusively to their baking and construction..
So, be a little indulgent - the next time you're in Asheville, or just dreaming about being in Asheville, bring home "a little slice of the mountains" with one of Asheville's own, Cakes by Jane.
If all of this sounds so good that you have to try one, there are several ways to get in touch with Cakes by Jane. You can call 1-888-834-9981, fax 828-281-2597, or visit their website, www.cakesbyjane.com.
Cakes by JaneThe cost of a cake, shipped to your door, is $35.00.  all contents copyright © 1999, greenville.com. contact: [email protected] or 828.253.2880 For listing and advertising information...
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