Cami Gable
Canopy Road Market
You know when you take a bite of something that is far more delicious than you expected, so much so that it forces you to set your fork down and just be quiet for a moment? That’s what happens the first time you try a Canopy Road Market cheesecake. I know from my own first-time experience, as well as from working in a specialty shop that sold Cami’s cheesecakes. I would watch patron after patron take a bite and look around the room in bewilderment, “Whoa, I was not expecting that” written all over their faces.
What makes Cami’s cheesecakes stand above the rest is something we hear time after time when it comes to great food: passion and quality. Cami’s love of cooking started long ago as one of six kids from a small lakefront town in Michigan and continued to root and blossom as the years went by, leading her to create a signature dessert, made from scratch, using only the highest-quality ingredients.
“I make all my own crusts, nothing is bought out of a box or a can,” she says. “Cherry filling? I made it. Graham cracker or gingersnap crust? I made that too.”
Canopy Road Market has been around for about a decade offering multiple sizes, from party bites to full nine-inch rounds, as well as a myriad of flavors and even—get this—raw and vegan cheesecakes.
“Vegan cheesecakes?” I ask. “Isn’t that an oxymoron?”
Though Cami admits the irony of calling a cheeseless cheesecake a cheesecake anyway, she also insists that even her dairy lovers drool over her vegan options.
“My friend’s son was going through an elimination diet for health issues, so I started doing raw, organic and vegan cheesecakes made with cashew, coconut oil, and no refined sugars,” she says. “The crusts are just nuts and dates, and the toppings are all about beautiful garnishes.”
Canopy Road Market cheesecakes have been a staple dessert in many of Sarasota’s specialty shops including Crop Juice, Artisan Cheese Company, Owen’s Fish Camp, Simon’s, and several others (you can find her full list of locations online), but as of November Cami will finally have a space all her own at the Downtown Sarasota Farmers’ Market, making Saturday mornings so much sweeter.
“I’m usually behind the scenes and never get to meet people, so I can’t wait for customer interaction,” she says. “I can’t wait to talk to people!”
Considering just how many people I’ve seen struck speechless by her cakes, perhaps she shouldn’t offer any samples.
