The Warren Street bakery launches a sweet range of jams to complement its signature cakes and baked goods.
Nine Cakes owner Betsy Thorleifson has done quite a lot since she opened her bakery back in 2008. In addition to baking up countless cakes and mouthwatering treats over the years, she also moved her brand from her Brooklyn apartment to a dedicated Brooklyn bakery to Hudson, her bakery’s flagship location. And now, she’s adding her very own, very on-brand product offering to the mix.
Designed to complement the sweet lineup on offer at Nine Cakes, Thorleifson is excited to debut a signature line of jams this spring. Unlike the highly perishable cakes and confections that she churns out on the daily, the jams serve as shoppable offering that allow visitors to take a taste of the Hudson Valley bakery home with them.
“I’ve always wanted to have a variety of not-as-perishable offerings at Nine Cakes,” Thorleifson notes. “It always sounded fun to have Nine Cakes be more than just baked goods and delicious cakes…to have shelf-stable offerings of our favorite fillings and flavors. I’ve also wanted to have shippable gifts and ways to include people in the Nine Cakes experience who aren’t local to Hudson.”
What to Expect From the Nine Cakes Jams
With the jams, which launch on March 15, Thorleifson can do just that. Shoppers can find the 7oz jars in-store or online, with options to buy them individually ($12), as a set of six ($65), or as mini 2oz jars in a set of six ($32). As far as the flavors go, they’re just as scrumptious as one might expect from Nine Cakes. There are six, and they range from blueberry lavender and lemon curd to triple citrus marmalade, plum rosemary, cardamom cherry, and apricot honey. Thanks to the abundance of farm-fresh produce in the region, Thorleifson uses ingredients from Hudson Valley farms and nearby producers as often as she can.
While the jams are delightful on their own, they also happen to be the perfect tie-in with the bakery’s other offerings. Plus, they’re much easier for shoppers to get their hands on, Thorleifson notes.
“Cakes are fun, but harder to ship to loved ones and very perishable! Jams are an easy tie-in with so many of the things we offer – scones, cakes, cookies,” she explains, adding that they’re ideal for “using as a cake filling (we already have several wedding cakes booked with our blueberry lavender filling), spreading on a scone, or making a delightful jammy thumbprint cookie. It’s fun to be able to take a less ephemeral part of Nine Cakes home with you, share with your friends, or ship as a gift.”
To her point, the jams work well across a range of uses, from fillings for cookies and snack bars to spreads in sandwiches and toppings on waffles or pancakes. And, thanks to craveable flavors and sweet packaging, they’re ideal for gifting, too.
“These jars make such a sweet gift as a wedding favor or as part of a welcome bag,” Thorleifson observes. “You can share the same flavor you’re using for your wedding cake!”
Looking Ahead
With the six jams as a permanent addition to the Nine Cakes brand, Thorleifson adds that she’d love to introduce new flavors over time and perhaps drop limited edition or holiday collections down the line. She also hopes to expand shelf-stable offerings from the bakery to include other sweet confections such as cake mixes, muffin and scone mixes, caramel sauce, chocolate ganache, and other citrus curds.
“It’s exciting to think about all of the delicious possibilities!” she enthuses.
Nine Cakes
748 Warren St, Hudson