Southside Sugar Cake Co.

Wedding Cakes & Custom Celebration Cakes

Clayton, NC

Raleigh Triangle and Surrounding Areas

Service area

Jeannie Stephenson

CO-OWNER/CHEF/CAKE DESIGNER

AWARD WINNER (2X)

Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot

Hi! I am Jeannie Stephenson. My husband Paul and I are the owners of Southside Sugar Cake Co. Our business is based in Clayton, NC. We make custom cakes for every occasion, not just weddings. Other products offered include (but are not limited to) French macarons, cupcakes, decorated sugar cookies, and various petit fours. Please take a moment to browse through the photo gallery and send a message if you have any questions. Southside Sugar Cake Co. is a Clayton, NC-based business that makes wedding cakes.

Veteran-owned and Woman-owned Business

6+ years in business

Speaks English

2 team members

Details

Cakes & Desserts

Cake Cutting & Serving

Cake Delivery & Setup

Cake Tastings

Cupcakes

Groom's Cakes

Other Desserts

Awards and Affiliations

Any questions?

Meet the team

Jeannie Stephenson
Co-Owner/Chef/Cake Designer
Owner & Cake Artist I’m Chef Jeannie, a professional pastry chef, cake artist, and chef instructor with nearly 25 years of experience in hotels, bakeries, catering, and fine dining. At Southside Sugar, I specialize in creating celebration cakes that range from simple and elegant to extravagant and whimsical—bringing each client's vision to life with precision and creativity. Beyond crafting custom cakes, I’m also passionate about teaching the next generation of pastry chefs. Since 2013, I’ve been a pastry arts instructor at five culinary schools across North America, including Le Cordon Bleu and Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. Originally from Downtown Chicago, I’m a city girl at heart, but my family and I have embraced country life in North Carolina. My husband and business partner, Paul, and I have been married for 23 years, raising our two children, Vinny and Olive. Olive already dreams of becoming a “cake maker” just like her mom! Let’s create something sweet and unforgettable together!
Paul Stephenson
Co-Owner, Baking Assistant
Paul Stephenson is the co-owner of Southside Sugar, where he proudly supports both the baking and administrative sides of the business. A U.S. Navy veteran and dedicated father of two, Paul also serves his community as a paramedic with Wake County EMS. His attention to detail and calm under pressure make him an invaluable part of the Southside Sugar team.

5.0

out of 5.0

37 reviews

Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.

Review Summary

This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.

Southside Sugar, run by Jeannie, receives rave reviews for her exceptional cake and cookie designs. Reviewers praise the delicious flavors and stunning visuals of her creations, noting Jeannie's professionalism, attention to detail, and easy communication throughout the ordering process. Customers appreciate her ability to capture their vision for special occasions, whether it be weddings, birthdays, or other celebrations. Many have become repeat clients due to the high quality and memorable experiences provided by Jeannie at Southside Sugar.

Search reviews

Dionne P

Highlighted review.

5/08/2024

Several months ago I recommended Southside Sugar to my niece who was looking for custom cookies for a party she hosted. I had never used them personally but saw her FB pics and fig...

ured it was a good bet. The cookies were HUGE and decorated perfectly so when I needed desserts for my husband’s surprise 50th party, I went back for cookies, cupcakes & the cake. The theme was bourbon whiskey & cigars and Jeannie absolutely nailed it!! Everyone was in awe of the beautiful display. The attention to detail was top notch and she captured my ideas wonderfully. The ordering process was simple and everything was packaged perfectly for transport. The cake was chocolate on chocolate and was rich & moist. Everything was truly perfect and the dessert table was ravaged as soon as we concluding the HBD song!

Madison S

12/08/2025

Jeanie absolutely blew me away with her cake skills, I was genuinely saddened by cutting my bride cake, it was THAT beautiful, I wanted to just keep it forever. It was also delicio...

us, both cakes completely exceeded my expectations.She was also very professional and made sure everything was perfect. We couldn’t recommend her enough.💕

Any questions?

Tawney L

11/14/2025

Jeannie was very nice & easy to communicate with. She perfectly captured the esthetic we were going for with our wedding cake. The design wasn't very traditional but she knew exac...

tly what i wanted and she delivered - literally!

Jessica H

7/13/2025

Where to begin. Let me start off by saying Jeannie’s work is out of this world. She made our wedding cake that was so gorgeous, I didn’t want to cut it. She is so knowledgeable and...

passionate about her work and it shows. The detail and time that she puts into not just the cake, but getting to know her customers makes the whole process so smooth and enjoyable. The communication was amazing. The flavors of her cakes are heavenly. I honestly never thought that designing and picking flavors for a wedding cake could be so peaceful and fun. Jeannie made that possible. Out of the whole wedding planning process the cake was the easiest and least of my worries thanks to her. Thank you so much for such a great experience.

Julia H

10/01/2024

Jean was awesome to work with! Very professional and very organized! We did three different cake flavors for our wedding cake and they were ALL delicious !!! She is very talented a...

nd clean with her decorating skills…. I wasn’t there for the cake drop off, but from what I heard, she was on time and everything went smoothly!

Cynthia H

5/08/2024

Absolutely amazing cookies and cakes! She made the koala cookies for my baby shower and then just made a 2 tier cake, a smash cake and 2 dozen cookies in the ladybug theme for my d...

aughter’s 1st birthday. Everyone asked where I got everything because it was all beautiful AND delicious. Easy to work with the owner/ baker and delivers a quality product every time!

A Q

11/14/2023

Jeannie did a phenomenal job for a birthday cake and custom cookies for my daughter’s birthday. So thorough with the ordering process. Her attention to detail was impeccable. Every...

thing was so delicious as well! Everyone at the party was so impressed.

Shannon W

11/12/2023

I ordered cookies for a bridal shower. They were absolutely beautiful!

Rosalind F

11/09/2023

Mrs. Jeannie, is amazing! We worked with her to create a 4 tier retirement cake consisting of almond, chocolate and strawberry layers. The flavors were bold just like we wanted. Th...

e decorating was beautiful, better than image. It was the WOW of the party! And did I mention, guests were calling back asking if we had any leftovers???? (Uh, no..we ate it for breakfast : )

Stacie G

9/20/2023

My first experience working with Jeannie was when she did my wedding cake in 2022. She was probably my favorite vendor because she was so thorough, experienced, and overall just ea...

sy to work with. Her quote that she created on Canva was extremely detailed, really easy to read, and actually helped me figure out exactly what I needed to order. The actual cake and cupcakes were beautiful! She created exactly what I had envisioned and I had so many compliments on how pretty it was and how delicious it was! She even provided containers at a small additional fee for the guests to take cake home - she really thinks of everything! Since, I have hired her to do a birthday cake (another showstopper and exceeded my expectations in design and taste) and am now hiring her to make a cake and cookies for our gender reveal. In hiring Jeannie, I found someone who will likely be in our lives forever (or as long as she's in business) - helping us celebrate all of the big moments. It's not often that you can say that one of your wedding vendors will continue to be in all of your big life moments - don't miss out on hiring her - she is fabulous!

Response from Southside Sugar Cake Co. on 09/20/2023

09/20/23: WOW Stacie thank you so much for saying such nice things about me! I appreciat...

e you, and YES lets make cakes and cookies for years to come! Congrats on your precious news! Jeannie

Dana B

5/23/2023

Jeannie was absolutely wonderful to work with when planning my son’s wedding. She offered tastings since we weren’t sure what we wanted. I had many conversations with her and she w...

as always very responsive and patient with me. She is extremely professional and makes the best cakes around!!! (Her macarons are insanely delicious too!!). I will definitely be using her again!

deb w

10/22/2022

The cake was awesome, beautiful,delivery and setup was spot on. Jeanie was great to work with, the cake perfection.

Samantha H

10/16/2022

We LOVED our wedding cake!! Jeanne was super easy and great to work with. Theres definitely a reason she’s won awards for her red velvet. Our cake was delicious and absolutely gorg...

eous. We got rave reviews from our guests, and I was even able to get a 1/2 dozen gluten free red velvet cupcakes for our guests with allergies. I wish I could add photos of our cake - truly she’s an artist and it was gorgeous. We didn’t want any fondant and we got a work of buttercream art. We’ll be hiring her for our baby shower next!

Taylor B

6/23/2022

I loved my cake. She did a great job! We did a naked cake with wood flowers and two dog figurines. Had all the supplies there for her to set up a delivery. She exceeded my imaginat...

ion, it was beautiful.

Meagan R

6/19/2022

Jeannie is absolutely amazing and her dedication and love for what she does is so strongly reflected in her work. Jeannie created an amazing cake that was everything we were lookin...

g for and more. Not only that, but she made sure the decoration and delivery went smoothly even when dealing with personal family concerns that would have been more than enough reason to not be available the weekend of my wedding. I would strongly recommend Southside Sugar Cake Co to anyone looking for a beautiful and delicious cake. Thank you so much Jeannie for helping us out during such an important time in our lives and even in a critical moment in yours. Thank you!

Angela W

5/14/2022

I absolutely loved working with Jeannie! She was extremely knowledgeable and was able to walk me through the whole process for order my sweet table for my wedding. Her cake was abs...

olutely delicious and kept getting the same comments of ‘this is the best cake I’ve ever had!’ Her cookies and macaroons were also delicious and you can tell she takes a lot of pride in her work and to ensure that our big day had the perfect treats! Not to mention, she hand cuts all her sugar cookies! I would one recommend her to everyone for their wedding cake needs!

Response from Southside Sugar Cake Co. on 05/26/2022

Hello Angela, I would like to thank you for your business, and for the very thoughtful rev...

iew. I really appreciate your support. Your wedding desserts were so fun to create...those cookie were my fave cookies EVER! Best wishes to you and your husband, and thank you again for being a Southside Sugar customer. Jeannie

Pinehill P

3/24/2022

We loved working with Jean! Her cookies were beautiful and so delicious! Southside Sugar is amazing and we definitely will recommend her to anyone that comes to our venue! -Maddie...

Briley Office Assistant and Representative of Pinehill Pavilion

Response from Southside Sugar Cake Co. on 05/26/2022

Thank you, Maddie! Pinehill Pavilion is a super beautiful venue that I love and I hope to...

visit many times in the future. Jeannie

Christina B

1/09/2022

Highly recommend Southside Sugar Cake Co. We wanted a specific Philadelphia Eagles themed wedding cake and they sure did come through. The cake blew us away and was looked better ...

than we both expected. We had everyone talking about the cake, not only because it looked amazing but the flavors as well. The cake was so good and the flavors we chose were on point. I am so glad we went with them for our cake as they gave us everything we wanted and more than we expected.

Response from Southside Sugar Cake Co. on 01/09/2022

Thank you Christina! That was a really cool cake order and I am so happy you gave me the ...

opportunity !! Congratulations and Best wishes. Jeannie

Rebekah B

10/25/2021

Jeannie was so amazing to work with! She was very workable with trying out flavors, the cake was very reasonable priced, and having a time crunch. The cake looked amazing and each ...

layer of the cake was so moist! Everyone loved our cake! I would highly recommend working with Jeannie for the best back possible.

Response from Southside Sugar Cake Co. on 12/13/2021

HI Rebecca! Thank you for your kind words. I had a blast creating your cake and I am so ...

happy the experience exceeded your expectations. I wish you the very best! Jeannie

Mason M

10/14/2021

Jeannie made such a wonderful cake for our wedding ceremony. She is very professional and made the process super easy! I would highly recommend her to anyone preparing for their we...

dding.

Response from Southside Sugar Cake Co. on 12/13/2021

Greetings Mason, thanks again for your wedding cake order. I am pleased that I was able t...

o deliver the cake of your dreams ! All the best. Jeannie

Rachel N

9/30/2021

We just sampled some of Jeannie's cakes and they were absolutely delicious! We're so excited to have her make our wedding cake. She's such a great find. Definitely check her out.

Response from Southside Sugar Cake Co. on 12/13/2021

Hello Rachel, thanks! I am excited to be making your cake this coming January. Happiest...

of New Years to YOU! Jeannie

Bonnie M

5/24/2021

I have honestly never had such delicious cake as Jeannie’s! She is the sweetest person and takes a lot of pride in her work. Her cakes are super delicious and perfect to every deta...

il! I had many compliments on our cakes! I am very lucky I found out about her! She has our business for life! Don’t pass up the opportunity to witness and taste it yourself.

Tomina H

5/24/2021

Jeannie has done multiple cakes for my family and her creativity and design cannot be beat!! She can make the smallest request into a piece of art. Also cannot stress enough how ta...

sty her cakes are as well. Will never use another baker!

Dorothy M

5/24/2021

Jeannie did our wedding cake and cupcakes and they were AMAZING!! She was so easy to work with! We just gave her ideas of our vision and she blew me away, it was better than we co...

uld have imagined! BONUS they were delicious too! You don’t have to sacrifice quality for beauty, with Jeannie you get both! I would give her 10 stars ⭐️ if I could. She is the best! Don’t hesitate, just book her! I would get married again just to eat her delicious cakes & cupcakes.

Stacey S

5/06/2021

I have used Southside Sugar for a few celebrations and she never ceases to amaze me. The cakes are always fantastic!!! Not only were they even better than the pictures I provided b...

ut the flavor was out of this world. I was so impressed!!! All of my guests always comment on how amazing the cakes looks and rave about the flavor.

Jimmy D

5/06/2021

Southside Sugar blew it out of the water! She was so responsive and answered all of my questions promptly. The cake was delicious, I wasn't worried about that! I wanted the service...

, and she brought it! I was kept in the loop with all of the cake making decions and I got exactly what I wanted. I would recommend Southside Sugar to anyone who needs a cake for any occasion!!

Callie B

5/04/2021

Jeannie is the best! I’m a cake decorator myself, she was actually my pastry chef instructor. There was no way I wanted to make my own cake and there is no one else I would have tr...

usted! Jeannie’s decorating abilities are superb! I sent inspiration photos and she made the cake of my dreams! It was delicious too! We had about half a tier leftover (bridal party went Whole30 the week of wedding 🙄) and froze it. It became the weekend treat to just go eat frozen wedding cake because it was good even frozen and two months later!!

Joseph M

5/04/2021

I have had the wonderful opportunity to know Jeannie on a professional level as a colleague teaching students pastry. Not only does Jeannie have an extreme knowledge of pastry and...

talents reflect her end product. I had the pleasure of her making our wedding cake and cupcakes for our guests, and she went above and beyond, especially when you know the amount of time it takes to do what she did for us. I would give her more than 5 stars if I was allowed 😄. You will not be disappointed in using Southside Sugar Cake Co. for your event.

Courtney S

5/03/2021

We have used Southside Sugar Cake Co multiple times for cupcakes, cakes and cookies and have never been disappointed. Jeannie is an artist and her culinary creations are her works ...

of art. She is reliable and attentive to detail. Best of all, her cakes taste even better than they look! Cannot say enough good things about Southside Sugar Cake Co!!