Bite-Sized News

(Above) Natosha and Ryan Fleming with their son, Ryan, Jr. (Opposite) Natosha adds pops of color and whimsy to her chocolate cake.

In 2010, she founded August June Desserts, which she named a er her and Ryan Jr.’s birthday months. At rst, she o ered traditional Southern cakes: red velvet, lemon, and carrot. She researched ingredients and compared ve or six di erent recipes to achieve the right texture and avor. “Cake can make or break an event,” she says. “It’s a savory and visual experience. If the cake’s not good, guests are going to remember.”

By 2015, she had bought a new home with a larger kitchen where she could create more intricate custom cakes, like a turntable with a crate of records. Soon, her personal style emerged: minimalist, with unexpected avor combinations and pops of whimsy.

She’s also developed a line of signature avors for both sweet and savory cupcakes. The most popular is her lavender-honey cupcake, with its delicate but decadent avor. Savory avors include rosemary, cilantro, and cheddar cupcakes topped with a cream cheese frosting, and her favorite, a wild mushroom and onion cake spiked with arugula and sage and topped with goat cheese. “These are a big hit at dinner parties for more adventurous clients and people trying to watch their sugar intake,” she says.

Natosha just rolled out a strawberry crunch cake, an adult version of the Good Humor strawberry crunch ice cream popsicle. It’s a vanilla cake with strawberry lling, iced with vanilla buttercream with strawberry crunches on the surface. “I would love to try a white cake with a goat cheese and blueberry or strawberry lling, iced with white chocolate buttercream,” she says. “A little bit of sweet and savory.”

With appearances on WBTV and WCCB, set collaborations with West Elm, and presentations at industry cake shows, August June Desserts continues to grow. In addition to private events and orders, Natosha does events like last fall’s cupcake and beer pairing at Catawba Brewing Company. Through it all, Ryan has supported her in any way he can. Though not o cially part of the business, he’s always there to set up at trade shows, assist with marketing, and purchase equipment. “I tell him that he doesn’t need to, but he does it anyway,” Natosha says.

ON A SPRING DAY in 2017, Ryan asked Natosha to lunch. “She thought I was going to say I was moving back to Virginia,” he says. Instead, he asked what he needed to do to get his family back.

It took two months for her to answer. Rather than press her about it, Ryan gave her space but, “ordered something for every event I was a part of,” he says with a laugh.

Now reunited, the couple balances business with family and makes time for date nights. “My next plan is to consolidate holidays,” Ryan says. “We’re still spending some of them apart. Maybe Christmas?”

Natosha pauses. “We’ll talk about it. It was easy to fall back into place, because we knew each other so well,” she says. “But this time, we’re taking things slow.”

EMIENE WRIGHT is a Nigerian-born, Southern-raised journalist in Charlotte. When she’s not digging deep into arts and culture, she’s cooking the spiciest food imaginable. Follow her on Instagram @m_e_n_a_writes.

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