Oh My Ganache Elevates The Cheesecake Game

“My first memory of the kitchenis being kicked out of it, actually,” Brittani Sheppard says with a laugh. “My grandfather used to kick us out of the kitchen—his recipes were sacred to him. That’s what I remember the most during the holidays.” 

Eventually, he shared his sweet potato pie recipe, which inspired Oh My Ganache, the cheesecake bar Sheppard opened at Camp North End in June. The bakery is structured like a Chipotle, where customers order at the counter and build their own cheesecakes whole or by the slice. They can choose from three base options—vanilla, peach cobbler bread pudding, and the signature sweet potato pie cheesecake—and a variety of toppings, such as fruit, cookie crumbles, ganache drizzle, and bourbon pecan sauce.

Oh My Ganache began as a mobile pop-up in 2019. Sheppard, 35, whose background is in human resources, used to bake for her co-workers when she was a recruiting coordinator for Bank of America. “I didn’t know I had a baking bone in my body until I was 26 or 27,” she says. “I was an emotional baker. Everyone knew to go to Britanni’s house if they were upset.” 

Sheppard displays a pound cake topped with blueberry compote and whipped topping. “I think maybe cheesecake had its moment, but people still look for it,” she says. “I’d like to create a new moment.”

After Sheppard made a cake for a co-worker’s baby shower, her colleagues urged her to start baking professionally. “My dream was always to open a nonprofit; that was the only goal I ever set for myself. I didn’t want to pay myself from it,” she says. “That’s how (Oh My Ganache) was born. I was always looking for different streams of revenue, and I loved putting smiles on people’s faces.”

She started making wedding and birthday cakes and doing pop-ups around the city but still held down a day job. “Then I had my son, who’s now 6 going on 60,” she says. “I was missing a lot of firsts because I was always so busy.” 

In March, Sheppard left her job as a recruiter for Penske Truck Leasing to pursue her bakery full time. She moved into the former Wentworth & Fenn space at Camp North End and added indoor bar-style seating and outdoor tables. “I wanted it to feel like a piece of home,” she says. “There’s no music with lyrics—it’s all Afro beats. I was very particular about that. I wanted a peaceful space where you can relax.”

Charlotte already had a handful of dessert bars and plenty of ice cream shops, but Sheppard saw an opportunity to specialize in cheesecake. “I saw a few cheesecake places popping up here and there, but you’d walk in to purchase what was already in the case,” she says. “For us, creating the experience was important, and providing people with flavors we can tailor.” 

Sweet Potato Pie Cheesecake with ganache drizzle

Sheppard’s mom, Renee, is her CFO, and her best friend, Tee, is her COO. They make everything from scratch, including their sauces. Their bourbon pecan sauce became so popular, they now sell it by the jar during the holiday season. Most days, the trio is in the bakery by 7 a.m. to start making batters, crusts, and toppings. (Oh My Ganache is open Tuesday through Thursday from 12 to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.) 

“Our pound cake is Mom’s recipe,” Sheppard says. “Tee is really patient with the cream cheese batter. I handle making the sweet potato cheesecake. We have a great system in place. I would like to call myself a pastry chef, but that’s really just because of what I’ve learned watching the Food Network.”

Sheppard plans to rotate in any seasonal flavors and have monthly releases. She loves to tinker in the kitchen and experiment with different flavor combinations; at the moment, she says, she’s trying to master raspberry syrup. “As simple as that may sound, it’s tough to get right, and I’m not one to buy it by the jar,” she says. “I’m trying to keep its flavor without the seeds. We have an amazing white chocolate ganache I want to pair with it.” 

While she loves to keep her grandfather’s legacy alive through baking, Sheppard rarely samples her own desserts. “I’ve actually never been big on sweets,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve never been a big fan of cheesecake, so I have my family taste test. At my grandfather’s funeral, I made the sweet potato recipe, and everyone started crying because it was just like his. … But that’s my favorite part, the smiles on people’s faces, when their eyes get big. Sweet moments become lasting memories.”