by Olivia Lee
Becca Rankin’s love for the kitchen began during childhood. She remembers rushing home from school to watch “Iron Chef” on the Food Network and later sharing meals with her family. Especially near the holidays, Rankin enjoyed sitting at the dinner table alongside her three older siblings and listening as everyone chatted about their day, all the while looking forward to dessert. In particular, she loved her mother’s holiday bars, made with Special K cereal, corn syrup, peanut butter and butterscotch chips. For Rankin, they smelled and tasted like nostalgia.
After graduating from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College’s baking and pastry program, Rankin began baking in the kitchens of Hello, Sailor and Kindred, later moving on to The Goodyear House.
“My greatest joy as a pastry chef is mostly just that feeling of getting to play in the kitchen,” Rankin says. During her five-and-a-half years at The Goodyear House, Rankin began dabbling with the sentimental flavors of her childhood. Using Jello chocolate pudding and Oreos, she revolutionized the dirt cup, a popular no-bake dessert that made frequent appearances at birthday parties in the ’90s. Rankin layered homemade chocolate wafers and pudding, topped with whipped cream and gummy worms and drizzled with a raspberry coulis.
In July 2025, Rankin decided to branch out on her own and start an independent venture, Tart. Instead of working within the bounds of bread and plated desserts on a restaurant menu, Rankin wanted more creative freedom and to offer a wider variety of items, from cookies, cakes and pies to breakfast pastries.
REFINING RECIPES
“I absolutely love recipe development,” Rankin says. “I think for me, I really, really enjoy the artistic, creative process and kind of troubleshooting. … Like: Those cookies spread a little bit too much because I put too much baking soda in them. Let me go back to the drawing board and figure out a way to make them a little bit chewier or cakier or fudgier.”
For Rankin, research and experimentation started with scouting for the perfect vanilla cake recipe. She wanted a cake that had a depth of flavor, which can be hard to create with such a short list of simple ingredients. It required numerous iterations.
“There are so many different kinds of methods to making a cake. You can go more of the sponge-method route (with the egg whites folded in separately), or you can do your classic mixing of butter and sugar together, and the eggs go in whole,” Rankin explains. “Each method creates a different texture that can impact how the flavor carries throughout the cake.”
Once she got the recipe just right, it became the base for all the cakes she bakes for weddings, birthdays and baby showers. (Rankin recommends filling her vanilla cake with lemon curd or raspberry jam and topping with a Swiss meringue.)
For one wedding, Rankin recalls making five cakes.
“It was very, very cool to see people going and cutting slices, and watching their faces and hearing them go, ‘Have you tried the key lime cake yet?’ Or ‘Go get a slice of carrot cake,’” Rankin says. “I think that’s really where my passion lies, is getting to be part of special gatherings and have my food be incorporated into somebody’s most special day.”
A SWEET START
One of Rankin’s favorite offerings is Tart’s breakfast basket.
“I really love breakfast,” she says. “It’s my favorite meal of the day.” But mornings can be hurried and busy with workout classes or school drop-offs, leaving breakfast time overlooked. This inspired Rankin to develop a curated breakfast basket, filled with savory and sweet danishes, muffins, and scones, paired with homemade jam and whipped cream that can be conveniently delivered to the doorstep. Rankin recommends sharing items with a freshly brewed cup of coffee to create an experience that is defined by relaxation and comfort.
Tart’s seasonal menu, available at tartpastries.com, also offers quiches, cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, dinner rolls and focaccia — even homemade ice cream.
“I think what I love so much about food and what I love so much about cooking is that experience of people gathering together and being able to share the
same experience.”
CHOOSING DESSERT
Rankin admits she’s become addicted to the satisfying feeling that comes along with making food for friends, family and customers, and seeing the joy that she is able to give them through food. This feeling is also what inspired her to take a risk by leaving her longtime role with Built on Hospitality. Rankin wanted to create a space where the focus is on breakfast pastries and desserts as a part of the culinary experience, rather than an afterthought.
“I think having my own business, I really want people to see that desserts are not just a sweet thing to finish the meal,” Rankin says. “I want people to realize that desserts can offer so much, and I want people to indulge in dessert.”
So, take a risk in life — and with cake — Rankin urges.
“You get one life to live, so let’s not be afraid of eating dessert.” SP
