Jeff Bennett, baker, owner and founder of The Pound Cake Man Bakery, says he never imagined his career in videos would eventually lead to him finding sweet success as The Pound Cake Man.
Bennett has spent most of his career as a professional videographer. Her journey includes some dream jobs, as well as a number of amazing experiences. During her career, Bennett has co-hosted and directed television shows, produced music videos for stars like Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. In addition, he has been an entertainment journalist, has worked in television in the Cayman Islands, and has also been a video producer for Clemson, where he has traveled with the football team.
He left it all behind for the love of pound cake.
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“I started baking birthday cakes for co-workers when I worked at Clemson’s communications center,” says Bennett. “My grandmother was a talented baker and was known as the ‘red velvet cake queen’ of her neighborhood. I tweaked her pound cake recipe a bit and created my own cheesecake frosting cream. After that I kept getting requests to make one for friends and for other business events. And it just took off from there.
Bennett’s father, George Bennett, a former director of IPTAY at Clemson, brought his four-quarters to press conferences and meetings.
“At an event Tommy Bowden (former head football coach at Clemson) said he expected to find my banana pudding pound cake waiting for him at the pearly gates of heaven,” says -he.
Bennett is still getting used to his success around something as simple as pound cake.
“A pound cake is not a fancy cake,” Bennett says. “It’s a no-frills recipe that’s basically a pound of each ingredient – butter, flour, sugar and eggs – that’s it.”
Yet there is something very special about his four-quarters.
Playing with the ratio of ingredients, Bennett perfected his own version and experimented with different flavors – like banana pudding which he says remains his most popular.
“The great thing about the recipe is that it creates such a solid cake,” says Bennett. “It’s moist, dense and has a great texture – it’s just a really delicious cake.”
In 2016, Bennett took his pound cakes on the road with the launch of a food truck. Starting with just five flavors, he took his pound cake to local, school and neighborhood events, often selling out at every stop. During Fall for Greenville, it sold out in just three hours on day one. Facing two more days, he rallied friends and family for help.
“I was cooking and cutting as fast as I could,” he says. “There were crazy long lines but people were so patient and willing to accept the 45 minute wait for a slice straight from the oven.”
To meet growing demand, Bennett opened its first brick-and-mortar bakery two years ago, located in Clemson. His son Alex currently oversees the operations of the bakery.
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“While the food truck was a great way to test the concept, it had its limitations,” says Bennett. “The bakery gives us the space to grow and play with more flavors and create new items – like pound cakes.”
More than 20 years and 10,000 delicious pound cakes later, Bennett’s thriving pound cake business includes two bakeries, a food truck and 11 employees. It also has expansion plans underway to open bakeries in other markets, with Greenville being the next step.
“Not bad for a video guy,” he says.
If construction plans go as planned, the Greenville site, located in the Overbrook neighborhood, will open in April. The menu will include 80 flavors of 10-inch cupcakes, slices and whole cakes, all with cream cheese frosting. Some of the most popular pound cake flavors include banana pudding, lemon, chocolate chip cookies, cookies, and cream. There are also savory options like maple bacon and seasonal flavors like pumpkin and eggnog. Gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free versions are also available.
In the new location, the bakery will also share space with newcomer Clayton’s Deli, a New York-style deli concept with a southern twist owned by Bennett’s eldest son, Austin. The menu will highlight classic deli sandwiches and southern favorites like fried chicken and artisan burgers.
The bakery and grocery store will share counter service and the dining room and will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.lbcakes.com.
