This year’s list of Oprah’s Favorite Things includes a cake from Chapel Hill
.jpg "The cream cheese pound cake from Chapel Hill baker Tonya Council has landed on this year’s list of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite things to give as gifts.")
Among Oprah Winfrey’s annual list of favorite gifts this year is a cake from one of the Triangle’s most storied culinary families.
Landing on Oprah’s influential “Favorite Things” list is the cream cheese pound cake from Chapel Hill baker Tonya Council. The cake gets a touch of tang from cream cheese and is brightened with lemon, as Council created her own version based on the pound cake of her legendary grandmother, Mildred “Mama Dip” Council.
“Southern. Cream cheese. Pound cake. Need I say more? How about moist, buttery, and scrumptious!,” reads the pound cake blurb on Oprah’s favorite things web page.
There are 116 items on Oprah’s favorite list this year, ranging from neck pillows to tins of Spanish potato chips.
Council’s cake is one of 18 food gifts that the famous tastemaker has deemed her favorites. This is the second time Tonya Council’s sweet treats have been featured on Oprah’s list, which in 2021 included her pecan crisp cookies.
“I’m incredibly grateful to be featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things list for a second time,” said Council in a release. “This pound cake is very special to me, as it carries the flavors and memories of my grandmother’s Southern baking traditions. It’s such an honor to share a piece of that with more people this holiday season.”
Last year Council opened her Chapel Hill brick and mortar bakery Tonya’s Cookies & Bake Shop. The Oprah-blessed pound cake is available for sale in the shop, at Sweet Tea & Cornbread at the Crabtree Valley Mall and online. The cost is $75.
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 9:29 AM with the headline "This year’s list of Oprah’s Favorite Things includes a cake from Chapel Hill."
