First Look: Customize single-serving desserts at Cheesecake Lab, opening next week 

There’s something satisfying about creamy, tangy cheesecake, believes Cheesecake Lab founder Mitchell Moore. When his new concept opens next week, fellow fans can taste his scratch-made versions firsthand, available in rotating flavors with customizable toppings. The new grab-and-go bakery is located at 7970 Jefferson Highway, Suite B.

Cheesecake Lab specializes in Southern-style cheesecake, defined by a creamier texture, level surface and longer bake time than denser New York-style cheesecake, Moore says. The Bocage area shop offers a classic, plain version along with specialty flavors like pumpkin pie, apple streusel, strawberry swirl, banana pudding, cookies and cream, turtle and others. Double chocolate features a milk chocolate batter studded with dark chocolate chips and baked in a chocolate graham cracker crust. Flavors will change monthly.

A self-taught pastry chef, Moore has spent most of his career in the restaurant and bakery industries. He says he’s been passionate about baking since childhood.

“I had an Easy-Bake Oven when I was three years old,” says the Jackson, Mississippi, native. “I remember being fascinated by how you can pour something in that’s kind of liquid-y and it comes out as a cake. Even now at 52, that still fascinates me.”

In fact, the chemistry behind baking informs Cheesecake Lab’s design. Element symbols from the periodic table will adorn the walls and employees will be suited up in lab coats and blue latex gloves. The cakes are made from scratch in a large kitchen area in the back.

While baking has long fascinated Moore, making cheesecake has been a favorite pursuit. Several years ago, he created a wholesale business that sold cheesecakes to nearly 30 restaurants in the greater Jackson area.

In 2010, the opportunity came along to buy the city’s historic Campbell’s Bakery. Opened in 1962, it has been known for petit fours and frosted tea cakes, but it needed a jump start. Moore renovated the bakery and added his cheesecakes to the menu. Building on his success, he opened a second Campbell’s in Madison, Mississippi, and a spinoff concept in Jackson called Campbell’s Craft Donuts.

Then the pandemic hit.

Soft sales in the months following the shutdown forced Moore to close both the Madison location and Campbell’s Craft Donuts. In 2022, he decided to sell the bakery’s main location to relocate with his wife and daughter to Baton Rouge to be closer to his wife’s family.

Moore says he always knew that he’d eventually do something with cheesecake again.

“When I sold Campbell’s, I sold all the recipes except the ones for my cheesecakes,” he says.

After relocating to Baton Rouge, he began looking at popular sweets concepts, finding inspiration in Caroline’s Cookies and Nothing Bundt Cakes, which focus on single product lines. He also liked the idea of selling individual serving sizes rather than whole cakes. The idea for specialty toppings, including nuts, fruit and syrups, came from visiting yogurt shops.

“I like the idea of a single item done well,” he says.

His original cheesecake is made with a hint of lemon zest and lemon juice, which imparts a subtle flavor note, he says. Sour cream in the batter gives the product extra tang. It’s carefully mixed to remove air, then slow-baked to ensure a soft, creamy texture.

“We’re trying to sell a really beautiful, handmade product that’s consistent every time, so the method really matters,” he says.

Moore says he has plans to franchise the concept. He hopes to see 10 to 15 Cheesecake Labs open between Mobile and Houston over the next four to five years.

Cheesecake Lab plans to open next week. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Keep up with details on Facebook.