Aberdeen cheesecake business knows how to chill

From a hot cuppa and a book to lounging outside in the sun, chilling out is something that we all love to do.

With her business Chill Out Cheesecakes, Maureen Smith has now come up with the perfect foodie accompaniment for your next chill out session.

Chill Out Cheesecakes may have only started three months ago, but it’s already setting a precedent for its delicious dessert treats.

It currently churns out more than 200 cheesecakes a week to a range of local stockists around Aberdeen and the shire, with Biscoff and Banoffee the most popular flavours.

Maureen has been pleasantly surprised with the unexpected success of the business, which has given her confidence in her baking abilities.

She may not have had much time to chill out herself but with her business growing, her aspirations for a cheesecake café in Aberdeen now look more reachable than ever.

We talked to Maureen to find out more about Chill Out Cheesecakes.

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Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in Aberdeenshire and moved through to Aberdeen in the late 80s, where I’ve lived ever since.

I went to college for a couple of years and did business management studies, but I didn’t go on to university.

I’ve had a career in HR for the last 30 years, worked for a few different companies in oil and gas, then last year I decided that I wanted to do something part-time and that was really how Chill Out Cheesecakes came around three months ago.

What inspired you to take the plunge and start your own business?

I just wanted to do something different. Growing up, I was always making cakes and traybakes. It was during the pandemic when boredom started to set in that I started baking again.

Bless my neighbours, I kept feeding them cupcakes and all these different things. Then I think they got fed up of the cakes, which made me think, ‘right, what can I make instead…’ and that was when I started researching cheesecakes.

The first one I ever made was a Biscoff cheesecake and my neighbours, Laura and Mary, said, ‘oh my god.

These are amazing, you should sell these’, and I thought, ‘don’t be daft!’ But both my sons, Matthew and Christopher – who have really supported me through this – were also saying I should do it, so I ended up sorting out all my hygiene certificates and things and that’s what I started doing. They really encouraged me to go for it.

What’s the secret to making the perfect cheesecake?

I think it’s patience; it’s not something that you can quickly turn around. It’s quite technical to make the cheesecake because you’ve got to have all the ingredients at the right temperature, mix them to a suitable standard, then refrigerate them overnight. I’m not born with patience if I’m honest, so I find it quite therapeutic.

How does the business operate?

I’m making roughly 200 cheesecakes a week at the moment, so it’s really busy. I use my son’s EHO approved kitchen (which he uses for his food company) and operate out of there – there’s barely enough room for the fridge in my own kitchen at home!

It’s growing really fast which is really exciting. H&S Milne Butchers were our very first stockists. Kepplestone Farm Shop usually sells around 40 of my cheesecakes over the weekends, we’ve recently started stocking at Duncan’s in Bridge of Don, there’s Westhill service station and others as well.

I also receive direct orders through Facebook and Instagram where I make 20cm cheesecakes for family get togethers and 30cm ones which I supply to Pinehurst Hotel. They’ve been really supportive and also push me out my comfort zone a little bit.

What’s some of your most popular offerings? Do you have gluten-free alternatives too?

The most popular cheesecakes seem to be Biscoff for sure. Banoffee, salted caramel, white chocolate, raspberry, strawberry… a lot of them are quite popular to be honest. I also do gluten-free cheesecakes. I did some research into it and found it was quite difficult to get gluten-free cheesecakes in stores, so they’re actually really popular.

Do you work with local food suppliers?

I do try to use local companies where I can like sourcing my cheese and cream from a supplier in Fife and chocolate from Cocoa Ooze in Aberdeen.

I think it’s a little difficult just now because of the size of my business – I’m not buying a huge amount in bulk from wholesalers. But it has only been on the go for around three months, so I’m still trying to source locally.

Have you had a lot of highlights since starting the business?

I think my main highlight was selling 40 cheesecakes in one weekend when I first started the business. That was a real highlight initially because I wasn’t quite sure if anybody would buy my cheesecakes.

But also, the positivity from everybody that’s been buying them has been brilliant. I’m humbled that people are actually enjoying them, are giving great feedback and are coming back for more as well.

I’m very fortunate from the support I receive from everyone – especially considering that I’ve never really run a business before.

What’s special about Chill Out Cheesecakes?

I think the fact Chill Out Cheesecakes is artisan and I can usually make any flavour that people are looking for. I recently had an order for a white chocolate and coconut cheesecake and for me, that was really quite special.

It wasn’t something that I’d made before, but I realised that I had the ability and license to create it. I can experiment with all sorts of things and I think that’s a really good side of the business. It’s also quite stressful at times, but I just love making cheesecakes that people are enjoying.

Future plans?

Ideally, I would like to have my own wee kitchen space with a couple of staff so that we can produce a lot more cheesecakes. But I also want to focus more on the marketing side of the business.

It’s quite difficult to reach people if they’re not on social media, so reaching out to people in different ways is something I’d look towards. Perhaps a cheesecake café in a couple of years?

There doesn’t seem to be anything wholly focussed on cheesecakes in Aberdeen, so someplace where you could have a blether and a cheesecake would be nice.

Check out Chill Out Cheesecakes Facebook page.