Madeline Baucom puts the finishing touches on a vegan vanilla cake with strawberries and vegan buttercream frosting. (Christina Ritchie Rogers / DavidsonNews.net)

For Madeline Baucom, opening a pastry shop was more than just a business venture – it was a path to healing. As a child, she was overweight and children would taunt her, calling her “Fatelyn” or “Maddy Fatty.” So opening Maddy’s Fatty’s was her way to turn a negative into a positive, she said.

What started as a special-orders cake business out of her home kitchen in Mooresville in just over a year has turned into a full, storefront pastry shop in Cornelius, with fresh cupcakes, cake pops, breads and pastries made from scratch daily, as well as special-order custom cakes and a wide array of gluten-free and vegan options. Read the full story