Sweet freedom: Pure DeLite brings guilt-free cupcakes to Carrollton

As anyone with a sweet tooth knows, indulging in desserts too often can have a hazardous effect on your waistline. Pure DeLite Cupcakes has come to Carrollton to change that.

Billing themselves as a "guilt-free" bakery, Pure DeLite offers cupcakes that contain half the calories, half the fat and half the sugar of traditional cupcakes. Pure DeLite also offers gluten-free and vegan cupcake options for many of their flavors.

Owner and CEO Rachel Hough says customers will be able to understand they're eating healthier, but their taste buds won't get the message.

"What people will find is a cupcake that will completely trick them into thinking it's not healthy, but it is," Hough said.

Every cupcake in the store has its calorie count listed, and Pure DeLite uses computer software to calculate the nutritional information for its products as accurately as possible.

"This kind of verification is important for our customers because a lot of times the nutritional information is not accurate or posted for the food that you are consuming, and especially if you are on special dietary restrictions for your health, you need to know what it is that you are getting," Hough said. "This is why, in turn, it is so important to us. We want our customers to have the most accurate information as they can get. We are proud of what we have accomplished in our products and unlike many companies out there, we are excited to share it with them."

Hough said the idea for her guilt-free cupcakes came after the birth of her son. She said she initially she wanted to find a way to lose baby weight, but also make healthier food for her growing family.

"I just wanted to dive in headfirst," Hough said. "I made dozens of cupcakes, and every day tried something new until I came up with the right recipe."

The recipe she created was for what she calls "The Original," a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. The Original's first test came soon after at a local bowling alley.

"My dad took them to his bowling league, and they flew off the table," Hough said. "Now he takes them every week. It's amazing to think of guys that smoke, drink and eat junk, and they're asking for healthy cupcakes."

The success of The Original led Hough to keep experimenting and adding new flavors, such as Smooth Like Velvet, Blueberry PanCupcake, and Pistachio Disguisey. Pure DeLight's cupcake flavor list is now at 140 and still growing.

Hough opened the first Pure DeLite storefront in Fairlawn, Ohio. The store's success attracted the attention of Carrollton residents Larry and Darlene Freeman, Hough's aunt and uncle.

"I had one store in Ohio, and [Larry and Darlene] saw how well it did and wanted to help, so they signed on as business partners," Hough said.

The Carrollton Pure DeLite store opened six weeks ago, and store manager Lily Galvan said the response has been very good, and even overwhelming at times.

"One little boy came in, and they didn't know we had gluten free, so they asked if we had any gluten-free," Galvan said. "And I said, 'Yeah, we sure do, this whole bottom row is gluten-free.' And that little boy jumped up and down, had the biggest smile on his face, and said 'Mom, they have gluten-free.' Apparently he's very sensitive, and so he doesn't get to have many treats, so for him to be able to have a sweet treat like that and have it be a little healthier than most, it gave me goosebumps."

Pure DeLite also offers a wide variety of coffee and espresso beverages, with dozens of flavor options. Galvan said the store offers Italian espresso, a flavor that customers may find unique.

"It's not the American type of espresso," Galvan said. "It's a little bolder, a little stronger of a taste. It's not something that people are used to, because Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts and everybody like that have an American espresso and American coffee."

Galvan said Hough encourages the staff to experiment with flavors and ingredients, which has already led to a discovery by one of her baristas.

"She had a really good idea of pairing coffees with cupcakes, so you have an experience with your treat," Galvan said. "For example, you can go right into Thanksgiving with a pumpkin spice latte and an apple cinnamon cupcake."

The Carrollton Pure DeLite store will have its formal grand opening Saturday. Galvan said the store has planned several events for the day, including an hourly raffle, t-shirt giveaways, free product and product discounts and a grand prize raffle for a $50 gift card.

"It's going to be a free-for-all," Galvan said. "We want people to come in and try it out, and then get the word out. We want to get those tongues and those taste buds out there."

Pure DeLite is located at 3432 East Hebron Parkway in Carrollton. For information, visit www.puredelitecupcakes.com.

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