In a world of fast food and box-mix baking, Rebecca Clanton-Lewis has clung to her roots.

Clanton-Lewis learned the art of baking from her grandmother at the age of 8. Now, her grandmother’s floral apron and handwritten recipe hang on the walls of The Cupcake Cowgirls—the Cypress bakery Clanton-Lewis opened in 2014—and serves as a reminder of how baking was done in the olden days.

In October 2012, Clanton-Lewis gained national media attention when she won The Food Network’s TV baking competition series “Cupcake Wars.” It was after her win that she decided to relocate from Gainesville, Fl. to the Houston area, where her daughter and grandson lived.

In January 2013, Clanton-Lewis opened her first Houston-area location in Spring. She was soon approached with franchise opportunities, which led to two franchised stores—one in The Woodlands and one in Galveston.

While initially elated about the expansion plans, Clanton-Lewis quickly learned keeping the integrity of her cupcakes was more important than adding locations.

“The cupcakes just weren’t the same,” she said. “It was a disaster.”

Clanton-Lewis has since closed The Woodlands, Spring and Galveston locations. The Cypress store, now her only location, has been open since Aug. 15 of last year.

The shop’s interior is decorated with vintage signs, old-fashioned stovetops and lots of Southern charm.

“I wanted people to feel like they’re walking into grandma’s kitchen,” Clanton-Lewis said.

Each morning, Clanton-Lewis whips up hundreds, even thousands, of made-from-scratch cupcakes.

Clanton-Lewis said it is the creativity that sets The Cupcake Cowgirls apart from other cupcake shops in the area.

“We go outside-of-the-box and find intricate flavors that are vintage- inspired,” she said.

Each cupcake is completely made from scratch, with the exception of the Oreo cookie on top of the cookies and cream cupcakes. Other cupcake flavors include vanilla salted caramel, maple bacon, chocolate cream pie, and pecan sandy.

In early November, Clanton-Lewis introduced lunch items to the menu, including soups, salads and sandwiches.

Rebecca Clanton-Lewis uses fresh ingredients to bake her vintage-inspired cupcakes.[/caption]