Mansfield Park

One look through Mansfield Park’s selection of vegan cakes and you’ll be planning your next event just so you can order one. Or is that just us?

The online vegan cake studio based in Berlin specialises in minimalistic but decadent cakes that are “made to be devoured”.

A single tier consists of four plant-based cake layers and inbetween, a variety of fruity homemade compote, an airy mousse or luscious crème pâtissière. Are you salivating yet? Because we are!

This one-woman business is run by Gabrielle Coffey, who founded Mansfield Park with a vision of delivering vegan treats to every corner of Berlin.

VEGCRAVER chats with Gabrielle about the misconceptions surrounding vegan desserts, and the inspiration behind her transition to veganism over a decade ago.

What inspired you to launch Mansfield Park?

A good friend and my former business partner came up to me and asked if I wanted to start a catering business with her. We worked together at Cafe Neundrei and wanted to bring vegan baked goods to all of Berlin.

We fantasized about having a booth at local farmer’s markets in all of Berlin's districts and delivering cakes to cafés and offices.

We tried that for about a year and then started with wedding cakes because the experience with our first wedding cake (for a friend) was so wonderful and we wanted more of that.

I’ve been running Mansfield Park on my own for over a year now.

How long have you been vegan and what inspired you to make the transition?

I have been vegan for 12 years and it was my little sister who inspired me to make the transition.

I started as a vegetarian when going off to university, and my sister talked a lot about veganism, the milk, cows and everything else. She had been vegan for a while and really opened my eyes.

What's been your biggest challenge running a fully vegan business?

That vegan sweets are still considered to be bland.

In consequence, too many people still refuse to even try a vegan-labeled product.

Where do you get your menu inspiration from?

I’ve collected a lot of inspiration over the years, otherwise I just like to read recipe books/magazines and browse the internet.

What are your thoughts on the current vegan landscape in Berlin & Germany in general?

So many new places are popping up, it's hard to keep track. But it’s also hard to find the good ones, as everybody seems to be offering vegan foods nowadays.

In saying that, I haven’t really noticed more people trying plant-based alternatives now compared to when I first started my business.

There have always been the ones who try it by accident because they don't read the label, and the ones who are interested in trying new things.

Any big plans for the future of Mansfield Park?

Yes, but the current situation makes it very hard to plan anything, so I just try to go with the flow.

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Thai cashew nut stir fry!

There’s more to Mansfield Park than just “pretty vegan cakes” - head over to her VEGCRAVER profile to browse the selection of elegant cakes and treats.