Family recipes, surprises make this Tacoma bakery worth keeping in rotation

Roasted and puréed with plentiful spices until silky-smooth, owner Regina Gray calls it her “secret sauce.”

It forms the foundation of a classic pie, the crust made from scratch with “love, butter, sugar, Crisco,” presumably in that order. It’s also folded into an eye-catching crescent of a turnover, the exterior golden-brown pocket sprinkled with sugar, adding texture and crunch. Two bites later, it whisks you to a blanket and a rocking chair by the fireplace, chestnuts roasting and choirs caroling. Only there’s no frost, because we’re in Tacoma and it’s not Christmas.

“If you know how to make good crust, then you got a good thing going on,” says Gray, who has been honing her recipes for nearly two decades.

At Eudora’s Bakery, she also whips that secret sauce into an unexpected setting: a cupcake, encapsulating a dollop of cheesecake, that’s swirled with scratch-made buttercream frosting powered by cinnamon, finished with candied pecans, a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of sea salt.

This cupcake is called The Kingdom, and it’s the only item of many varied treats in the pastry case at 4312 6th Ave. without a self-explanatory name. When Gray first shared this creation, her husband Von Gray recalled, a friend proclaimed, “‘Oh my God, oh my God!’ I said, ‘That’s copyrighted. We’ll go with The Kingdom.’”

A trip to Eudora’s is incomplete without at least one of The Kingdoms in your bag. Consider a box of four, or spread the love with a dozen one-bite minis — which, in a small miracle, also hold within them a dollop of cheesecake.

“When you bite into it,” said Regina, “you get that surprise of the cheesecake.”

The Grays opened their brick-and-mortar bakery on Sixth Ave., next to Beer Star, last summer. They had looked at the space years ago, before it became Grit City Greens, the health-focused cafe and meal-prep service that closed in 2024, but it needed some work to accommodate a kitchen. Regina had been baking in the Tacoma area — from the kitchen of Altheimer Memorial Church downtown, selling at local farmers markets (Tacoma, Puyallup), fulfilling custom orders and private parties. She also kept busy managing the kitchen for the church.

A few years ago, tired of the mobile approach, Eudora’s set up shop at the Waterfront Market in Ruston and then got to work on their first Tacoma storefront, now equipped with a working kitchen. It still took more than a year to push through permitting and some upgrades.

“Perseverance is the biggest thing that you can have,” said Von in a recent interview at the shop.

You are likely to meet your affable guide behind the counter, eager to give first-timers a tour of the case or returning visitors a recap of what’s new or what just returned after a long winter’s nap.

Most of the goods are packaged individually, ready to take home, but the bakery offers a few tables and chairs in a casual cafe setting. The coffee is hot, the conversation generous, and on weekends the couple also makes a batch of savory soup.

Cobblers, pies, cupcakes & more

Eudora’s doesn’t do vanilla cupcakes or chocolate cupcakes (although the baker might say yes to a special order!). Gray takes pride in turning classic ideas into something fresh with housemade ingredients like lemon curd, which is also tucked into a cupcake with basil and honey from All Things Rich, a vendor at the Ruston market, or thick layers of ganache on the fudgy, rich brownies — especially when juxtaposed with the bitter notes found in the espresso square. And she never relents on the experiences and history that brought them here.

The couple relocated to Tacoma to be closer to family in the mid-2010s from Riverside, California, where they had a successful bakery called Sweet Epies. Regina was born and raised in what is now University Place, as her Louisiana-bred parents moved to the Tacoma area for her father’s military career.

Cooking and baking runs on both sides of the family, said Gray. She learned the base recipes for her sweet potato pie and peach cobbler from her mother and grandmother, then studied at the Escoffier School of the Culinary Arts. With those fundamentals as a springboard, she left a corporate job to raise their three kids and started selling baked goods “as a side hustle” in the late 2000s, while Von worked as a medical engineer. Over the years, she tinkered and Von tested.

“I knew I had something,” said Gray of her blend of nostalgia, family favorites and a touch of PNW appeal. “No one does pies like this here year-round — unless your auntie or mom makes them!”

Beyond peach cobbler, indulge in pies and crumbles with apple, lemon and pecan.

The Kingdom was actually inspired by another of Gray’s specialties: a sweet potato cheesecake.

As my spoon sunk into the nutty top layer, I returned to my little plastic seat at the wobbly kids’ table circa 1998, when my aunt brought sweet potato casserole to accompany my mom’s turkey, stuffing and canned cranberries. What a magical dish unto itself, that sweet Thanksgiving concoction, but why has no one served it to me with New York-style cheesecake?

Along with the cobblers and the pies, Eudora’s cheesecakes are sold in tart size — perfect for sharing, or for just you and a moment with your memories.

Eudora’s Bakery

• 4312 6th Ave., Tacoma, 253-905-1073, eudorasbakery.com
• Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Details: bakery with cupcakes, cobblers, pies, crumbles, brownies & more; most items $5-$7 each, mini cupcakes $13.25/dozen
• Special orders (small to large) and catering available — inquire online, by phone or in-person