From Teacher to Cheesecake Entrepreneur: The Story of La Tarta de la Madre de Cris

Sometimes the best ideas appear by chance. That was exactly the case for Pilar Molina, a former Literature and Spanish teacher from Granada who, just as she was approaching retirement, started a cheesecake business that would eventually become a huge success. 

The story began in 2014 when Pilar’s daughter Cris, who owned a fashion boutique, asked her mother to prepare something special for the shop’s anniversary. Pilar decided to bake a cheesecake she had often made at home using a family recipe. The cake was already famous among friends and family, and whenever she brought it to gatherings people would encourage her to sell it. At the anniversary event, the guests loved it so much that they started calling it “the cake made by Cris’s mother.” That nickname would later become the name of the brand. 

Encouraged by her daughter’s friends and motivated by curiosity, Pilar decided to turn the idea into a small business. With the help of her husband and some friends, she set up a small bakery workshop in the garage of her house and opened her first shop near Granada Cathedral. At the beginning they offered free tastings and sold the cheesecake by the slice. The response was immediate—people loved it. 

Soon the business began to grow. Pilar started presenting her cheesecake at gourmet fairs, where long lines formed to try it. The brand gained recognition and eventually began supplying cakes to restaurants. As demand increased, the small garage workshop was replaced by a larger production space, while new shops opened in cities such as Málaga and Seville. 

Ten years later, La Tarta de la Madre de Cris has expanded beyond Andalusia, with shops in Madrid and deliveries across Spain. The company now produces around 500 cheesecakes a day and employs more than fifty people, turning what started as a simple family recipe into a thriving business. 

Despite the growth, the philosophy remains the same: traditional, baked cheesecakes made in an artisanal way. The original recipe is still the most popular, although new flavors—such as pistachio, blue cheese, Baileys, and white chocolate—have been added over time. 

Pilar’s story is a powerful reminder that it is never too late to start something new. What began as a homemade cake baked for a celebration has become a successful brand that continues to sweeten the lives of cheesecake lovers everywhere.