I have always loved to cook and create things in the kitchen. When my older son turned one, I was very excited to organize a party for him complete with theme, decorations and, of course, a cake! Under a photo of my little boy dressed in a DUKE sweatshirt holding a basketball, the invitation said “Come Have a Ball”. Decorations were easy and little basketballs as favors for his friends were sure to be a hit (what one-year-old doesn’t like playing with a ball?!). That left…the cake. It had to be a basketball and why not have it in 3D. Using a metal mixing bowl and altering the recipe a bit, I was able to make a cake in the shape of a half sphere. Using Wilton coloring gels and a piping bag with star tip, I made orange and brown icing and covered the cake in little stars following the pattern of a basketball. A new hobby was born.

At first, it was only birthday creations for my own family. After a while, some friends asked if I could make cakes for their families. Not long after, people began paying me to create cakes for various occasions. Every cake has been different and the time it took to make them has ranged from close to an hour to well over three hours. Although I usually use boxed mixes from the grocery store  (but have made some from scratch), I always make my own buttercream icing and fondant. My favorite part is taking a theme or idea and dreaming up how I can make it into a cake.