Cakes ” on Food Network to relax . I loved watching them create these amazing artworks out of food and everyone seemed to be so happy . I decided to secretly start practicing making cakes ( I had literally never even baked a cake until then ). There was no such thing as cake tutorials on YouTube so I hit the book store to start researching . My first cake was for my friends daughters first birthday . It was so ugly but she loved it ! I was hooked after that .
" Cake makes people so happy and who doesn ’ t like to make people happy ?"
Congratulations on the success of Sugar Geek Show , your subscriptionbased online cake decorating school . Do you prefer teaching or creating ?
I love both ! I have always loved sharing information and I can ’ t think of a time in the last few years where I made anything and didn ’ t share in some way how to make it or at least documented it . I just love social media and the ability it gives people to share ideas and techniques . Because information can be shared so easily , I think that it causes people to come up with new techniques and ideas more frequently . The industry right now is bursting with new ideas all the time . I love it !
What goals have you set for yourself over the next few years ?
I ’ m so amazed at the success of Sugar Geek Show , I definitely did not expect it ! My focus is to continue to nurture that and make it even better by incorporating more fun aspects into the website , like special badges for completing tutorials , “ graduate courses ” and an online store featuring my own line of products . We ’ re currently looking for a larger house with some land so we can build out a really nice finished studio for filming and for instructors to come teach ! I never thought in a million years that would be an option , but here we are !
What does a regular week look like for you now that you are no longer taking on cake orders ?
Coming up with new ideas is actually a lot of work ! I release a new video every two weeks so that only gives me about 10 days to research , make a cake , edit the video , promote it and then onto the next ! My husband Dan is in charge of editing photos , putting the video up online and helping new members on the website . It ’ s basically non-stop . When I travel to shows it really throws a kink into the schedule so I have to be careful not to fall behind .
You are very generous with your recipes and advice . Have you always enjoyed baking from scratch ?
I was a cake decorator for two years before I even baked from scratch . I didn ’ t understand how to bake from scratch so I did doctored cake mixes , which was fine but I really wanted to have the ability to make any flavour I could imagine . I decided to go to pastry school at Oregon Culinary Institute here in Portland . I took the weekend program so I made cakes all week , went to school on the weekend and basically had zero down time for about ten months ! It was hard but oh so rewarding ! I ’ ll never forget the first time I made a proper buttercream and a chocolate cake that was so moist . Learning the science of a recipe was confusing but once I understood it , it has been invaluable information for me and has given me the ability to create my own recipes exactly the way I like them . That ’ s like having a super power in the baking world !
You are a published author , television personality and globe-trotting teacher . What ’ s next for you ?
Haha it sounds so impressive when you say it like that . I try to just stay open to the universe and see where it takes me . So many wonderful things have happened in the last two years that I don ’ t know if I could have planned for even if I wanted to . Often times I am scared to do something new but I try to just be brave and remember that I only have this one life so don ’ t hold back . I ’ m currently working on
a line of acrylic skull moulds that I use for my bust cakes , and I ’ m focusing more on creating rather than competing so that I can teach the next generation of competitors how to win !
You have a young family . How do you successfully manage the work / life balance ?
I honestly could not do it without the support of my husband Dan . Because we both work from home , we can take turns watching our daughter Avalon so the other can get work done , depending on who ’ s got the more important deadline . When you work from home , it ’ s easy to never stop and get over-worked so we set strict guidelines for ourselves that work ends when dinner is on the table and we spend the evening together as a family . We choose one day a week to just get out of the house and do something fun so we ’ re not cooped up all the time . Sometimes there are exceptions to these rules but mostly we stick to it and it works well for us .
You ’ ve appeared on television programs such as Duff ‘ Til Dawn , and Food Network ’ s Outrageous Cakes . What was most surprising about competing in a televised environment ?
I think the most surprising thing for me is that I really enjoy it , haha ! Competition is really fun for me and I love feeling challenged . I am also fascinated by how shows are made . I ’ m always asking the producers and sound guys questions about equipment or cameras . I think I would make a great producer in another life !
What are your three favourite cake decorating tools ?
Ah that is a tough one ! I am a tool junkie . I could not live without my PME dresden tool , my yellow clay tool and my sugar shapers ! All of these are basically modelling tools but they feel more like extensions of my hand !